I have two questions, but didn't feel like starting two seperate threads.
To start, I'm either looking for a spray can or an acrylic for these colors. I'm an apartment dweller, so its easier to go out by the dumpsters to spray paint or to airbrush acrylics in the bathroom (respirator and all that, then close the door, open the window, and let things settle on their own). I'm forced to resort to the canned air for noise reasons, so that's something to keep in mind too.
Question 1:
I've got ahold of an undecorated Amtrak 1700 series baggage car, after months of trying to find a Phase IV with no luck. I know decals will be tricky because no one makes them (I suspect I can use the stripes from Microscale's Phase IV locomotives and go from there cannibalizing other Amtrak decal sets).
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2764199
Here's what I'm after. What's a good "stainless" color for this car? I know that Platinum Mist was the best, but good luck with that now. I'm running it with plated Superliners, but at the same time I've noticed the bags were much less shiny than other Amtrak rolling stock. Also, the panels above the stripes look to be more of a gray that bare metal. Thoughts/suggestions?
Question 2:
I want to do a pair of Allegheny Valley units for my modern Pittsburgh area theme I've got going in my collection.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2773915
Any suggestions here too? I think it resembles N&W passenger cars, but the color I found for that one (Model Master British Crimson) doesn't really match very well.
This stuff bugs me so much because I do a lot of graphic design work, but matching colors is such a bear to me. I even designed the decals for that AVR unit! I can't just look up Pantone colors like I do at work!
For your baggage car, I'd suggest the Alclad treatment, but if you don't want it too metallic-looking, perhaps Scalecoat's Silver would be appropriate. It's available in 6oz. spray cans, S-1023 for Scalecoat I and S-2023 for Scalecoat II.
For the maroon diesels, I wonder if N&W red is their passenger car colour or if it's what was used on their cabooses. The part number is S-1082 for Scalecoat I and S-2082 for Scalecoat II.Other choices might be Erie Lackawanna Maroon, S-1042 for Scalecoat I and S-2042 for Scalecoat II, or Boston & Maine Maroon, S-1123 for Scalecoat I and 2123 for Scalecoat II.
There's a complete listing for Scalecoat paints HERE, and contact info, too. Their shipping is very prompt, and they seem to have the full line of paints available - I just last week dropped over $250.00 on paint there, although none in spray cans.
Wayne
I would go with the alcad paint also. Which is what what i am going to do, when i get my new airbrush reagualtor. There are some posts here on this site about using the alcad paint and which one to use etc.
Modeling on the cheap
Since that baggage car has a flat look I would use "old silver".
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
In the past several years, all my spray painting has been done using Tamiya spray can paints. They come with a nozzle that emits a fine spray, very close to what you get with a decent airbrush. Most hobby shops carry them; they don't make railroad paint per se (they're really military paints) but I've found a number of colors that work well on railroad equipment, buildings etc.
I'm not at home and don't have the names of the colors right at hand, but I know they make a couple of versions of silver colors, with I think aluminum and maybe chrome? There's also one called I think 'dark red' maybe that's pretty close to tuscan or maroon. You might have to do some trial and error (perhaps getting some of the matching little bottles of paint?) to find what best matches the colors you want.
doctorwayne For your baggage car, I'd suggest the Alclad treatment, but if you don't want it too metallic-looking, perhaps Scalecoat's Silver would be appropriate. It's available in 6oz. spray cans, S-1023 for Scalecoat I and S-2023 for Scalecoat II. For the maroon diesels, I wonder if N&W red is their passenger car colour or if it's what was used on their cabooses. The part number is S-1082 for Scalecoat I and S-2082 for Scalecoat II.Other choices might be Erie Lackawanna Maroon, S-1042 for Scalecoat I and S-2042 for Scalecoat II, or Boston & Maine Maroon, S-1123 for Scalecoat I and 2123 for Scalecoat II. There's a complete listing for Scalecoat paints HERE, and contact info, too. Their shipping is very prompt, and they seem to have the full line of paints available - I just last week dropped over $250.00 on paint there, although none in spray cans. Wayne
I considered the Alclad direction, but the 1700s were really, really beat up pieces of equipment and most of them were filthy. As soon as Amtrak started to get the new Viewliner baggage cars, they just vanished. Not even phased out. Just...gone. A more regular "silver" might be better.
The suggestion of Scalecoat got me investigating, and apparently their Tuscan red is too "red" for PRR Tuscan, to the point that N&W modelers suggest using it for their passenger cars. I'm guessing that yeah maybe the British Crimson would work better for their cabooses.
Hello all,
For replicating the silver look I've had good luck with rattle cans. Rust-Oleum; Metallic Finish; #7715 Aluminum, or Do It Best (True Value house brand); #780130 Aluminum 1004 (1-6).
The Rust-Oleum is more silver and matched the Santa Fe Red and Silver Warbonnet paint scheme. (For the red portion I used Rust-Oleum, Professional; High Performance Enamel, #7564 Safety Red.)
The Do It Best dries slightly more gray. This might be better for the upper panels you described.
As far as paint matching I've found that Valspar (Lowe's house brand), Premium Finish; #85206 Dark Palomino, Flat, matches well to Flat Safety Orange and the Krylon, Colormaster Paint & Primer; Cover Max, #52411 Gloss Pumpkin Orange, is a great match for Glossy Safety Orange.
Valspar #85029 Satin Indigo Streamer is a good match for Santa Fe Blue and the same brand #86009 Flat Caramel Honey is a good match for Santa Fe yellow.
I repainted a single-dome tanker with these two colors to make a M.O.W. water tanker for my snowplow consist with great results.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
I wanted to follow up on this.
A few weeks back, I picked up a can of Scalecoat II 2012 Tuscan Red and 2023 Silver. Its either been too humid, too windy, or too busy to get a chance to test either color. I used a scrap of clean white styrene and the spray can caps as a sample of "on white" and "on black" given that the backing material can influence light colors. Plus the baggage car is light gray and the shells for my locomotives are Athearn Black, so decent test too.
First off, I want to say Scalecoat's spray is excellent. Good pressure and very good coverage. A couple passes got red and silver down and I know red is a tricky color in general to paint. I didn't try the variable nozzle, which I had because I had it set to vertical and had quite a plume of waste that I suspect horizontal wouldn't have had. Either way, I can't say enough about the quality of what I got. Both colors laid down on both materials exactly the same. No "slightly darker" look because it was black plastic. A+ product they have there.
For the Amtrak silver, the silver is a very pale silver. On its own, it looks almost too light a color, but next to the Athearn/Walthers P42s, its a dead ringer for that Platinum Mist. I see plenty of P42s and I think Athearn has a good selection, so Scalecoat II Silver knocked it out of the park.
For the AVR red, the red is quite dark. I'll agree with the N&W/NS and PRR guys that its not even close to PRR Tuscan and is perfect for the N&W/NS business train. It may be a shade or two dark for AVR, but...geez what a hard color to match. In my mind's eye, they're fairly dark red, but in a lot of pictures they're RED!!! red. Yeah, I know, light and all that. But look at this: http://www.railpictures.net/photo/337486/ How often do you see four locomotives in the same paint color, of the same age, that live in the same region look so wildly different? I think I may roll the dice and go for it anyhow. Also, its a pretty good brick color. A bit shiny, but Dullcote should handle that.
Thanks for the recommendations.