Painting a Santa Fe GP-7

[chaya]

I want to paint a Santa Fe GP-7 in the blue-and-yellow "bookends" scheme--with the engine blue with both ends yellow, and I want to use Floquil solvent-based enamels. The GP-7 I just got from Atlas is a bright, garish blue, and the yellow is altogether too sunny-bright. In the hobby shop I looked at the Floquil "ATSF blue, " but it doesn't seem dark enough. Do the paints darken after they dry? Can I trust that the Floquil "ATSF blue" and "ATSF yellow" are prototypical? Do they match Microscale decal colors? Or do they need to be mixed with other colors?

I'd much appreciate any help any of you seasoned modelers can give me!

[jimrice4449]

I finaced the hobby for over 25 years by custom painting and the first thing you want to do is ditch the Floquil. It's great for structures and weathering but it's dificult to do a good job of decaling with it. Try Scalecoat. Strip the paint from the shell you've got, put on a first coat of white or reefer gray and after it dries(could be as much as 2 days), mask it and spray on the blue. You'll have a nice shiny fini***o decal and after you're done you can put on a finsh coat of clear. For a new appearance I use a 4 to 1 mix of Glosscoat and Dulcoat or straight Dulcoat for a flat finish, Be sure to use a plastic compatable stripper.