Correct paint color for NS locomotives, airbrush question

[Anonymous]

Good morning all. I was wondering if someone could tell who makes NS black paint and what the part numbers are. I've tried to find some info on google but did not come up with any specifics. I know polyscale has some different colors of black but I'm not sure which one to use. I also need a decent inexpensive airbrush kit. Please give me your suggestions for one.

[Anonymous]

Your best bet is to compare photos of the locomotive you wi***o model against the different reditions of black. A D9-44CW fresh from the paint booth will probably require a glossy un-weathered black whereas a weatherbeaten GP38 may demand something lighter and washed out. Or start with the same untainted black and use weathering to accentuate the differences in weathering.

The problem with an unmodified pure black is that under typical room lighting, the locomotive's subtle details vanish. It may be better to start with something more like a charcoal grey or slightly weathered black (maybe a proportional mix of pure black and grimy black) to give some subtle lightening to the base color (or absence thereof). This will prevent the locomotive from looking like a black hole.

I recall some articles by Jim Six on modelling PC GP38-2's and Southern GP50's that illustrated masterful renditions of black locomotives. If you can find them or just the photos, they would speak louder than my rambling.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the painting info bwilcox.