I have three Bachman Spectrum SD45 EL locomotives that I'd like to renumber two of them so that they aren't all the same number. I bought Testers Maroon and Gray at the local hobby shop ( like these listed at Tower Hobbies http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0095P?FVSEARCH=Floquil+Polly+Scale+Erie+Lackawanna+Maroon+&search=Go ). I tested them on a piece of plastic and neither of those colors is remotely close to the colors on the locomotives!
Is there a brand that better matches the colors on the locomotives or am I going to have to mix and match paint to get the shading correct?
I have engines and cars from IHC, Riverosi,and LifeLike in Lackawanna maroon and grey and none of the brands match any of the others. I don't think there is a standard.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
There are a lot of variables when it comes to matching paint colors, if you apply it with a brush it looks different then when applied with an airbrush of sprayed. How you reduce or thin the paint also changes the color as does the air pressure you shoot at as well. Matching paint even in the prototype world is some what of an art form You could get three batches of paint from the same manufacture, shoot them all on three identical pieces of equipment at all the exact same parameters and they may all come out a little different then the others.
The only true way you will get a perfect match on all three pieces of equipment is paint them all at the same time and mix up enough paint to do so all at once. That being said you have two other options to consider paint from the factor never looked exactly the same on all locos as one may be newer then the others or have a fresher paint job, if your going to weather them do each one a little different then the others as nothing weathers exactly the same so it will make the paint mismatch seem less apparent. But if all your trying to do is renumber a loco try using a pencil eraser or a little alcohol on a Q-Tip or Microsol to just remove the number you want to change. no need to repaint the entire unit.
But if all your trying to do is renumber a loco try using a pencil eraser or a little alcohol on a Q-Tip or Microsol to just remove the number you want to change. no need to repaint the entire unit.
I think your (above) idea is the only way that I'm going to get the job done without having to repaint the whole maroon stripe. I'll experiment on a piece of unimportant rolling stock before implementing it on a "first of the line" locomotive.