Hi everyone:
As many of you are aware, I'm building an HO model of a McKeen Motor Car. What I need to ask is what would the correct tone of 'gold' be for the lettering and striping on the car considering that the car was built in or about 1907.
I have contacted a custom decal maker who offered to do the lettering in metallic gold but I don't think that would be very accurate given that the lettering was no doubt hand painted. I have seen the term 'Dulux gold' but I don't know exactly what it means. How do I describe to the decal maker what tone of gold I want?
Thanks
Dave
P.S. I decided to start a separate thread for the question so that it wasn't lost in the main thread about the McKeen car build which is now into three pages.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Dave,
Dulux gold is a non-metallic color that is meant to represent metallic gold. In my opinion, it does a pretty good job. The color is a tannish yellow, reminiscent of Gulden's mustard. I think it's a fairly recent color, from maybe the '30's, or so. Definitely not back in the oughts.
If you're aiming for reproducing gold leaf, I wonder how that will work. Gold leaf is not a pigment, so trying to reproduce it with finely divided metallic powder looks like a problem to me. Actually, for model purposes, I suspect Dulux gold would look pretty close to gold leaf.
Ed
Take a look at these two Gold's by Tamiya. You will probably have to go to Tamiya's web site to view the chart's, but here are the #'s:
https://www.google.com/search?q=tamiya+gold+leaf+vs+titanium+gold&safe=active&espv=2&biw=1024&bih=653&tbm=isch
I have used the Gold leaf before and it is a little dull looking when painted.
LOL....Heck...just look through the whole page...all kinds of Gold's.
Take Care!
Frank
Hi Frank:
I will definately take a look at Tamiya's colour charts.
Keep in mind that I am not looking for a paint, but instead for an appropriate colour for the decals.
Maatching colors is not something that a LION would bother with. Close enough is close enough, after all it fades and weathers as soon as it leaves the shops.
In 2001 we renovated the church, and the gold paint that they were using was too bright. The painters muted it with cigarette ashes. Go figure.
ROAR
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Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
hon30critterKeep in mind that I am not looking for a paint, but instead for an appropriate colour for the decals.
Yeah....I know....that's why I said...look at the whoule'....eh? page.
Model Master has a few Gold's also.
Could I interest You in some Gold metal flake pin-stripes?
Edit: How about Silver Metal flake stripes????? Could not resist..
I have some Dulux Gold on some of my stuff from some decals. Can't for the life of me remember what right now, but I do recall I liked the color much better than other stuff done with gold leaf style decals. Plus it stood out more distinctly than the faux gold leaf.
EDIT: Not absolutely sure, but also recalled (if correct) that the lettering on the green versions of the Blackstone HOn3 coaches is supposed to represent Dulux Gold. I like those, too, and they are highly visible.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
After discussions with Scott Wright from Solidesign Custom Decals I have decided to go with metallic gold lettering and striping. Scott explained to be that he could do the dulux gold but because there are several colours involved the decals would not be as crisp and sharp as the metallic gold would be. So, I decided that crisp and sharp is good. If it looks too bright I can tone it down with Dullcote.
I realize that I could do the lettering with commercially available letter sets and striping, but I don't want to take a chance on the letters not being perfectly in line. Uneven decal alignment bugs me as much as fuzzy windows.
Frank:
Nicely done stripes!
hon30critter Scott explained to be that he could do the dulux gold but because there are several colours involved...
Scott explained to be that he could do the dulux gold but because there are several colours involved...
That is mighty interesting. I do wonder what the several colors could be. And why they would be needed.
Hi Ed:
Scott explained that in order to do the Dulux Gold he has to use three colours. He starts with white, then goes over that with light yellow, and the applies a "dithered" magenta half overlay. Because the letters are quite fine in detail it is difficult to get all three colours to line up perfectly. I suspect it is a limitation of his printing equipment, but I can live with the sharp metallic gold and tone it down if needed.
hon30critter Frank: Nicely done stripes! Dave
Thanks for the comment, on the stripes.....they don't call Me zstripe for nuttin'''....LOL.
I believe metallic Gold is a good choice....isn't drab looking.
hon30critter Hi Ed: Scott explained that in order to do the Dulux Gold he has to use three colours. He starts with white, then goes over that with light yellow, and the applies a "dithered" magenta half overlay. Because the letters are quite fine in detail it is difficult to get all three colours to line up perfectly. I suspect it is a limitation of his printing equipment, but I can live with the sharp metallic gold and tone it down if needed. Dave
Aha. I see.
Yup, metallic gold does look like the best choice. If you're doing this model as something from the very early part of the last century (ah, when I was a lad.....), I think it would likely have been a metallic gold, anyway. Or gold leaf.
And, harking to the original of this topic: great work on the McKeen.
"The Largest Gasoline Cars in the World are fired by Splitdorf Plugs"
Hi Mel!
Thank you for your very generous offer and for your support of my project!
Your decals look great! Having seen yours, I'm sure metallic gold will work perfectly.
I decided to bite the bullet and order the decals from Solidesigns a couple of days ago and I have already paid for the order. It was a bit pricey but when I think of it in terms of hobby enjoyment I'm ok with the cost. Just don't tell my wife!
I ordered a couple of different names so I have a choice of what to name the motor car, and I ordered a bunch of stripes since the cost for doing a more or less full page wasn't any different from doing just the number of stripes I needed.
I have visions of building a trailer for the motor car from scratch so the extra decals will allow me to finish it to match the main car.
Anyhow, thanks again for your offer. You are one of the many contributors to the forums that makes them really great!
Thanks Ed!
hon30critter Hi Mel! Thank you for your very generous offer and for your support of my project! Your decals look great! Having seen yours, I'm sure metallic gold will work perfectly. I decided to bite the bullet and order the decals from Solidesigns a couple of days ago and I have already paid for the order. It was a bit pricey but when I think of it in terms of hobby enjoyment I'm ok with the cost. Just don't tell my wife! I ordered a couple of different names so I have a choice of what to name the motor car, and I ordered a bunch of stripes since the cost for doing a more or less full page wasn't any different from doing just the number of stripes I needed. I have visions of building a trailer for the motor car from scratch so the extra decals will allow me to finish it to match the main car. Anyhow, thanks again for your offer. You are one of the many contributors to the forums that makes them really great! Dave