Large Scale Central

Prototype Paint Colors

Modeling
#1

Hey,

So I was thinking about my up coming St. Maries River Railroad GP-9 build. I was thinking about paint. When I was doing the STMA in HO I came across a website that had various paint formulas for different prototypes. I was able to find a website that compiled four lists that included the paint formula I was looking for. I figured I would pass it on.

http://railfonts.com/Reference/Floquil_Master.html

I now when I was doing the HO I found the STMA colors to be pretty well spot on.

It includes so generic colors for weathering and some for various Russian Iron (planished ?)

#2

The suits had their color charts, and the guys in the paint shops had what was on hand. Once the job hit the sun, all bets were off, anyway. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)Its too bad Floquil is not made any more.

#3

Steve,

I was totally unaware of the loss of Floquil and polyscale. That’s a bitch. I don’t believe I have enough left from HO days to do the geep. Guess I will have to see if I can acquire some or I will have to get to work on some formulas.

Not happy. . . not happy at all (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-yell.gif)

I agree that there was what the suits wanted and what the shop guys actually used but in STMA’s defense they were, at least in the beginning, pretty proud of their paint jobs and the colors all matched and were well kept. They couldn’t do anything about sun and oxidation so your right on that account.

#4

Anyone play with the Badger Model Flex line of RR paints? They have the colors I need to reproduce the Floquil/Poly Scale formula so long as their colors are close to what Testors was.

#5

I have been a big fan of Scalecoat paints for years, their selection of prototype colors is smaller than Floquil but I like the fact that they come in larger bottles. Most colors are gloss so they are ready for decals when dry, no gloss coat needed. They are slower drying but that gives them time to settle and even out if your application is less than perfect. Only down side is they are a bit harder to find, I had to go to Walthers the last time I need some. Be sure to get Scalecoat II for plastics, Scalecoat I is designed for metals and can be baked on for a really durable finish. I did this on a number of HO brass engines and was really pleased with the results. The GP-7 in the photo below was painted with Scalecoat II Lackawanna colors.

#6

Devon, I just used Model Flex Flat black on my Accucraft hoppers and I liked the paint. I thinned it just shy of 50% for the airbrush and it worked great. I can’t speak to color matching of the series though since this was my first painting foray.

Gary Buchanan said:

Most colors are gloss so they are ready for decals when dry, no gloss coat needed.

Gary, this scares me a bit. I’m very much a novice when it comes to painting and decaling. I recently used the above mentioned Model Flex flat black to paint my hoppers and then applied dry transfer decals directly over top. Is the gloss paint only needed for water transfer decals, or would this be required for dry transfers as well? Since I’m already derailing Devon’s thread I’ll ask one more question. Should I seal the dry transfers too? I know sealing is a must with the water transfer style.

#7

I’ve used Tru Color and like it , worked great to match what MTH thought UP armor yellow was. Seems Aristo/USA and them all had their own ideas about the right color. Even UP could not get it right. Saw two engines in a consist and their yellows were not even close! Guess the shop did what they want, like Steve said.

#8

Gary Buchanan said:

I have been a big fan of Scalecoat paints for years, their selection of prototype colors is smaller than Floquil but I like the fact that they come in larger bottles. Most colors are gloss so they are ready for decals when dry, no gloss coat needed. They are slower drying but that gives them time to settle and even out if your application is less than perfect. Only down side is they are a bit harder to find, I had to go to Walthers the last time I need some. Be sure to get Scalecoat II for plastics, Scalecoat I is designed for metals and can be baked on for a really durable finish. I did this on a number of HO brass engines and was really pleased with the results. The GP-7 in the photo below was painted with Scalecoat II Lackawanna colors.

Scalecoat was a product of Weaver Quality Craft Models, which closed back at the end of June, 2015. Most of their molds were sold to various manufacturers. Scalecoat was sold to MinuteMan Scale Models. I suspect that the quality will remain the same, but time will tell.

#9

Randy,

I can’t speak to anything other than wet decals, but the reason I apply them on a gloss coat is that it blends the edges of the decal into the paint. The decal paper is shiny and so is the paint so the noticeable edge is hidden better. You then spray over the decal and the gloss paint with a flat or “dull” coat. I learned this the hard way by applying decals over a flat coat once; even after shooting with a dull coat the edges were noticeable. I then switched to spraying at least the area I want to apply a decal with a gloss clear and then apply the decal and then dull coat. Much better results. One thing i can say makes a difference in wet decals is the paper used. Stan Cederleaf uses a very thin paper and using the gloss under dull you cant really even tell where the edge of the decal is.

Now I have no idea about dry transfer.

#10

I really wont be that picky as long as it is close. The one thing with STMA is they don’t have that much equipment so keeping it all the same color really must not be an issue as they really do all match pretty well. But I really don’t care if i get the exact right color. as long as it is believably close. The big thing with them is the Red Oxide they use I never could find a color that matched well. I even printed out the color chart and went down and held it up to the real deal to find something close. So its the Red Oxide that I am worried about. the White is a generic Reefer White. And i used Poly Scale CSX blue for the blue even though there was a formula for it. Holding up the paint chart showed the CSX blue to be close enough. If i find a red that is close enough I will run with it.

#11

You could even try to mix your own Red Oxide, if you like a line of paints other than one color they don’t have. Mix a bunch of small batches keeping track of the ratio Like one ounce of red to 3 drops of brown. You might get one that comes close. Just keep the recipe for any time you’re lucky enough to be finishing another model.

That’s kind of what I though about the decals. With the dry transfers there is no backing once it has been transferred to the model. You cut them out, place them backing up and rub on with a blunt object. Very easy and no visible edge. The transfer is very thin. I goggled and found an article saying dry transfers don’t need to be sealed but you may want to if they will be handled a lot.

#12

The red oxide primer in the rattle can from either Krylon or Rustoleum should be close enough for gummint work, dontcha think?

St Maries River Railroad on the move…

#13

To my eye the Red Oxide available in rattle cans is to dark and two red. I am using the red oxide rattle can from krylon on my wooden box cars

 

STMA's red is lighter and more orange

 

Maybe I am to picky, lol. I am also red green color blind so that doesn't help.

#14

Tuscan Red, used popularly on a lot of roads for their empty/fill rolling stock, is more of a brown/red than a true red. Of course, there are exceptions where a line will use a true red as part of their paint scheme.

#15

The CSX blue isn’t quite right either so I should just go get krylon that is close and call it good. After all its only a diesel its not like anything you do to it will make it pretty…

#16

Baiting the stupid to run out from under the couch and bark, eh Devon? Shame! Shame! Shame!

#17

Randy, dry transfers are best applied over a matt surface. this gives the transfer something to “bite” into. Some people recommend a flat surface, but I find that flat paints can sometimes be a bit rough, and that makes the lettering a bit rough looking. Sealing them will help prevent damage and discolouration from handling, but you have to be careful. Some clear and flat coats can cause some dry transfers to bubble up, creep or run, and many clear coats actually have a slight brown tint to them. That tint will change the colour of the lettering.

#18

Andrew Moore said:

Baiting the stupid to run out from under the couch and bark, eh Devon? Shame! Shame! Shame!

Who??? Me…(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-innocent.gif)

#19

Gary Buchanan said:

I have been a big fan of Scalecoat paints for years, their selection of prototype colors is smaller than Floquil but I like the fact that they come in larger bottles. Most colors are gloss so they are ready for decals when dry, no gloss coat needed. They are slower drying but that gives them time to settle and even out if your application is less than perfect. Only down side is they are a bit harder to find, I had to go to Walthers the last time I need some. Be sure to get Scalecoat II for plastics, Scalecoat I is designed for metals and can be baked on for a really durable finish. I did this on a number of HO brass engines and was really pleased with the results. The GP-7 in the photo below was painted with Scalecoat II Lackawanna colors.

Gary,

I just offered Randy a tip for shooting mutiple colors and getting sharp crisp lines. I was wondering what you technique is for shooting two tones or stripes next to one another and getting sharp lines with no bleed under the masking.

#20

This was my one and only mainline diesel paint job. In this case all the areas to be painted yellow were sprayed first, when dry the stripes and masked using a vinyl striping tape, time was spent to make certain that the tape was burnished down. Due to the height of some of the detail this needed to cover a tight seal was not always possible. The lettering and numbers were done in vinyl and applied over the yellow as well. After the other two colors were on and dry the tape was removed. In spite of my best efforts I still had a bit of bleed under but nothing a little touch up wouldn’t fix. The advantage in doing it this way was two fold, it only required one piece of tape to mask the stripes and I find it way easier to paint dark colors over light. Painting the yellow over the maroon would probably required multiple coats of yellow. For masking between the two main colors I use kabuki tape, its a thin tape sold for masking models that is more flexible than regular masking tape and has a lower tack adhesive so it less likely to pull up and paint under it that may not well adhered. I use this for the edges and fill in the large areas with painters tape. Taking the time to burnish down the edges is the key to less bleed under problems.