Any ideas for a reasonable match

Yes, that old chestnut again exclam:

Having bought a couple of AC locomotives in RES livery, I would like to repaint them in something resembling Rail Blue.

Halfords VW Pargas Blue from the old RAF Kinloss list doesn't exist any more, and although Railmatch or Phoenix / Precision are an option, the postage to get them is to say the least excessive.

I don't have (and am not going to get) an airbrush, so it's either brush application or an aerosol.

Halfords currently list 80 shades of blue and I can't believe one of them isn't a reasonable match, or does someone know of something else available to purchase in the local high street (if it still exists)?

I could make myself look a total twit and take one of my Hornby Locos to the local Halfords to try and match the lid on a car spray can, but if I remember correctly the lids were notoriously inaccurate in displaying the colour of what was actually in the can.

Maybe that's changed.

They are also unlikely to stock that many of the available shades of blue in every branch.

So has anyone found a Halfords car spray can or something else that gives a reasonable match?


Ed

Take a trip to your local model shop Ed and take a loco with you. Tamiya and others do a whole range of acrylic colours and amongst them you will probably find what you need. Also Humbrol still do a range of rail colours and I think there is a Rail Blue in that range.

Unfortunately Mick, my local model shop is only interested in Warhammer (or whatever you call it).

They pay lip service to Hornby and Peco but stock next to nothing.

When I did manage to hobble in there just before Christmas asking for Evergreen Styrene strip, the young chap went out the back and returned with an old cardboard box with a just a few old bits of various makes in. Nothing suitable, although he did say the rep was due in after Christmas.

Ed

Halfords used to do a colour matching service where you took a sample in and they could scan it and provide you with a spray can matched, but not sure if they still do it.

Any way, I have this list from an old post on another forum, it may be of use. But I think it may be the one you already have.

Any roof grey   Halford's plastic bumper
MR/LMS/BR red   Rover damask red
GWR/BR loco green   Rover Brooklands green
GWR/BR loco green   Ford laurel green
BR diesel light green band   Ford highland green
BR coach carmine   Ford rosso red
BR coach cream   Vauxhall gazelle beige
BR coach cream (well worn)   Peugeot antelope beige
BR diesel blue   VW Pargas blue
BR steam loco blue   Peugeot royal blue
BR loco yellow warning panel   Vauxhall mustard yellow
LNER garter blue/BR diesel blue, but slightly more blue   Ford fjord blue, less green
LNER garter blue   VW Pargas blue
LMS Coronation Blue    Rover Pageant mid-blue
Stanier Coronation blue   Peugeot royal blue
GWR or Pullman coach brown   Rover russet brown
GWR coach cream   Rover Primula yellow
SR dark olive green   Land Rover Coniston green
LNWR/LYR coach plum lower panels   Daewoo dark red
LNWR coach bluey-white upper panels   Daewoo Casablanca white
CR steam loco   Peugeot royal blue
SDJR blue   Rover midnight blue
CR dark blue   Rover midnight blue
Stroudley LBSCR ochre   BMC tan
LBSCR umber   Vauxhall Brazil brown
N.Staffs maroon   Vauxhall Gambia red
NER coach red   Vauxhall Gambia red
LYR coach upper panels   Plastikote nut brown

Can't say I've heard of anyone finding a suitable rattle can of "rail blue".  I was going to suggest Railmatch but I see you've already been bitten by the postage bug there.

Shame really as I find it's the best.  I even managed to get a pot all the way to Australia by dint of it being bubble-wrapped inside a shoe inside a 30-kilogram bag of clothes!

That's all, or in part, the RAF Kinloss list Andy.

It shows it's age, doubt you can get Rover Brooklands green either nowadays.

Had a look at our local Hobbycraft who do sell Humbrol, but not the Acrylic Rail Colours range.

Humbrol don't do Rail Blue as such anyway, nearest I guess is RC411 Diesel Blue Matt.


Ed

From Phoenix precision paints a can of aerosol is £8 plus £5 pp, I need one for my class 117 project so would be interested in other options

Shame your so far north Ed, or I would be tempted to order two cans, then split the cost of the PP

Just 'bugs' me that the PP costs are so high for one item, although I know why.

I might have to 'bite the bullet' at some point and order either Phoenix or Railmatch, but in the meantime I found this yesterday.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Reeves-Acrylic-Paint-75ml-Tube-Craft-Artist-Art-Painting-Brush-/360973169551?var=630316988891

Might be totally useless, but I thought it worth a try.

Allegedly Phthalo blue is another name for Monastral Blue, which is Rail Blue :???:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalocyanine_Blue_BN

We'll see.


Ed

Think biting the bullet is the only way, having to do it my self, as a can of it is going to be so useful

If you Google 'BS 381C 114 Rail Blue' you should be able to find a supplier of custom filled aerosols, probably no cheaper than the rest but if there's somone local you may be able to call in and get one done.
Example below….not tried it just to give you an idea…
BS381C Custom Filled Aerosol 400ml - Express Paints

Thanks for the link Mark.

Had a quick look around and there's nothing local to me, and in general the paint cost and postage especially is more than Phoenix or Railmatch.

Bit daft for such a basic paint colour :shock:

Ed

wonder if there is a preseved line near you? might just be lucky and find some there,,,
:thumbs;-):cool:
Owen

[user=1681]Silver Fox[/user] wrote:

wonder if there is a preseved line near you? might just be lucky and find some there,,,
:thumbs;-):cool:
Owen

That's a good idea Owen.

Even if they don't have paint suitable for plastic models, somebody there might know someone who has.

Thanks for that :thumbs


Ed

Hi Ed,

Try http://www.riolettcustomaerosols.co.uk/ for custom paint mixes. If you have the code for the VW blue they will mix it. If you have the Pantone code for rail blue they will mix that as well. Same for the RAL code system. See below. Full matt to full gloss and a range of different hardness's. Free postage on orders over £25.00. £9.99 a can.

Rail Blue is I believe Ocean blue (Monastral blue), RAL 5020. It's what the 12" to the foot people use. Check out the Preserved Diesel web forum http://www.preserved-diesels.co.uk) for lots more on Rail Blue, there are light and dark versions.

Nigel

Hello Ed.

Have a look at this website.  Hold your loco up to the screen and click on the blue colour in the vertical bar.  The coloured square will then turn blue.  Click on the square and move the cursor around until you get a colour which matches your loco.  Next click on the panel showing 'Show matching paint' and you will get a list of all the model paints which are a close match to the colour you selected.

Hope it helps.

Terry

http://scalemodeldb.com/paint

Hi Terry,

Not advisable. Screen colors are highly variable, best to go with the Pantone or RAL color code if you want an exact as possible match.

Nigel

Thanks Nigel, that's a similar link to the one Mark posted.

There seem to be a few of these custom paint suppliers around charging around £10-£11 for a 400ml aerosol can, but unfortunately none near me which means postage costs of around £6-£7.

Note to Aaron: Phoenix Precision Paints are putting their prices up in February, so their 150ml aerosol will go up to £9.

The artists acrylic that should have arrived by Tuesday, didn't turn up. I chased the supplier via eBay and although I asked for the paint and not a refund, within five minutes I got a refund with no explanation 

I've re-ordered the acrylic, which doesn't incur such high postage changes as it's in a poly-bottle rather than a tin or aerosol, from a different supplier.

Thanks for that link Terry (nice to see you posting again). As Nigel says, depending on the screen the colour might get a bit distorted. However what I want is a reasonable match with the two Hornby locos I already have, which is not necessarily exactly Rail Blue anyway, so I'll dig one out of it's box in the cold garage and give it a go to see what it comes up with.


Ed

Ed, although I'm a great fan of Phoenix Precision Paints, I am very wary of their aerosols.  I have had a couple of instances where the aerosol has ceased to work, albeit that it was still full of paint. Cleaning the nozzle had no effect. Is it just me and is everyone else getting on fine with them?

Why don't you want an airbrush Ed?

Terry

PS Thanks for your comment Ed.  Nice to be back.

Hi Terry.

Re: Airbrush:

Mainly cost (for a good one) and somewhere to store it when not in use.

It would also be a large outlay on a very limited budget for something that wouldn't get a lot of use.

Note you comment about Phoenix aerosols and I've had that happen with other aerosol paints in the past.

Even more annoying if you've bought one of these 400ml cans and paid mega-bucks for postage.

I'm waiting for the acrylic to turn up and I'll test it using brush application.

As long as it's a reasonable match and I don't get brush marks (less likely with acrylics ?), I'll be happy enough.


Ed