I checked the Modelflex paint list
in Walthers, and I think Doug means Light Tuscan Oxide Red. I downloaded the
Modelflex Railroad Colors pdf and the color samples don’t match my actual color
chips on a color corrected LCD monitor. I tried printing the colors of
interest, but that introduced another variable.
Pullman Green varies considerably
from Poly Scale (light) to Modelflex (dark). I think Poly Scale PRR Brunswick
Green comes pretty close to aged Copper Green (Hol’s terminology) or Bronze
Green (BRHS Data Sheet – Standard Color Schedule for Painting Structures). For
freshly painted Bronze Green, a little black added to either Modelflex Euro
Dark Green or Poly Scale Dark Green should come close to the Data Sheet color
samples.
The closest match to the Data Sheet
color sample for Indian Red is Modelflex Light Tuscan Oxide Red, based upon
comparing my color chips to the printed color sample. Interestingly, the depot
photos on the Data Sheet show a wide range of color, with the Lisle depot being
quite bright and nowhere close the color sample in color tone or shade. I find
the Data Sheet color sample for Indian Red several shades too dark for model
use.
I made color chips on primed styrene
strips for all ten of the recommended Q feight car and depot colors published
in various books and magazines. The range of colors is astounding. Some are
stock colors, mostly Floquil or Modelflex, but some are custom mixes. I also
made color chips of many freight car colors, some of which are recommended for
Q models. None of the stock colors come close to matching the Data Sheet except
Modelflex Light Tuscan Oxide Red.
I’m considering bring my color chips
to the Spring meeting for a popular vote, if that’s permissible and of general
interest. I realize that color is light dependent and in the eye of the
beholder, but it would be interesting to see how the voting turned out.
Incidentally, while looking for the
Data Sheet, I found some paint chips I liberated from the Batavia
depot, and they match exactly the paint chips from the Winfield depot. It’s
unlikely both depots were repainted since the 1950s with the same paint, so the
match is further evidence that the Winfield paint chips are indeed a prototype
color.
Nelson Moyer