Why not mix the paint in the U.S. and ship it with the molds. I’m sure there must be some creative way to improve color consistency and fidelity. Maybe the importers need to take more control of the manufacturing process. I don’t see the color variation problem with other roads, e.g. UP, but then I don’t model other roads, so I don’t have a fleet to compare.
As for desirable variation, I prefer to have a consistent color base coat that I can fade, rust, or make dirty according to the age and assignment of the locomotive. That way I’m in control of the final appearance, and I don’t have to try to hide Chinese color mismatch as part of my weathering process. If you look closely at the two BLI SD-7s in the photo I posted, one is slightly darker than the other , even though they were both in the same run. The only way to have color control at this point is to buy undecorated models to paint and decal, or in the case of the blackbirds, mask and repaint the gray.
Nelson Moyer
And I've seen times when the Chinese couldn't even match their own colors. "Paint this the same color as you used on that production run." And it wouldn't match!
Nolen
Doug speaks the truth! One of the most frustrating things when I was working with Doug at Railway Classics was trying to communicate colors to the Orientals in Korea and China. Exact matches to what we sent to them was virtually impossible, and we were happy when they got close. We sent color chips, Pantone colors, photographs of the prototypes, and the results on the models was always surprise - sometimes good, sometimes not...
-----Original Message-----
From: CBQ@yahoogroups.com [mailto:CBQ@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2016 8:56 PM
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Bulk] RE: [CBQ] Variation in the Grays in the Blackbird Scheme
One of the big issues with paint color on models is that most models are now being painted in China, where the models are manufactured and assembled. In conversations with manufacture reps in the past, they have told me one of the biggest challenges with RTR has been getting the colors “right”, as the “conversation” does not seem to translate to Chinese very easily. Adding to the problem is most Chinese manufactures do not use the model paints that are available to us. They use Chinese paint, which they are mixing themselves. The paint formulas are different, so getting exact matches is difficult. So you can advocate all you want for a certain paint color, but you may get “what ever is mixed and applied by the factory”. Which I know is very frustrating for those attempting to build a large fleet.
Doug Harding