Trying to match Athearn boxcar red

[bbussey]

Does anyone have a paint mixture for matching Athearn’s boxcar red?  I’ve modernized this N&W PS1 boxcar by removing the roofwalk, and adding a wire roof grab iron, MTL Ajax brakewheel ans an etched brake platform. I need to repaint the roof and A-end to match the stock body paint.



EDIT: red primer pic removed.

[nkalanaga]

On my screen it looks very much like Scalecoat II #2  "Oxide Red", but computer screens are notorious for inaccurate colors.

[bbussey]

The modified areas of the body are primed in oxide red primer.  The color I'm attempting to match is the paint in the top photo and the paint on the floor/underframe.

Scalecoat oxide red may be close. They have an N&W boxcar red also but I doubt Athearn was that specific. I sent an inquiry to Athearn tech support, hopefully they will have an answer.

[wazzou]

Vallejo German Red Primer?

[bbussey]

I’m trying to match the stock Athearn color, not the primer color on the modified body.

[sd45elect2000]

Matching colors is a pain. Last time maybe 3 weeks ago, I ordered ALL of the shades from Tru Color. Wasn't cheap but I did find a match to some ancient MRC boxcars. The cars had some damage on them, so I installed new roofwalks from Plano, new sill steps, new brake wheels and new end ladders. The match was good enough that I didn't feel the need to slather on weathering. I painted each shade on strips of styrene primed with black and made the match that way. I think it was over 20 different boxcar shades.

Randy

[wazzou]

I’m trying to match the stock Athearn color, not the primer color on the modified body.

The only reason I mentioned the primer I did is that it’s just about a spot on match for Northern Pacific Metallic Brown which doesn’t appear to dissimilar from the N&W color.

[bbussey]

The only reason I mentioned the primer I did is that it’s just about a spot on match for Northern Pacific Metallic Brown which doesn’t appear to dissimilar from the N&W color.

I’ll explore the option. Thanks.

[bbussey]

Athearn’s response to my query on the paint color they used for the model:

Our factory uses a proprietary color system and paints that are not available in the United States. Unfortunately, there is not a paint on the market our team is aware of that matches factory produced models.

So, not based on the prototype and it will require trial and error to match. They get some credit for responding quickly at least.

[Sokramiketes]

Athearn’s response to my query on the paint color they used for the model:

Our factory uses a proprietary color system and paints that are not available in the United States. Unfortunately, there is not a paint on the market our team is aware of that matches factory produced models.

So, not based on the prototype and it will require trial and error to match. They get some credit for responding quickly at least.

Did you ask what paint they used, or what paint they used "as a color sample"?

I think that's two different questions.  They seam to have given you the response for the paint the factory uses, which is a typical response from most manufacturers in China.  Now, Athearn's color sample library is probably large and has a long history, so they may not be able to answer the other question either. 

I'm not sure where the "not based on the prototype" conclusion comes from in their response though. 

[amato1969]

Lots of good choices if you are comfy with Vallejo Model Air @bbussey :

https://acrylicosvallejo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/CC071-Model_Air-Rev20-baja.pdf

  Frank

[thomasjmdavis]

Are any of the Model Air paints gloss colors?  One of the major problems with matching is the degree of gloss- and that a flat paint that seems a perfect match will change hue when give a gloss overcoat. (I am thinking both in terms of trying to match the color of the model, which appears semi-gloss in the photo in the OP, and in terms of needing a gloss surface for decals).

That said, I am a fan of the Vallejo Model Air products.  I do wish that someone would put together an equivalency chart  for Vallejo paints to railroad colors.

[peteski]

That said, I am a fan of the Vallejo Model Air products.  I do wish that someone would put together an equivalency chart  for Vallejo paints to railroad colors.

Railroad colors were not generally used by other industries (like military) and are usually not some standard generic colors.  So I doubt any Vallejo colors could be directly matched to any railroad colors.  The seem to cater to military modelers.  It also depends on how close is "close enough" color match to you.

And even when some company produces colors designed to represent the 1:1 railroad colors, there are often color variations between various model paint manufactures. Many don't match the official 1:1 color chips or formulas  (if those even still exist). Color matching IMO is *NEVER* an exact science unless you are able to acquire the actual paint with which the model itself was painted.

Having said that, I have many times successfully matched color (came close in sheen) to a pre-painted model's color. I attempted multiple mixes and sometimes took dozen's of tries (on a scrap piece of plastic until I got a good match). It can be a tedious process and good lighting is important. If the matching color will be applied to some small detail (not the smooth surface of the model), the exact match is not really needed. Close enough will work.

[bbussey]

Did you ask what paint they used, or what paint they used "as a color sample"?

I think that's two different questions.  They seam to have given you the response for the paint the factory uses, which is a typical response from most manufacturers in China.  Now, Athearn's color sample library is probably large and has a long history, so they may not be able to answer the other question either. 

I'm not sure where the "not based on the prototype" conclusion comes from in their response though.

I asked what the body color was.  They clearly are not motivated to reveal that information.  It won't prevent going through the process of mixing/matching existing pallets to get a good result.  As Randy noted, Tru-Color has multiple freight car reds where it should be possible to match the Athearn color via mixing if not with a standard Tru-Color item.