When is Floquil Reefer Yellow not Reefer Yellow?

[randgust]

OK, so it's been a while since I had to restock paint.

I abandoned Floquil Solvents a long time ago, but one standby was Reefer Yellow - code 110031.  A true flat yellow, general purpose.

Polly S (not Pollyscale) had the exact same color in an acrylic.   It is apparently no longer availale.

Pollyscale Reefer Yellow (414122) looks like some kind of off-color yellow, near green, in the paint charts I see online.  Has anybody out there actually seen this paint to tell me if it is a mistake on the chip or if they really did completely change the formula definition between solvent and Polyscale reefer yellow?    I just want to come at least darn close to the original Polly S reefer yellow and I'm 90 miles away from a hobby shop to look at an actual sample.

[Scottl]

I have a bottle of the PS Reefer Yellow and it definitely is yellow!  It is a few years old now, maybe five.

[randgust]

Here's the color chart I was looking at that resulted in the 'WHAT??????' reaction:

http://www.megahobby.com/productimages/flo/PSM414.JPG

You'll see the yellowish/greenish thing called 'reefer yellow' and I'm just hoping that's wrong.

[Kisatchie]

Here's the color chart I was looking at that resulted in the 'WHAT??????' reaction:

http://www.megahobby.com/productimages/flo/PSM414.JPG

Hmm... they dare to call
that a color chart...?

[Dave Schneider]

Interesting question. The Milwaukee Road Orange and Maroon have always looked just awful on this chart, but not so bad in reality. Sorry that I don't have any experience to comment on how the reefer yellow looks once applied.

Best wishes, Dave

[Scottl]

I never use the charts.  I go look at it at the LHS and decide there.

[peteski]

I agree, offset printed charts or online color chart images are totally useless.  The only good color charts were made with actual paint chips. I still have some of those (bought in the 1980s).

[PGE_Modeller]

And, if you download the online colour chart and then print a hard copy, it gets even worse because yuo have introduced printer variability into the equation.  Don't ask how I discovered this to be true.

By the way, Randy, the PollySCALE reefer yellow that I have used looks fine to me.  Unfortunately, I don't have a sample of original Floquil reefer yellow for comparison.

Cheers,

[randgust]

Thanks all..!  Well, if it's still basic yellow, I should be good.  That's a truly horrible color chart, but the other yellows look relatively normal.

Like I said, I have to order sight unseen or drive a looooong way.   Neither 'hobby shop' that's nearer to me stock any Floquil at all.

[SkipGear]

Testors factory site color chip isn't much better.... UGH.

http://www.testors.com/product/0/F414122/_/Reefer_Yellow_PollyScale_-_1_oz._Bottle

It certainly isn't that color at all.

[peteski]

Testors factory site color chip isn't much better.... UGH.

http://www.testors.com/product/0/F414122/_/Reefer_Yellow_PollyScale_-_1_oz._Bottle

It certainly isn't that color at all.

You are correct!  Like it has been mentioned couple of times: don't trust online images for accurate color representation. 

[bill pearce]

Never depend on an image on a monitor, unless it has been calibrated. For you non-photographers, that's why what you print out never matches the monitor image. To do so is easy, but the gadget and software to do it is more expensive than the average model railroader will spend.

[SkipGear]

You are correct!  Like it has been mentioned couple of times: don't trust online images for accurate color representation. 

This is beyond "accurate representation". A couple shades off is what I expect, not a completely different color. The color shown is tan, almost Depot Buff. I think they have the color chips just flat messed up on their site. TTX yellow uses the same color chip. Then again, our display rack at the shop had to be "adjusted". The color chip for B&O Blue was red. The color chip for Steam Power black was green. I took a bottle of each color and painted over the incorrect chip just to help our guy to be able to restock properly when we ran out.

BTW - I contacted testors to see what they say about the "fail" on the color chart.

[randgust]

Yeah, that tannish/buff/greenish is exactly what I meant.   I'm used to colors being 'off' on online representations, heck, I can go from monitor to monitor and get that myself.  I have an old 300-lb IBM P70 CRT on my prime machine that does just an excellent job of color rendition, it was about the best in its day - all you need is a generator to power it and a reinforced desk.   I'm going to have to retire it someday, but it's hard to top for rendition.

But yeah, this one is WAY off. 

Another one that seems to have actually drifted is Roof Brown.  The current color isn't the same color as the original Floquil Roof Brown; I have stuff painted in the 70's and the current shade isn't even close, it's lighter and less red.   

There's also a lot of solvent-based Floquil colors that have dissapeared that were actually useful even if they had a limited following.   Anybody but me remember "LMS Crimson"?   That was my preferred red brick color for years and it's no longer made.   Another one is the original Amtrak Red that ran rather orange; it's the right color to match decals and it appears to be extinct.

[jnevis]

Around here I've only found one shop that even carries any MRR paint, and it probably hasn't been rotated in a decade or more so you can imagine the condition.