British Columbia Railway livery colours?

No, there isn't. Start with a colour cards from the paint suppliers, buy the colours closest to what you think they should be, plus white, grey, black, and the earth colours. Then have fun mixing them... ;-).

Following the mixing instructions of the paint manufacturer etc. Apart from that, this is the best advice I ever got:

a) make sure you have the same lighting in your painting area as you have on your layout; b) keep precise records of colour mixes; c) use a primer as a basecoat for the whole model; d) test your colour mixes on test patches of primer applied to the same materials as the model (and label every patch.)

And a general aesthetic rule: Consistency of colours is more important than correctness;

Well, the whole thing looks too pale to me, but that's probably just my monitor. The livery is very pleasant.

[Hey, that was a FAST answer!]

The problem is, I don't have a layout (only some modules, so there's no guaranteed lighting).

An idea I have is to use as a color guide the cover of the (wonderful!) "British Columbia Railway" by J.F.Garden, which is printed in this two-tone green scheme.

I remember that some companies were offering particular colours (e.g. "BN Green", "UP yellow", etc.), so I hoped for a ready-made BCR mix.

Hmm, the locomotive is already painted. Should I paint-strip the locomotive before I start painting? I have no idea about the risks associated with Roco plastic locomotives.

I have uploaded a photo from an Ebay seller, to give you an idea of the current paint scheme, at

For a read-to-run model, that advice will be a bit hard to follow...

I suppose this means in practice "mix enough colour, so you can paint the whole locomotive in one go without re-mixing".

Thanks for your kind words. Note that I made my designs on a CRT monitor, with the brightness towards very dark (if you use a flat monitor, lower the brightness, or use 'text mode').

I have made some more designs, inspired by various prototypes (can you guess which ones? :-) ). Look at the following samples:

Cheers, N.Fotis

Yes - there is a ready-made mix available for the greens. The BCR light and dark green paints are custom produced by Scalecoat for the CN LInes SIG. Items #100-30 and 100-31.

Well, just use the lighting _yiou_ have, and take your chances at exhibitions. Or you could add lights mounted above the backscene, with reflectors aiming the light down onto your modules. that way you will some control, since such lighting will modify the ambient light in the exhibition hall.

Search on British Columbia railway images, and you will find quite a few. They will give a pretty good idea of the variation due to weathering, as well as effects of light (sunshine vs overcast, etc).

Unfortunately not.

Well, it does help to strip the model but it's not essential. I have found that sometimes th lettering is thick enough to show under the new paint.

Well, keep in mind that model paints are somewhat translucent, so that the colours underneath them will affect the colour that you perceive. That's why an overspray of primer is advisable. A light coat is enough, it doesn't have to totally cover the existing paint.

Er, ready to run these days is styrene plastic. Prime a sheet, mask off the test patches.

I had in mind using the same colour mix every time. Slight variations are OK, since weathering fades all paint.

I prefer the solid colour liveries, with horizontal stripes a close second. Those diagonal swatches do not turn my crank. ;-) But all the liveries suit the locomotive very well. What's your aim? Modelling an alternate universe?

Cheers,

I have already the book itself, which is a 'good enough' (I suppose, never been in the Americas). A JPEG on a uncalibrated monitor isn't a very safe guide, I suspect. Another idea I had: to buy an Atlas C420 in BCR paint scheme and use it as a reference?

On another message in this thread, another poster mentioned a custom-made Scalecoat mix (sounds excellent). Any caveats about using Scalecoat paints?

So, I may try some brake fluid and experiment a bit? (I am a bit leery...) Another idea is using vinegar (does it work in stripping paint?)

Now, about the white stripes: would you suggest making a custom decal, or try to do it with masking tape? Since I said 'custom decals', which paper/printer combination would you suggest? The basic backgrounds are white and transparent. (I am a Linux user, if that helps to limit the multiplicity of options :-) ).

I noticed an interesting pattern on a BCR nose (don't remember the original site, sorry):

would you implement such a painting on the nose? White stripes on transparent decal paper sounds like the easiest way to do it.

Despite me being a fan of science fiction and alternate history, the 'alternate universe' idea didn't cross my mind :-) Maybe I like to play 'what if' paint scenarios, and I am VERY curious to see how these paint schemes look in a three-dimensional object...

Cheers, N.Fotis

[...]

They are solvent-based paints, so you can't use them on bare plastic, and you should beware of breathing the fumes. Apart from that, they are very good. Go to

for more information on Can. RR paints, and lots of info about CNR.

[...]

Not as far as I know. Try isopropyl alcohol to remove the lettering, it's usually ink not paint. You can also usually erase lettering with a hard eraser, or with a fiberglass eraser. I have not tried brake fluid, but it's supposed to work.

Depends. Some decal straight stripes are available from various sources in various colours and widths.

I've never made my own decals, so can't advise you.

I've never done this, but the articles about painting diagonal stripes on engines all mention masking tape. BTW, use painter's tape, not ordinary masking tape. It's blue or green, and has less tack than ordinary tape, which means it's less likely to lift the paint.

"What if" is a common approach to layout design. Even the prototype modellers do it. ;-)

Hello again,

Another Canadian modeler proposed that I use these ModelMasters/Testors colours:

Pale Green FS34227 Green FS34079

Are these a good match?

I suspect these will be easier with my A470 airbrush, compared to a first test with Vallejo Air paints.

I will try to visit our local push...er dealer and take a peek at a printed colour guide by the end of the week.

I asked Central Hobbies for a quote about the CN Lines SIG custom Scalecoat paints, but it seems they cannot ship solvent-based paints outside the Americas :-( (Scalecoat code: #100-30 and 100-31).

Still searching, but I think I'll manage it ;-)

Cheers, N.Fotis

Hmm, nothing new (yet).

I went to local shops, but these Modelmasters colours are available.

One dealer suggested the Gunze Sangyo H319 and H309 acrylics, are these a good match for the FS34227 and FS34079 codes?

I know the Modelmaster colours are enamels. The availability of these is very sparse (a central dealer in Athens when asked when he'll restock from this range, he replied 'from September'...)

Cheers, N.F.