I have a N-Scale BLW / Legacy Kato SD-40 painted in the blue 1966-1970 scheme with the half-moon or "hamburger" herald. I love this scheme; i also have two Atlas GP-9's with torpedo tubes, a Life-Like GP-18 and SD-7 in the same blue '60's lettering and paint scheme. The SD-40 blue is lighter than the others, they seem to be too dark of a blue compared to the SD-40. I had the Gary District of N&W run through just 3 miles south of my house in the day (former Wabash 4th District), now abandoned. The blue diesels that i saw back then seemed to be much closer to my Legacy SD-40 than the other models. Do any of you people who model this era of the N&W know the correct paint scheme or the correct modeling paint/ paint mixture i could use? Thanks in advance,berkmeister.
Correct? As delivered the blue was very dark. Over time the paint faded, severely in some cases. Here's some guidance from the N&W Historical Society: http://www.nwhs.org/qna/tuscan_pelvar.html Other snippets from the N&W HS mailing list: "There exists an absolute perfect match for N&W's Pevlar Blue. It's "Model Master" (Testor) Blue Angel Blue. I've been using a special mix that is the original color used by N&W which is from a 1959 Ford Truck color. But I've found the Model Master's Blue Angel Blue matches Pevlar Blue to perfection!!! Dave Hahn" "I just use Floquil "dark blue." Considering all the problems with subjective viewing and fading, this looks as good as anything else. Jim Nichols" Mark
Thank you, N&W. I guess Gino Pranzo, who did all the custom painting for BLW through his Steel Rail Lines / Legacy Models, was quite aware of that dark blue paint fading quick too!!! berkmeister
Yeah, here's a good example of two blue units together, one having been painted more recently: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=281528&nseq=62 Mark
My dad actually had a quite extensive collection of Diesel Era magazines he used for reference. Alternatively he also had just about every line A-Z's reference books. Most of the photos were road units, so the usual wear and tear were photographed. Most units displayed faded paint, so he adjusted his paint mix accordingly.
Always depends on the paint and exposure to the elements. No two paint batches ever match and act differently. Yes, the top is always the first to get bleached regardless due to its constant exposure each face (cowl sides, nose, tail) of the unit spends less
I always thought that preserved unit looked unusual. The blue is very bright, and even on the bottom, it's not as dark as I'm used to. If you try to match it, you won't get anything like the look of photos I've seen from that era. Even faded N&W blue was still a dull color.
