This is always a hard question. You can probably rationalize that one unit is slightly older and has been faded by the sun - they both look good! I have used Polly Scale C&O Enchantment Blue, and it looks like paint that has had a little fade factor from the sun - then again, we've been told over the years that the smaller the scale you're painting, the more you need to add a light gray or even white to help lighten up the paint. I repainted a GP-9 in Polly Scale, but didn't think it looked "new" enough, so then I re-painted it with Badger Model Flex 16-115 Midnight Blue - now it looks how I wanted it originally - fresh from the factory. My brother-in-law has used Floquil C&O Enchantment Blue (270-414260) in HO and it looks good. Scalecoat has C&O Blue ( Scalecoat I 640-10912; II 640-20912), and what's cool is that it comes in a spray can - 640-10916. For yellow I use Badger Model Flex 16-68 C&O Yellow, and have found that regular old Testors Yellow in the spray can ain't too far off. Some guys say that Floquil reefer Yellow (270-414122) is the way to go or Scalecoat II Reefer Yellow (640-20152).
I dont follow the logic of adding something to lighten the colors in the smaller scale. I will try the scalecoat spray paint also. Thanks Tim.
I first heard about lightening paint more the smaller the scale is from forums and magazines (like Fine Scale Modeler) many years ago when I was active in building aircraft and military models. I guess the theory is that smaller scales tend towards a phenomenon of appearing darker when using the same paint - so a 1/48th scale F9 Panther looks really good using a FED specdeep sea blue, but sure enough, when I used it on a 1/72nd scale Panther it did appear too dark. Guess we need an optical engineer to weigh in on why...
The left unit looks more correct to me. If I think about it, most photos of this scheme I've seen are from the Chessie era, so maybe they were significantly faded by that time. It's also the lettering, though. The darker unit's lettering, both the C&O and the number, is smaller than I expected. Or is that a real-life variation?
They both look like they could pass for C&O blue, however the unit on the right is more correct for a prototype that had a more recent paintjob.
Either unit is correct..Enchantment Blue had a tenancy to fade after a year in the weather. Also remember that the paint may have come from 2 different suppliers and may not always be a match.. I can never understand why modelers worry more about paint then the C&O did..I know some B&O units that was painted Enchantment Blue..Of course these was former C&O units that retained their C&O looks and numbers..These units was simply relettered B&O.
C&O Blue vs B&O Blue What is the difference in the C&O blue and the B&O blue? Which one is darker, etc.? (I think the C&O blue appears darker than the CSX blue, but I digress.) Any preferred paint for these two colors? Thanks for the help. Good thread here on the discussion of the C&O Enchantment Blue.
