Help Me Choose A Paint Scheme

[choochin3]

Hello Fellow Modelers,
Like the title sez,I need some help coming up with a paint scheme for my fictional railroad,the Cape James Terminal.
I was thinking of a Penn Central inspired scheme of black,with a jade green stripe along the cab bottom,and alongside the carbody.
Turns out I can't get white decals in the PC style.
So can youse guys help a brotha out?
Oh,these units are old Bachmann,and Atlas locos so the're going to be the test subjects.

Many Thanks,

[ljudice]

That new Atlas Hudson Bay SD50 reminds me there are not too many green/gold  or green/silver combinations out there...

Where is Cape James? a lot of times schemes for shortlines are based on local or state color themes, local school/sports schemes, etc...

Another possibility is to take a couple of models of appropriate locos - from former owners - and just paintout (using Microscale trimfilm) the logos, names and just imply they will get painted someday when the rr has the funds for such an extravagance....

[choochin3]

Well the CJT are my families initals,as for a timeset,I'm thinking early 70's.

[tom mann]

Carl,

One thing I forgot to mention:  Ink Jet and Laser colors are transparent, but Black isn't.  So, you could have black lettering over a darker colored paint scheme. 

I like the idea of having a bunch of equipment patched out, a la PC and CR.  Good variety.

[Brakie]

Cape James Terminal.Nice sounding name that has a nice ring to it.


Here's what  I picture..      

A black hood,yellow frame and pilots with yellow lettering.
--------------

I don't know why but,I also picture a Baldwin S12 as its motive power.

[up1950s]

Keep it simple or suffer . Make color breaks at disassembly lines , like hood , cab , and sill . Ed K has a good eye , fixed up my W&LG with a red stripe . I think he had a bigger box of crayons than I did growing up . Maybe use PAINT and experiment with filling areas with various colors . Truck colors and lettering colors matter a bunch , don't backseat those decisions .

[choochin3]

Thanks for all the ideas Guys!
The locos are a old Atlas FP7,a Bachmann U 20something,and maybe something else that I can patch together.
These were all freebies courtesy of fellow a$$hat Mr. Bob Bufkin.
As they sit,all are covered from top to bottom in Brunswick green,and Tuscan red.
I have almost no prior airbrushing experience so I will try to keep the paint simple.

[sizemore]

Why not dark green with white lettering ala early P&LE GP's?

The S.

[DKS]

Thanks for all the ideas Guys!
The locos are a old Atlas FP7,a Bachmann U 20something,and maybe something else that I can patch together.
These were all freebies courtesy of fellow a$$hat Mr. Bob Bufkin.
As they sit,all are covered from top to bottom in Brunswick green,and Tuscan red.
I have almost no prior airbrushing experience so I will try to keep the paint simple.

Photos?

[Rossford Yard]

As a short line, why not do what they do - take whatever used loco they can from a big, paint through the reporting marks (you can use strip film decals) and add the CJT logo in big letters from some alphabet set?

[MichaelWinicki]

I think the Penn Central had it right.

It was an easy paint scheme to apply and to maintain.

Back then it wasn't applauded for its simplicity.  Today it would be. 

Plus I think it looks good.

[choochin3]

David,I don't have a decent camera so I can't post any pictures.
I spoke to Tom Mann yesterday about some custom decals,he said that he could make some in any color but white.
So,I'm thinking of a white paint dip,with a jade green stripe along the sides,with black lettering.
What do you guys think?

[Roger Holmes]

If you aren't handy with the airbrush or just don't want to bother getting it out and cleaning afterwards,  check out colors available in spray cans--particularily from Tamiya.  For my Milwaukee Road paint jobs I have to use the airbrush for the orange but use Tamiya semi-glass black and Tamiya maroon for the rest of the job. The semi-gloss black especially looks like factory paint when dry.

Testors Model Masters also has some very useful colors.

My $ .02.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I'd avoid white.

There were very few white based schemes out there, for a reason.

Orange, yellow, gray were much more common.

Back when I was doing a freelance thing, I used this:


Notice how it uses "natural" boundries and places all text on a light colored background (so I could make decals).

Later I tried this variation, but found it impractical because of the light text on a dark background:


And still later there was this:


Which would've worked ok too, I guess, because the name is a dark color on a light color, and the numbers could come from stock sets. The downside there, though, is that you'd want to try and match the blue in the decal to the blue in the paint, which would be tough. Also, the long paint line would be a pain.

All those drawings came from http://paintshop.railfan.net/ which hasn't changed a lick in 10 years.

[choochin3]

Ok,I think I've figured it out.
Jade green body,white stripe,black lettering.With a black PC inspired CJT logo on the nose.
Whadoya think?