Turbos are here!

[rapidotrains]

And most will be leaving our warehouse tomorrow. Direct orders will take a few more days.

Woo-hoo!

-Jason

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[peteski]

Sweet!  Mike must be smiling from up above!

My wallet will be screaming, and so will I (for different reasons). 

[Point353]

And most will be leaving our warehouse tomorrow. Direct orders will take a few more days.

Woo-hoo!

-Jason

What reference did you use for that shade of blue?

[bbussey]

Sweet!

[johnb]

Looks great

[peteski]

What reference did you use for that shade of blue?

Is that a metallic grayish-blue?  Hopefully the bright blue color in model photo you were referring to is due the camera not rendering colors properly.  Or was the H0 version like that too?

[Point353]

Is that a metallic grayish-blue?  Hopefully the bright blue color in model photo you were referring to is due the camera not rendering colors properly.  Or was the H0 version like that too?

As I recall, the shade of blue used on the HO model appeared to be correct:



Hopefully it is just an artifact of the camera.
My initial impression was that the factory might have inadvertently used the same shade of blue paint as on the Amtrak version:

[muktown128]

Mike must be smiling from up above!

Funny - that was my first thought when I read the first post of this thread.

[rapidotrains]

What reference did you use for that shade of blue?

We certainly didn't use a washed-out slide on the internet.

We have hundreds of photos and slides of the Turbo in PC colors.

We used a lighter blue in the HO model and people who remembered riding the train thought it was rubbish.

This one is much better.

-Jason

[mcjaco]

When I heard about the Turbo, I really hoped it was this one:



So many childhood memories of watching it blast through A20.

Who wants in on making this version?    

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Congrats on bringing this cool product to market @rapidotrains !

[nickelplate759]

A lot of this, like many other "OMG the color is wrong!" discussions, has to do with lighting.  For example, the shot of Turbo at South Station appears to have been taken on an overcast winter day.   It's likely to have been shot on slide film, and the dynamic range is quite poor.  It's not a good color reference for original paint.   

On the other hand, the shot of the Turbo model that Jason posted was done indoors under some kind of artificial light, likely with a digital camera.   Different artificial lights  can screw with perceived color dramatically, as can the built-in color balancing that many digital cameras (cell phones) use.   The blue appears very saturated, but from the picture I can't tell if it's too much or just right.

So I think we're getting worked up over something we don't have sufficient data to judge.
As for me - I've ordered the Amtrak version.  White is pretty easy...

[C855B]

Understanding the mere concept of this question borders on heresy...

I have a DC version coming, and will want to install a non-sound DCC decoder. Is there anything drop-in?

[Point353]

We certainly didn't use a washed-out slide on the internet.

We have hundreds of photos and slides of the Turbo in PC colors.

We used a lighter blue in the HO model and people who remembered riding the train thought it was rubbish.

This one is much better.

-Jason

Can you post some of those photos that show a more vivid shade of blue?

I (too) saw and rode the train and my recollection is that the blue color was closer to the "washed out" version.

Would the archives for either Pullman or United Aircraft/Technologies still have info on the paint colors used?

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Washed out slides can do a number on blue:

This almost looks likes the same shade of blue in the above slide.

This shot was taken on a clear sunny day:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4162/34406531102_f1ababb5e3_b.jpg

I think there are a few things in play here.
1. The carbody is very smooth, curved towards the horizon and very, very glossy. So you are seeing a lot of atmospheric reflection.
2. The paint is metalic which can be hard to pin down the hue.
3. Old Slides.

Here we see the turbo compaired to a bright blue sweater:
http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/5/9/5/6595.1107378840.jpg

Bachmann chose a dark blue for theirs back in the 60's:
http://www.trainweb.org/fredatsf/Amtrak-TurboTrain_files/image013.gif

Which looks washed out like the prototype in harsh lighting:
http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/tonycook1966/media/bWVkaWFJZDo0MTQ5NDk3MQ==/?ref=

Now I kinda want to run a Bachmann and Rapido Turbo side-by-side.