Hi All
This could really be in locos or rolling stock. What shade of blue (manufacturer) have members used (or suggest) for Darjeeling stock, locos and coaches? I shall be painting some Darjeeling stock fairly soon and am wondering if there is a consensus as to the best match?
Peter
This thread on RMweb may be of interest: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/40166-darjeeling-himalaya-railway-blue-paint/
If you like I could print your query in the 009 News? It may illicit more responses than on the forum as more members will see it. Please email me on contents@009society.com if you'd like to do this.
The shade of blue will change quite quickly as it gets exposure to the sun and rain or on the locomotives heat and dirt.
The result is that if you look at a colour photo of a DHR train you will see that no two vehicles are the same shade of blue!
However on a model copying the prototype fathfully in this respect just looks wrong, so personally I would just pick a colour that is about right and easy to obtain and use that for everything you build.
Brian Meldon
I have to agree with Brian - matching colours faithfully to the prototype is usually not very successful (and not worth the hassle!) because scale affects colours as well as dimensions. So - if it looks right (in comparison with the photos you've seen), then it is. And, as he says, even the 'correct' colour will come in a range of shades (which makes things even easier).
David.
Might be worth contacting David Churchill. Not sure if he is a member on here, but he is on NGRM and is also the DHRS modelling officer and should have a fairly good idea of suitable matches. In fact the more I think about it the DHRS may have had someone like railmatch make up a batch of North East Frontier Railway blue.
Many thanks for your replies. I am going to make test pieces on a piece of card and compare these with the print in Loco Profile. I shall use what appears to be the best match to me.
Peter
Why not try contacting the DHR and asking if they have a RAL number for their paint.
It may then be possible to match this RAL number to the nearest equivalent in the various ranges of paints available to the modeler. But remember to go for a shade lighter if possible to allow for scale lightening effect as mentioned by David.
Or simply just choose one that you think looks about right. You don't mention if you prefer to use enamels or acrylics.
Regards,
Darren.
HI all,
First post - had to happen sooner or later!
I appreciate this thread is quite old but it is relevant to some of the models I am currently building of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
I first started building DHR stuff some 7 years ago - not for myself, but for people who wanted it and didn't have the skils required.
Part of the evolution in making these models has been the question asked at the start of the thread.
What colour is 'Darjeeling Blue'?
Over the years I've used a variety of blue shades to try and match the colour of the stock.
Painting the Darjeeling stock is always a challenge as the 'Darjeeling Blue' varies from one bit of stock to another!
However, a contact over in India has let me have the information for the official colours carried by NDM6 locos - both on the DHR and on the MHR.
These are RAL5019 and RAL3011.
I must be psychic!
The colour I've been using is Halfords Capri Blue which is RAL5019!
The RAL3011 for the MHR also appears to be very close to the Red used for a couple of years on the DHR Coaches.
More on the DHR stuff once I get and idea of what is where on this forum!
Thanks