An alternative to black?

[Lissadell]

I’d be very interested to learn of colleagues’ approach to a base colour (prior to weathering) other than the commonly quoted “black”

 

For example, for some early BR wagons the suggestions one might commonly see usually refer to grey body/black under frame.

Perhaps the grey isn’t too bad as a start for weathering, but I wonder if matt black as a start isn’t a bit of a killer?

 

It would be great to hear of successful alternatives - acrylic or enamel, military or railway ......... just so long as they’re currently available!  Perhaps I should mention I’m UK based.

 

Thanks for any recommendations

[5050]

A friend used to use a Volvo colour which was an extremely dark grey but sadly i can't remember the name!  He used it on 'black' locos and it looking fine as a loco that had seen some service and not fresh out of the shops.  For some of my wagon underframes I have used some 'Army Camouflage' paint aerosol which is a very dark browny black and is a good base for weathering.

[Jack P]

I find that matte black mixed with a drop of semi gloss grey gives (imo) a nice rendition of 'railway' black. Probably in a ratio of 1/8.

[Neil]

I paint wagon underframes in matt black with a dollop of red oxide in the mix (Humbrol 100).

[lapford34102]

Tamiya's acrylic NATO Black which is a very dark grey which I think gives a good "scale" black

Stu

[Lissadell]

Thank you - keep the suggestions coming!

Sharing ideas based on experience is really valuable

 

adrian

[Phil Parker]

Check the Revell range as they do 3 shades of black. I find them very useful.

[zarniwhoop]

For enamels, and assuming you believe in "scale colour" and cover them with matt varnish (I use a primed offcut of styrene to see how the colours look) : humbrol 33 (perhaps it is the colour of the varnish, but it looks paler than the stock colour), then phoenix 975, railmatch 420, railmatch 412 all look pretty similar, then revell 78 - after that, it's shades of grey.

 

Perhaps also phoenix 978, or 981 for a lighter shade of black. But I haven't done any painting recently and I tend to avoid phoenix if I can because I find them hard to use ;-)

[neal cooper]

On 10/09/2019 at 10:45, 5050 said:

A friend used to use a Volvo colour which was an extremely dark grey but sadly i can't remember the name!  He used it on 'black' locos and it looking fine as a loco that had seen some service and not fresh out of the shops.  For some of my wagon underframes I have used some 'Army Camouflage' paint aerosol which is a very dark browny black and is a good base for weathering.

 

I have used this with success. It is Volvo Dark Grey and gives a gloss finish. Transfers on next, then a Matt or Satin varnish depending on taste, (Matt for me) and then all the usual weathering dark arts follow. I think it is an excellent base coat for black ‘in service’ locos.

[57xx]

Phoenix precision do a Dirty Black.

 

[Alex TM]

HI,

 

Here's what I tend to use for both railway and military use:

 

Figures:

black undercoat - usually Games Workshop 'Chaos Black'.

 

Animals:

Usually grey - anything from car primer to any pale shade from Humbrol.

 

Wagons:

Grey Car Primer for grey, blue, green, etc, wagons.

Red Oxide for everything else other than yellow.

White for yellow bodies (though still can't find a primer with a finish I like).

 

Black Locos:

Usually red oxide, though I did spray one with Chaos Black, and it looked fairly good.

 

Rail Blue:

Usually grey.

 

Chassis:

When brush painting I've been experimenting with black mixed with a little rust/red oxide; I've also used some colours marked as 'tyre-wall black', or 'rubber-black'.  As otheres have pointed out, these are really just shades of dark grey.

 

With military modelling it gets, for me, a lot more complicated.

 

Hope that's of use.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[Lissadell]

Thank you again for all the helpful suggestions that have been posted.