Cambrian Carriage Green

[mike morley]

I discovered last night that what Phoenix Precision describe as Cambrian carriage green could be more accurately described as "mud brown".

 

 I have spent the afternoon going up blind alleys with Humbrol Green No.3 and Halfords Peugeot Forest Green, both of which lacked the Cambrian's greyish tinge.  Can anyone point me in the direction of a more suitable paint?

 

My layout's first exhibition is less than three weeks away and at the moment I don't have a single carriage, so my need is urgent.

[ChrisN]

My understanding was that the Cambrian colour was 'invisible green', i.e. black with a green tinge, or was that just the engines?  Humbrol 91 is black green.

 

Where is your exhibition?

[Penrhos1920]

The book GWR Way, recently revised by the HMRS, has a colour swatch of Cambrian Bronze Green which definitely looks green.  I've compared the Humbrol and Valejo colour charts and the nearest match is valejo 70.897 which surprisingly is called Bronze Green.  I've bought my Valejo from Boyes and from several sellers on ebay.

 

Locos were black if I've skim read GWR Way correctly.

[mike morley]

^{Invisible green (Black with a hint of green) is indeed locos only.}

 

^{Carriages were bronze green and I suppose I ought to have realised things weren't going to turn out the way I expected when I saw that the tin was labelled "Cambrian carriage olive (dull)".   I think olive (drab) - as in the darker of the camoflage shades we were advised to paint our WW2 Airfix kits when we were kids - would be more a accurate description of the contents of this tin.}

 

^{Exhibition is 15th Feb, MKMRS, Shenley Brook End School, Milton Keynes.  I'd post a link but I've learned from past experience that my links rarely work.  MK Wolf, can you help here?}

 

^{Edited to add - Humbrol 91.  I'd missed that.  Thank you.}

[ChrisN]

^{Invisible green (Black with a hint of green) is indeed locos only.}

 

^{Carriages were bronze green and I suppose I ought to have realised things weren't going to turn out the way I expected when I saw that the tin was labelled "Cambrian carriage olive (dull)".   I think olive (drab) - as in the darker of the camoflage shades we were advised to paint our WW2 Airfix kits when we were kids - would be more a accurate description of the contents of this tin.}

 

^{Exhibition is 15th Feb, MKMRS, Shenley Brook End School, Milton Keynes.  I'd post a link but I've learned from past experience that my links rarely work.  MK Wolf, can you help here?}

 

^{Edited to add - Humbrol 91.  I'd missed that.  Thank you.}

 

Mike,

Thank you.  It has been a while since I researched the colours but need to get up to speed as I will be starting a Cambrian layout in the not too distant.

 

I live in Bracknell so MK is not too far but my sister-in-law is coming over on 15th.

 

The Humbrol Bronze Green and the Valjero are apparently very different according to this colour comparisson website You need to scroll down to or I am not sure what you will get.

 

Links:  Copy the URL on the page you wish to link to, highlight the words that refer to your link, clink the 'link' icon on the editor above, just right of the paragraph buttons- 9 from the left, and paste your URL and press 'Ok'.

 

Hope that helps

[mike morley]

Visited Hobbycraft today to see if they stock Vallejo paints.  They don't.

 

What they do stock, however, are paints by Revell, including 36165, Bronze Green, and the very similar Tamiya  XF13, JF Green.

[mike morley]

Chris and I were obviously typing our posts at the same time!

 

I realised the need to take paint comparison sites with a pinch of salt when I used the Humbrol site to look up the Vallejo Bronze Green suggested by Penrhos1920 and it produced a shade of blue!

There is obviously no substitute for going to the shop and looking at the colours available first hand.

[mike morley]

Has anyone ever managed to open a pot of Revell paint without most of the contents ending up in their lap?

[Y Ddewin gwyn]

Yes, but very carefully! I work slowly around the edge with a small screwdriver.

[corneliuslundie]

Try posting an enquiry to the HMRS website. Alan Rhodes is the Cambrian Railways Steward and is very knowledgeable and helpful. Alternatively have a look at the Welsh Railways Research Circle website and ask for an enquiry to be forwarded to the Cambrian Railways "Line Superintendent". I am not sure who it is now. Until he died it was Mike Morton Lloyd.

[Penlan]

... and there's also the Cambrian Railways Society http://www.cambrianrailwayssociety.co.uk/ presumably their Museum must have something Cambrian.

 

I should know who the WRRC Cambrian Line Steward is, but it escapes me at present.

I know who has an original Cambrian Rlys crest painted onto the original coach colour - painted long, long ago in the early 1900's.

 

Sandy Croall - WRRC member No. 004.

[Penrhos1920]

I've found a tin of Cherry Cambrian coach green:

 

 

along with 2 tins of Rhymney loco green top and GWR post 1928 green bottom left.

 

Despite the photo it is definitely green, just darker than GWR.  I tried a photo against the colour chart but it's even worse than above.  The best valejo is probably Yellow Olive, 70.892

[coachmann]

I have painted Cabrian dark green & cream coaches many years ago. Taking the green, think of 1923 Southern Olive or Sage or whatever and darken it somewhat with black. The green lay at the yellow end of the spectrum rather than the blue. Black panelling and 'gold' lining was used with gold lettering shaded blue. From around 1913 the cream upper panels were dropped in favour of all over green with the same lining plus a fine red line. Please don't ask me where the red line went as I have forgotten.

 

PS : I have just seen the post above and the dark greens are what i have in mind (not the top left-hand green).

[ChrisN]

Mike,

How did the exhibtion go.  I understand from other sources it went quite well.  How were your coaches in the end?

 

Are there any pictures or do you have a layout thread?

[mike morley]

Belatedly, I realise, but this is the result of all the help you have provided

 

 

 

The basis is a Peter K kit, the underpinnings are a Brassmasters Cleminson kit, the buffers are early Ratio turned brass, the couplings are Masokits.  The paint is Tamiya Green XF-13 (The best quality paint I have ever met by a considerable distance) and the transfers are from Dragon Models

 

 

 

 

[ChrisN]

Mike,

Fabulous. 

 

Is the Tamyia paint very different in colour to the Revell Bronze Green?

 

Where did you get the roof vents?  I have noticed some odd shapes in the books and these might fit.

 

I have noted all the other information you have given.

[mike morley]

The roof vents were some very elderly, very poor Cavendish castings - half of those in the packet were so badly cast they were unusable and those I did use needed a lot of fettling.  I think Scalelink now produce the old Cavendish range and will hopefully have improved the quality.

The axleboxes are MJT Great Central - not 100% accurate but about as close as you're likely to get.

The grab handles were Roxey LSWR - again, not 100% but close.

 

The Revell bronze green was indistinguishable from the Tamiya in terms of colour, but the Tamiya was so much, much better quality that there was never any doubt as to which I would use from the moment I opened the pot.  The Tamiya pot was also much more user-friendly - I could open it without half the contents ending up in my lap!

 

Must get round to fitting some vac pipes . . .  and painting the brake gear . . . and a vacuum cylinder might be a good idea, too.

Thank you for the compliments.