What colour is the light grey used on many modern tank wagons?

[njee20]

I suspect it does vary a bit, but I’m trying to find a good match for the pale grey colour used on lots of wagons, particularly tank wagons. Thinking metalair and depressed vee PCAs, Castle Cement JPAs etc. 

 

RAL 7035 is a bit light (I think), RAL 306 is a bit dark. I realise it’s probably not a RAL colour, but if anyone has a BS standard or a good Halfords match that’d be great!

 

 

 

 

[Mark Saunders]

Keep looking till you find something your happy with as there are too many variables and finally your perception is the one that counts!

 

Several recent build wagons have the paint details on them!

[Alex TM]

HI @njee20,

 

About four or five years ago I sprayed a few Hornby PCas using a Halford's VW colour.  Sorry that I can't remember the colour name but it is worth looking at.  However, as @Mark Saunders has just written it has also got to look right to you too.

 

Good luck.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[njee20]

4 hours ago, Mark Saunders said:

Keep looking till you find something your happy with as there are too many variables and finally your perception is the one that counts!

 

Several recent build wagons have the paint details on them!

Several recent wagon builds by whom...? Do you mean real ones? That's interesting if so! I get there are variables about perception and scale (not sure there are many others...), just wondered if someone knew the actual colour, if it was standard. I wondered if it was rail grey, but that seemed too obvious!

Edited April 9, 2023 by njee20

[Steadfast]

12 hours ago, njee20 said:

Several recent wagon builds by whom...? Do you mean real ones? That's interesting if so! I get there are variables about perception and scale (not sure there are many others...), just wondered if someone knew the actual colour, if it was standard. I wondered if it was rail grey, but that seemed too obvious!

Recent builds I know of with paint details are the Touax JNAs and the EWS HOAs. Though they don't help you with grey tanks! What particular prototype are you aiming for Nick? 

 

Jo

[njee20]

It’s for a couple of bits; the older Buxton Cement JGAs, for which I can only find pretty badly over exposed and/or lit photos.

 

These (all photos from Flickr)

 

I’m not sure if they were kept the same colour when they lost the BLI logos (I’m happy to assume so, as I can’t see a difference!), there are some better lit photos of them in refurbished condition:

 

 

 

Plus I’d also like to do the Castle Cement PCA-STS wagons, which to my (as you know grossly un-trained) eye look similar! Best clean photo I could find easily:

 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by njee20

[Wickham Green too]

What grey did Accurascale use for their PCAs ? ......... presumably not your scale !

[Steadfast]

10 hours ago, njee20 said:

It’s for a couple of bits; the older Buxton Cement JGAs,

Interesting! Doesn't look a million miles off rail grey from how the white looks against it, but less brown tint than rail grey.

 

Both 7035 and 7036 have more of a brown tint. RAL 7040 and 7047 both are light greys but with less of a brown tinge. I reckon 7047 may be pretty close, but it's all down to what looks right to you! Comparing my RAL and BS charts, BS 4800 22 B 17 'Dove' appears to be a similar shade, but slightly darker to 7047. Also possibly less brown too in this light.

 

As for the Castle Cement...pass! But I'd say its darker than the BLI wagons

 

Jo

 

 

[njee20]

20 hours ago, Wickham Green too said:

What grey did Accurascale use for their PCAs ? ......... presumably not your scale !

Not sure, Realtrack did them in N, but they’re eye-wateringly expensive, and there’s a printing error which would irritate me (they missed the black background to all the data labels/TOPS panel) so I’m 3D printing my own, which will also end up in O most likely. 
 

9 hours ago, Steadfast said:

Interesting! Doesn't look a million miles off rail grey from how the white looks against it, but less brown tint than rail grey.

 

Both 7035 and 7036 have more of a brown tint. RAL 7040 and 7047 both are light greys but with less of a brown tinge. I reckon 7047 may be pretty close, but it's all down to what looks right to you! Comparing my RAL and BS charts, BS 4800 22 B 17 'Dove' appears to be a similar shade, but slightly darker to 7047. Also possibly less brown too in this light.

 

As for the Castle Cement...pass! But I'd say its darker than the BLI wagons

 

Jo

 

 

Top man Jo, helpful as ever, thank you!

[KeithMacdonald]

On 09/04/2023 at 17:53, Mark Saunders said:

Keep looking till you find something your happy with as there are too many variables and finally your perception is the one that counts!

 

I have to agree, i just ran MS PowerToys Color Picker over those images, and the colours indicated varied continually. I could find no region in any of the images that gave a steady or stable colour.

 

 

 

 

[Michael Hodgson]

On 09/04/2023 at 11:38, njee20 said:

What colour is the light grey used on many modern tank wagons?

 

Dare I say light grey ?   😁

 

Isn't it going to vary between individual private owners (who are probably only fussed about getting their company logo in the proper shade), or perhaps the particular wagon factory that built them ?  Quite apart from subtle differences between paint batches and over time because of weather effects, etc.

[njee20]

4 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said:

 

I have to agree, i just ran MS PowerToys Color Picker over those images, and the colours indicated varied continually. I could find no region in any of the images that gave a steady or stable colour.

 

 

 

 

Well no, because they’re curved surfaces, and of course they’ll look different in different lights, but thanks for checking. 
 

I think Jo’s spot on with saying 7035 is a bit brown, couldn’t put my finger on it. I think it’s too light too, in fact I think it comes out lighter than the colour swatch appears. PCA is just grey primer, which is obviously markedly darker. 

 

 

This is RAL 306, which is actually closer than I thought, but still a bit dark IMO. 
 

Obviously one photographed in bad light in the garage and one outside doesn’t help! Anyway, food for thought, I’ll go and get lots more grey paints! 

[Scottish Modeller]

Hi all,

 

For my N gauge PCA repaints I used Dove Grey...

 

Then I noticed that it's almost the same colour as Halfords grey Primer for plastic!!!

 

Thanks

Phil H

[Wickham Green too]

9 hours ago, njee20 said:

... I’ll go and get lots more grey paints! 

Only fifty shades to choose from I believe !

[Steadfast]

9 hours ago, njee20 said:

Well no, because they’re curved surfaces, and of course they’ll look different in different lights, but thanks for checking. 
 

I think Jo’s spot on with saying 7035 is a bit brown, couldn’t put my finger on it. I think it’s too light too, in fact I think it comes out lighter than the colour swatch appears. PCA is just grey primer, which is obviously markedly darker. 

 

 

This is RAL 306, which is actually closer than I thought, but still a bit dark IMO. 
 

Obviously one photographed in bad light in the garage and one outside doesn’t help! Anyway, food for thought, I’ll go and get lots more grey paints! 

You got any white decals to chuck on as a test Nick? As you mention it varies wildly in the light and that'd be my "if it looks right" type test. 

A few links from Flickr. In the sun the white almost blends right in.

 

 

 

Jo

[KeithMacdonald]

9 hours ago, njee20 said:

Well no, because they’re curved surfaces, and of course they’ll look different in different lights, but thanks for checking. 
 

I think Jo’s spot on with saying 7035 is a bit brown, couldn’t put my finger on it. I think it’s too light too, in fact I think it comes out lighter than the colour swatch appears. PCA is just grey primer, which is obviously markedly darker. 

 

 

This is RAL 306, which is actually closer than I thought, but still a bit dark IMO. 
 

Obviously one photographed in bad light in the garage and one outside doesn’t help! Anyway, food for thought, I’ll go and get lots more grey paints! 

 

And when you take a photo outside, completely different results on a sunny day and an overcast day.

 

[njee20]

Yes of course. But there’s still a colour which is right.

 

4 hours ago, Steadfast said:

You got any white decals to chuck on as a test Nick? As you mention it varies wildly in the light and that'd be my "if it looks right" type test. 

A few links from Flickr. In the sun the white almost blends right in.

 

 

 

Jo

Yeah, I need to print some white TOPS panels to test it. Looking at them it seems bizarre they didn’t use black. You can barely see them!