N Gauge Forum

General Category => N Gauge Discussion => Topic started by: stevieboy on May 23, 2014, 08:42:07 PM

Title: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: stevieboy on May 23, 2014, 08:42:07 PM
Just picked up 3 x SK's and 2 x SO's.

I can't help but notice that the SO's are a much darker red than the SK's and my three other Crimson & Cream coaches.

Looking around the web they all appear this way, so it begs the question, is this deliberate?

:NGaugersRule:
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: Bealman on May 23, 2014, 08:58:46 PM
Good question. I have a heap of Poole blud & custards from the 90s that are all sorts of colours. Don't tell me they're up to old tricks...
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: port perran on May 23, 2014, 09:02:23 PM
I've never been really keen on the blood & custard carriages. Many of them still don't look quite right paint wise to me. I have a few including the older Dapol autocoach and I've never been really happy with it.
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: stevieboy on May 23, 2014, 09:08:22 PM
I'll get a pic up shortly.
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: Newportnobby on May 23, 2014, 09:40:02 PM
Must admit I have a few that range from maroon/custard to scarlet/custard.
The only constant is the custard, and even that gets milkier at times ::)
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: stevieboy on May 23, 2014, 10:02:09 PM
Not the best light but:

(http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a593/stevieboy-15/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG4048_zpstwusotdg.jpg) (http://s1285.photobucket.com/user/stevieboy-15/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG4048_zpstwusotdg.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: port perran on May 23, 2014, 10:15:03 PM
I can remember the real ones and memory plays tricks but were the real ones always the same shades ?
Probably too dirty to tell !
I guess that in N scale it shows up more.
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: keithfre on May 23, 2014, 10:23:30 PM
Colour photos from the 50s certainly show a range of shades.
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: talisman56 on May 24, 2014, 01:27:59 AM
All reports I have read of the Crimson/Cream days said that the colours weathered horribly and rapidly, particularly the Cream - maybe Farish have the colour variations right, but with the wrong colour!
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: stevieboy on May 24, 2014, 02:02:33 AM
If they've accidentally created a true reflection of the real colour I can live with that. They look very maroon!  :doh:
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: trkilliman on May 24, 2014, 08:47:13 AM
I think it's about time this colour/shades thing was sorted out by manufacturers. If you have a rake of Farish and Dapol coaches it can look very strange. My Dapol Colletts look decidedly orange to me. Farish shades have varied over the years so a rake of this make can be quite different. We all tend to see colours differently and colour blindness in it's various levels is much more prevalent with men than women. Basically what I am trying to say is the variables in the colour/shade are just too great. Some people may even avoid a particular make for this reason, so manufactures could do themselves and us a big favour by agreeing of some standardisation of colour. With coaches in the farish range having a sizeable price increase I think this compounds matters. Just my own personal feelings of course.
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: Karhedron on May 24, 2014, 06:33:56 PM
They don't even look crimson to me. They look more like Maroon and cream.  :confused1:

What have Farish been up to?  :doh:
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: stevieboy on May 24, 2014, 07:17:13 PM
They are closer to maroon than crimson. Going to swap them for some more SK's, they look odd. I can see a slight variation in some of my other ones, but not that much.
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: NeilMac on May 24, 2014, 08:23:18 PM
Quote from: trkilliman on May 24, 2014, 08:47:13 AM
I think it's about time this colour/shades thing was sorted out by manufacturers. If you have a rake of Farish and Dapol coaches it can look very strange. My Dapol Colletts look decidedly orange to me.

Spot on, trkilliman: I raised this very issue a couple of years ago here:-

http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=886.0 (http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=886.0)

I'll reproduce the photo here, for reference:-

(http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w227/neilmc_photos/IMG_0869.jpg)

Cheers,
Neil
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: Wingman mothergoose on May 24, 2014, 09:44:39 PM
Paint shades would have varied depending on which carriage works painted the coaches, even the same works could use several slightly different shades of the same colour, mixing paint wasn't an exact science in those days! Also as has been said already, weathering would affect how a coach looked, as would the difference between a wooden bodied and steel bodied coach. Does it really matter as long as they run ok?
I have a mix of Farish and Dapol coaches in blood and custard, and the variations in shades doesn't bother me.

Chris
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: johnlambert on May 24, 2014, 10:19:07 PM
Interesting discussion.  I understand that one of the reasons Crimson & Cream was abandoned was because it didn't weather well and, as Chris has said, there would be variations in how the colours looked in real life.

I like the finish on my Graham Farish Stanier and BR Mk1 coaches, can't say I've noticed any colour variation between them.  On the other hand I find the crimson BR Suburban coaches hard to tell at a glance from the maroon versions.  I do also like the flatter finish of the Dapol Gresley coaches but I don't like the crimson and cream Dapol Collett coaches, the crimson looks too orange to me.

The truth is that we can't be certain any of the variants on C&C are correct.  Photographic reproduction can't be trusted and even if you think you remember what they should look like I suspect - sorry to break it to you - that your memory may not be 100% accurate. 

Colour perception is an interesting thing; I remember a BBC documentary that showed how different groups of people see colours differently.  Frankly I'm amazed it is possible to find any agreement at all.
Title: Re: Latest release Crimson & Cream coaches
Post by: steve836 on May 26, 2014, 07:14:11 PM
One of the model railway mags did a piece on coaching stock liveries a while back and different regions used different colours below the waist ( I don't mean the obvious like mud and pus for the Western). I think Midland was darker than Eastern and North Eastern was lighter still with the Western using a different shade of red before going back to brown.
I do remember in later blood & custard days on the Eastern the paint used on the old Gresley stock was badly affected by carriage washing plants, the red faded to almost pink with white streaks where water ran down from the mouldings.