Model Railroading > Three ScaleTrains Warbonnet C44-9Ws

Test run of santafesteve's new ATSF power at the club.

~ Mr. MRL

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A few more from the other side...

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Those sure look good, mighty tempted to replace my old blue box Athearns.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

I wonder why they went with that dark silver.  I have two that in some lighting look almost dark gray.  Under flourescent + natural light look somewhat lighter.  They do blend well with the silver Athearn's silver, but for inside operations, they all look a tad strange.   I know that the prototype is a very gray silver, but with the small surface area on a model,  some color correction to better capture the "red and silver" feel might be in order.  Never the less, they are still really beautiful models.
 

OUTSTANDING!!!!

The units look okay and I'm sure some will be okay with them, especially those that intend to weather them thoroughly, and I don't mean to rain on anybody's parade... but...

I spoke to ScaleTrains about the color of silver/gray they used for the body and they said they had heard some concern with the color.  They said it is same color as the Athearn blue box Warbonnet Dash 9s were done in...  They claimed that had been matched to a paint chip.  That blue box Warbonnet Dash 9 color I always thought was too dark/dull and not near the bright shiny silver of the real original FP45s and real, new Santa Fe GP60Ms, Dash 8 BWs, and Dash 9s I saw shortly after they were delivered... This photo on railpictures reminds me of the colors I saw on the new ones: https://www.railpictures.net/showimage.php?id=334994 ... as they rolled by a few feet away at Joliet or Tower 55 and you could see your reflection in the mirror-like silver.  To me the silver on new units looked very bright, not dull.

Is there some reason the Chinese factories now won't/can't do bright silver painting?   Or is the aim to do a gray similar to molded plastic colors for railings so those don't have to be painted?

I always liked the silver Atlas used on their red/silver warbonnets (and Overland, and Athearn Genesis on the FP45s).  The color ScaleTrains used might be a few steps closer for modeling a 4-6 year old weathered unit where the silver has bronzed, but not what I want for a fresh new one.  I had intended to buy a pair.  Because of the gull gray color (in photos both a dealer and ScaleTrains sent me) I didn't - and will be reserving another NS Top Hat Dash 9 instead (and hopefully they can do those in the gloss black the prototypes were when new, as OMI did).

I also asked why the bottoms of the handrail stanchions weren't painted red like the pre-production artwork (and the prototypes).  I was told they intended to do it but factory couldn't...  So the factory could paint the end railings on several SD40-2s, and the end railings on those C44-9Ws (or are they just molded yellow plastic?) but not the bottoms of the side stanchions to be correct - and like the announcement artwork - on a $270 plastic model?

ScaleTrains staff are good guys and this won't keep me from ordering future products from them...

 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/19 18:47 by CSX602.

Beautiful engines. The gray looks more Gunmetal to me. 

I picked one up and when it was delivered, the silver did not  look light enough, but in running it with other mfgr's red warbonnets  it's not awful.  It kind of looks like the 'silver' used when the MBTA painted a GP9 in the first real purple band scheme they put on a hood unit., back in '77. 
It was definitely a metallic color - when you stood next to the unit it was a kind of silver, but dark. 

The unit was 7538 (ex PC) ....here is a link to a picture of one.

https://imged.com/original-slide-mbta-boston-gp9-7538-august-1977-26768907.html

Bob

g-spotter1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I wonder why they went with that dark silver.  I
> have two that in some lighting look almost dark
> gray.  Under flourescent + natural light look
> somewhat lighter.  They do blend well with the
> silver Athearn's silver, but for inside
> operations, they all look a tad strange.   I know
> that the prototype is a very gray silver, but with
> the small surface area on a model,  some color
> correction to better capture the "red and silver"
> feel might be in order.  Never the less, they are
> still really beautiful models.
>  



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/19 12:14 by navarch2.

Nice units. The prototype Santa Fe C44-9W and other Santa Fe and Burlinton Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) units had/have the silver in varous shades . GE, EMD and other repaints were all diferent to some degree or another not to mention that time, use and weather are factors. 

SantaFeRuss