The importance of color

[markeb01]

I’ve read where model collectors (especially of die cast cars) end up with an entire cabinet full of vibrant red cars. Each car looks great but the unique interest becomes lost in a sea of red. I have a similar creative deficiency except my favorite color for both model cars and real cars has always been black. I generally build models to look like a real car I would actually like to own. This has resulted in a collection of predominantly black cars and trucks. Taken individually each may look spectacular, but viewed as a group it gets pretty boring.

Years ago I sprayed most of my models with hardened automotive acrylic enamel, but since I have a beard and no breathing gear I gave up using hardener years ago. Then I discovered Tamiya spray lacquers and have been using them exclusively for several years. Compared to Testors enamel which dries so slow it can fingerprint months later, the lacquer can be sprayed one day and assembly begin the next with no fear of damage to the finish. The problem with Tamiya being their color selection is rather limited.

Then my son let me know about the new Testors lacquer paints. They dry just as fast as the Tamiya lacquers, but offer a variety of brilliant and interesting colors. The only Tamiya color I continue to use is black, because it is much blacker than the Testors version.

So a while back I started experimenting with adding some bright/wild colors to the collection, just for visual interest. The first was this 40 Ford replica from the movie “The Blob”. It’s painted an old Testors metallic red which looks more like candy apple.



The next project was this Fiat racer I got from my son. It was a bland green so I repainted it Testors gold enamel. Mixed in with the black collection it really popped.



Next up was an old MPC snap together Mercury from the mid 70’s. It was snapped together when new and left unloved because it was basically ugly. When new it was a dull red with brown interior and plastic tires. Over the years it grew even duller like reddish brown primer.



It was popped apart and sprayed with Testors Purple-Licious Lacquer, while the interior was shot in white. The 49 Ford in the background is an old Testors turquoise enamel:



Expanding into something that should wear outlandish paint that I would never own in real life, I picked up a 59 El Camino kit and sprayed it with Testors Mythical Maroon, which turned out more of a dusty rose color. It has no bare foil detailing yet but is put together enough to look like a car:



This turned out so nice I decided to build something really goofy so I bought one of the old crappy Lindberg kits with the plastic tires. After a few minor improvements and a coat of Testors Transparent Blue enamel over a silver base, it ended up looking reasonably cool:



Next up was a 1960-61 vintage chopped 36 Ford coupe I bought years ago. Most of these original black kits can be polished to an extreme luster with a little elbow grease. This one turned into a swirly marbleized color that looked terrible. It was disassembled and sat in a box for over 10 years while I debated what to do with it.

Since my discovery of the Testors lacquers, it was also pulled out and shot in DeJa Blue:



And the latest build was a 1940 sedan delivery I never intended to build. It was purchased years ago specifically for the single bar flipper wheel discs and DeSoto bumpers. The rest was tossed in the parts box. Wanting a shop truck for the speed shop, it seemed appropriate to paint something really bright. I dug up enough parts to complete the build and shot it with Testors Flaming Orange:

It was an interesting paint job. For the first time since I started spray painting back around 1958, the can of paint I bought did not come with a spray nozzle. And it remained factory sealed. I didn’t think too much about it, just grabbed another matching nozzle and got to work. After fully painting the body and hood, I started on the fenders when the can spewed like old faithful! Every time the nozzle was depressed, paint shot straight up around the stem about 4 inches! I tried 2 other nozzles with the same result.

Figuring I’d never be able to match the paint, I decided to shoot the fenders in bright blue and build it like an old Westinghouse truck (orange and blue). So the fenders were given a beautiful finish in DeJa blue. Put together, it looked stupid. I picked up another can of flaming orange having a very low expectation of success. I taped everything together and gave it three more coats of orange, painted directly under a pair of heat lamps. Amazingly it came out with one of the glossiest finishes I’ve ever done. In spite of how much paint is on the model, the belt line detail remains pretty crisp.



And finally here is an overview of assorted black vehicles from the collection followed by a comparison photo with more colorful creations. The brighter colors certainly generate a lot more interest from visitors: