UA813 - Rail Blue

Rail Blue, a blue for railroad models

A Lifecolor acrylic paint from the group of shades for railroads. It is a rich but not garish blue of the kind the finishes of locomotives and passenger cars wore, that is, a working color and not a decorative one.

Compared with ordinary blues, railroad shades have the property of being subdued and keeping closer to gray. The finish on a real vehicle ages under the sun and from soot, and a model color has to match that; otherwise a model looks like a toy, even when it is otherwise well built.

Typical use

• the bodies of locomotives and passenger cars
• the blue fields of two-color finish schemes
• the small equipment of stations and depots
• blue vehicles outside railroads, where a subdued tone suits

Advice on application

The large smooth areas of bodies give away every unevenness of a coat, so it is better to apply the paint with an airbrush in several thin coats than once heavily. Stir the shade thoroughly before work. A dark wash is then laid well into the engraved lines on a finished coat, and light dust onto the lower parts and the running gear. It is advisable to shift the roof one shade darker, because it is precisely there that soot settles and rain never washes it quite clean.

Who the paint is for

For railroad modelers in all the common scales and for diorama makers who need a calm working blue without needless richness.

Keep out of the reach of children. Work in a ventilated area.