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PRODUCT REVIEW: THE COLORMATCHER Michael Conner Junior
During a visit to my son in Los Angeles last December I visited a local model shop and purchased one of the most useful aids to modelling that I have ever come across, a ColorMatcher. In essence the ColorMatcher ensures that you will never get a railroad colour wrong again. The product consists of innovative software and associated ‘hardware’. Once you have loaded the software onto your PC, ColorMatcher can be used in three different ways.
At the simplest level the ColorMatcher software allows you to locate a manufacturer for any railroad colour paint you want. For example, type in Union Pacific Armor Yellow and the program returns a list of manufacturers!
Now comes the clever bit. If no manufacturer exists, Color- Matcher allows you to mix the right colour using a paint brand of your choice. To test the product I decided to mix up a NYC grey using Humbrol enamel paint. (I could have chosen acrylic paints but I prefer to airbrush with oil-based paints.) The associ- ated ‘hardware’ consists of a small handheld spectrophotometer and an accurate digital balance similar to those used in the kitchen. The kit is designed to take the standard size glass bot- tles used for airbrushes. Mixing up the right colour is simplicity itself. Once you have typed in the make of paint and the desired colour the program recommends the colours and quantities of
paints needed. The glass jar is placed on the balance and the recommended quantities of paint added to the jar using small disposable dropper tubes. The paint is thoroughly mixed by a small magnet driven by a rotating iron disc incorporated into the balance. The spectrophotometer is then placed over the jar. The paint is illuminated and the reflected light analysed. The result is then compared to the library of colours contained in the software. If it is incorrect, the program recommends the addition of one or more colours. In my case I needed to add a little more green to the blend of greys. In all it took three steps to get the colour spot on!
The product also allows you to match existing model colours. I recently purchased a NYC Broadway E6 A-unit and was disap- pointed to find that the colours were totally different to a Proto 2000 NYC E8 B-Unit that I had intended to use with the Broadway A-Unit. To obtain a match, the grey colour of the Broadway E6 was scanned into the software using the spectro- photometer. The program then recommends the right mix of colours to get a perfect match!
Retailing at a modest £599.99 (plus VAT) I have no hesitation in recommending this groundbreaking product to discerning modellers of American Railroads. ColorMatchers will be available in the UK as from 1 April 2015.
REGISTRAR NEWS APRIL 2015
NAME
Phillip Pilcher Charlie Fox-Wilson Paul Burton
Martin Onderdonk Roland Leeds
ADDRESS
Eastergate Firle
Newton Abbot Aylesbury Wantage
TELEPHONE
01234 542958 n/a
01626 356088 07766 708274 01235 769268
SCALE(S)
Various scales and roads G-On3
N
HO
HOn3
RAILROAD(S) Y/N*
Narrow Gauge N SP N CN-UP-FEC Y DRGW Y
‘Welcome to the following new members...’
NB Division representatives use the DiV code in the directory to send out phone/Mail messages with meet information. if you wish to be included in this service in an adjacent division you must inform that representative. Only contact the Registrar if you wish to be permanently recoded to another division.
Joining a friend? phone me or e-mail and i will send a form. all Members please make sure that you inform the Registrar of any change of address or phone number. please do this even if you have advised the Editor. Send any changes to: The Registrar, Michael ingham, 15 Harcourt Drive, Earley, RG6 5Tl. Michael@theinghams.com
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