Kato COLA new release help

Challengerphil Sep 3, 2022

  1. Challengerphil

    Challengerphil TrainBoard Member

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    Guys,
    Just wanted to ask a quick question for a bit of help.....I have both the original (and distinctly orange colour Kato COLA) and their second release (slightly more mellow paint). I bought the second release purely because the colour was slightly better. The differences in prototype colour arguement has been done to death; that's not my reasoning I'm just trying to get a 'closer' match.

    Colour is very much a matter of perspective and that perception is vulnerable to changes in size. In a full size train you wouldn't notice much difference between the shades; it's difficult to see an entire train at once to have the chance to compare. In N scale however disregarding layout obstructions you pretty much see the whole train as 'one' and at once; making differences in shade obvious.

    My question is this; is there any difference in colour with the new third release? Any less orange or slightly nearer Kato's original streamliner sets yellow. If anybody would be so kind a comparison picture or two would be great!

    Just trying to figure out if buying the new set is a waste of time and money.

    Thank you to all who contribute....
    Phil
     
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  2. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    I owned both the first and second releases of the COLA name train sets. The colors were exactly the same. I believe that you are confusing them with the older smooth car sets.
     
  3. Challengerphil

    Challengerphil TrainBoard Member

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    Hi Jack,
    No, I'm not confusing them. The first and second COLA releases had a different shade, it was slight but the second release was 'mellower', it was discussed on the forum when the second release came out. Like you said I have both, still do and there's a difference.
    Thanks Phil
     
  4. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Back when I modeled the Hill Lines each manufacturer of the GN Empire Builder had their own shade of orange and sometimes green. I settled on the one that came close to what I remember physically seeing on the 1 to 1. All the remaining cars got repainted to match. Problem solved for me.
     
  5. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    I honestly don't remember that, and I generally keep up with all threads regarding Kato passenger trains. Does anybody have a historical link to such a thread that would allow me to catch up? I searched, but found nothing.
     
  6. Challengerphil

    Challengerphil TrainBoard Member

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    Thing is I just wanted to ask from someone who has the new third release if the colour shade is the same as previous or not.
     
  7. NorsemanJack

    NorsemanJack TrainBoard Member

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    I no longer own both COLA sets (I sold the first release as part of a downsizing). Since you still have both, could you post a side-by-side photo of both observation cars so that we can better understand your color concerns?
     
    DeaconKC likes this.
  8. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

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    Paint demons again. No two different batches of paint in the real world are exactly the same color. I had a great uncle who ran one of the paint shops for B&O, and even he said it was very difficult to get the exact shade back then. He even chuckled about one time in 1966, about going to the Ford dealer and buying paint when they were out. Some of those Sentinel cars are actually wearing the same dark blue as my Dad's 1966 dark blue mustang.

    So a variance is color is a fact of life.
     
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