A Bit Disappointed with my new P&W Caboose

Matching colors to prototype photos is tricky business, to say the least. Colors can look very, very different depending on what time of day the photo was taken and whether the sun was in front of or behind the subject. Brown can look very red-orange if it is front-lit in late afternoon sun, but the red will disappear in a photo taken at 11:00 a.m. with the car side in shadow. A freshly painted car looks very different from one that's been out in the sun for a year or two, even if it's clean.

This is a problem both for the manufacturer trying to get a good paint match and for the buyer who wants a prototypical-looking model. Browns, oranges, and yellows are probably the most difficult to get right when working from photos, because they are the most affected by the daily variation in the color of sunlight. I suspect that a lot of the people who select and compound these paint colors do not have the experience and "vision" to get a good color match out of a pile of photos. 

I'm going to save your name.  

I received a very nice reply from MTH today. I can certainly see both sides of this issue. But let me be clear: I will proudly have this Caboose bringing up the rear of my New England based consist.

The reply I received is text book as to the right way to help a customer. My inquiry was quickly addressed, a detailed reply was given, and an option to do whatever it takes to make me happy was offered. That my friends is great customer service.

Thank you to all in this thread, I just might go get me another one and see what a little playing around can accomplish

Paul - did he just say he was buying another - Licata

"Good afternoon. Thank you for contacting MTH Electric Trains. I am so sorry to hear you are not pleased with the color of the caboose. I can see the color difference in the photos you have referenced; I forwarded this question to the project manager. He has indicated that the color for the actual car was selected to match photos of the prototype; I have attached one of these photos for your reference. The color of these photos seems quite close to the photo of the car you have posted.

There does appear to be a color difference from the catalog. The photos in the catalog are very often digitally created depictions of what the item is expected to look like. Colors and details are often tweaked after the catalog is printed; in this case it appears that the color was altered to more closely resemble the prototype.

I know you mentioned you do not want to return the car to your retailer but we do want you to be happy with the product, and I am sure your retailer shares this desire. Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything else I can help you with.

Thank you,"

The photo sent by MTH would be difficult to use as a reference for paint mixing because of the lighting conditions when it was taken. Half the caboose is in shadow and the other half suffers from shiny reflections. I think MTH probably did a decent job of matching the prototype paint. The prototype photo has a slight purplish tinge that is not evident in the photo of the model, but the model photo in the original post is underexposed so it's hard to tell exactly what that color is either. Given the uncertainties of working from photographs, I'd say MTH has done a very creditable job of approximating the real thing. I agree with their customer service rep that the model is a lot closer to the prototype than the catalog picture is.