Kits Molded in Colors Other Then White

I remember doing a corvette stingray molded in hot pink..........Yuk!!!

I don't think so. The assembly drawings on the instruction sheets are slightly different. I could be wrong.

Gymbo-59

I assembled the old Revell 1/32 F4F-4 Martlett mark V a few years back.  It was molded in the usual  gray.  When I moved from Tennessee to Florida it was destroyed.  Don't ask. :)  Anyway, I picked up another one on Ebay the other day and when I opened it I found it was molded in an off white color. The instruction sheet was brown, not the typical white as well. I don't know if this is an earlier or later version of the kit.

  Could both the plastic and the paper faded over time?

Jim Barton

I was going to mention black; you talk about a tough color to have to paint over, plus when you're working with it, the black color absorbs all the light!

Jim,

     Also let's not forget that not all of us have perfect eyesight anymore.  And kits molded in darker colors can be harder for builder's with less then perfect eyesight to build a kit molded out of a dark color.

I assembled the old Revell 1/32 F4F-4 Martlett mark V a few years back.  It was molded in the usual  gray.  When I moved from Tennessee to Florida it was destroyed.  Don't ask. :)  Anyway, I picked up another one on Ebay the other day and when I opened it I found it was molded in an off white color. The instruction sheet was brown, not the typical white as well. I don't know if this is an earlier or later version of the kit.

I was going to mention black; you talk about a tough color to have to paint over, plus when you're working with it, the black color absorbs all the light!

lol, how about THIS ONE!!!

A kit older than I am. Molded in black to make it easier for the kids who were "building & flying" to make an all-black aircraft like on the box art. This one was a BUGGER to deal with btw, that plastic behaved like the ABS you see in plumbing pipes...

That screaming yellow Zero was my very first model.  I was around 5 or 6 I guess (about 55 years ago-whoa!).  My grandma sat on it.

Gary

And while I'm at it:

Anybody remember when Aurora had every kid convinced the the Japanese "Zero" was actually yellow?

And the rest of their fleet in their respective colors:

Cadet Chuck

A single coat of good primer, such as Tamiya fine surface primer, will wipe out the color of the plastic, and you will have a nice neutral gray or white primed surface to paint on.  I've never had any trouble with this.

Ditto, chuck,

I generally lay down a coat or 2 of primer myself, so molded color is not much of an issue. But, wow, why the hell do they mold some in such DARK colors? A color that would NEVER have been on that vehicle, like the Hawker Typhoon I have in waiting. It's a 1/32 scale Revell kit from 1982 and it's molded in a green that's so dark, it's almost black.

 Kinda like this:

______________GREEN__________ 

A single coat of good primer, such as Tamiya fine surface primer, will wipe out the color of the plastic, and you will have a nice neutral gray or white primed surface to paint on.  I've never had any trouble with this.

Don Stauffer

I firmly believe that the majority of mfgs feel that most of their kits are bought by or for young modelers who do not paint the kits, so molding in appropriate colors may be a marketing advantage. I base this on instructions that show assembly steps that would preclude good painting techniques if followed, whereas a different order of assembly would make painting much easier and better. Often the only painting guides (showing colors) show only exterior colors- no info on interior colors, or ones that show interior colors in steps where part of that interior has already been closed off.

Don,

     It wouldn't surprise me if that was closer to the truth.  But they also need to remember that not ALL kits are bought by or for kids to build.

     Here's an interesting question.  How many of the kits for sale are actually purchased by/for children and how many are purchased by/for adults?

     A skill level 1 snap together kit I can see the "logic" of casting it in color.  For skill level 2 and up it makes more sense to cast them white and let the builder decide what color to paint it.

littletimmy

Some companies release kits in red so its easier to paint the kit red.

Or yellow so you can paint it yellow.

Red and yellow are hard to get good coverage on a kit without using 4 or 5 coats of paint

So if the plastic is already red you only need 1 or 2 coats.   No primer..

But if you want it a different color you will probably use 4 or 5 coats anyway just to try and hide the red.

I prefer kits in white.   Its just easier that way.

Tim,

     I agree that that "logic" does make a degree of sense.  However as I said most of us do end up painting our kits.  Whether or not it's the same color as recommended by the manufacturer.

     Like you, I too prefer them to be molded in white.  Likewise, that was the general consensus of the club members.  One was working on a Colby this past Tuesday that was cast in red.  And he had mold seams that he had to sand off.  Which means (if I'm not mistaken) even if he wanted to paint it red (I don't think that he does) after sanding he's going to have to prime it before he can paint it.

Rob Gronovius

Armor kits tend to come in one of three basic colors (shades of those 3). They come in green, gray or tan. Once in a great while a kit comes in white; often from eastern European companies or if the vehicle is sporting a white UN or winter paint scheme.

Like the white color, the gray/green/tan shade often depends on what the actual vehicle color is for the majority of the kit's paint schemes. Some companies only mold in shades of gray. But Tamiya will put out kits in various shade of gray/green/tan. They even released a Landrover in pink.

Rob,

     So they made a "Mary Kay" Landrover, huh?  Interesting.

I firmly believe that the majority of mfgs feel that most of their kits are bought by or for young modelers who do not paint the kits, so molding in appropriate colors may be a marketing advantage. I base this on instructions that show assembly steps that would preclude good painting techniques if followed, whereas a different order of assembly would make painting much easier and better. Often the only painting guides (showing colors) show only exterior colors- no info on interior colors, or ones that show interior colors in steps where part of that interior has already been closed off.

Some companies release kits in red so its easier to paint the kit red.

Or yellow so you can paint it yellow.

Red and yellow are hard to get good coverage on a kit without using 4 or 5 coats of paint

So if the plastic is already red you only need 1 or 2 coats.   No primer..

But if you want it a different color you will probably use 4 or 5 coats anyway just to try and hide the red.

I preffer kits in white.   Its just easier that way.

Ah... the Matchbox colored plastic.    Brings back memories of musty old boxes and tube glue.

The Old Matchbox kits came in 2 or 3 sprue shades, sometimes appropriate, such as red for Red Arrows, etc, sometimes some very-odd shades, whereas the Revel re-pops are Revel Green.

The Old Arfix Antarctic Auster was bright yellow, but most of their planes were pale blue.

Armor kits tend to come in one of three basic colors (shades of those 3). They come in green, gray or tan. Once in a great while a kit comes in white; often from eastern European companies or if the vehicle is sporting a white UN or winter paint scheme.

Like the white color, the gray/green/tan shade often depends on what the actual vehicle color is for the majority of the kit's paint schemes. Some companies only mold in shades of gray. But Tamiya will put out kits in various shade of gray/green/tan. They even released a Landrover in pink.

the bfc mig is orange for obvious reasons, otherwise I have no explanation for multi-colored plastic. Makes sense to have it in just a neutral color.

Ghostrider114

sometimes, they just pick a color and use it for their entire line, either something generic or something cheap and easy to use, sometimes they mold sprues in colors similar enough to the final color that it looks decent if finished without paint.  Sometimes, they're send out kits in random colors just  because that's what they had available or something slipped up in the factory.  Sometimes kits end up different colors because they were early releases or prototypes.  The first few moldings of the AMT Enterprise-D kit from the 80s, for example, were molded in red and green.

GR,

     That does make a degree of sense.  Maybe they need to send out survey's to their customers to find out what we want in the way of a "base" color for kit's to be molded in.  It is still a bit of a head scratcher as to why they do what they do.

Jester75

Funny you should mention this. I just received the Eduard MIG-21 MF BFC Edition and you should see the sprue colors.....

     Can I ask Whisky Tango Foxtrot where they "smoking?"  I mean couldn't they have just picked ONE color and stuck with it?

Dre

That red styrene might have been cheaper to purchase than another color, maybe it flows through the molds better, may be 'just because'.

That's a question I've asked myself- 'have these guys even considered having to paint over this?!?"

     It's a question I raised last night at the "Crash and Bash."  Also if I'm not mistaken, don't the destruction, err sorry the instructions that come with most kits, even those that are molded in color include the instruction to PAINT the model?!?

     It is a good question, isn't it?  Likewise the "advice" that some will give us cyclists.  IF they ever actually tried to use their advice they'd find out real quickly how bad it generally is.

sometimes, they just pick a color and use it for their entire line, either something generic or something cheap and easy to use, sometimes they mold sprues in colors similar enough to the final color that it looks decent if finished without paint.  Sometimes, they're send out kits in random colors just  because that's what they had available or something slipped up in the factory.  Sometimes kits end up different colors because they were early releases or prototypes.  The first few moldings of the AMT Enterprise-D kit from the 80s, for example, were molded in red and green.

Funny you should mention this. I just received the Eduard MIG-21 MF BFC Edition and you should see the sprue colors.....

That red styrene might have been cheaper to purchase than another color, maybe it flows through the molds better, may be 'just because'.

That's a question I've asked myself- 'have these guys even considered having to paint over this?!?"