bringing some order to describing colors

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Bernie
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bringing some order to describing colors

Post by Bernie »

Following a conversation I began in the 40a Bedford 7 Ton Tipper thread in Missing, Previously-Catalogued 1-75 RW Variations, I'll try to present what I feel is an improvement to how color variations can be catalogued. I don't collect Matchbox and didn't feel that I had the content necessary to do this up right, so I'll be using vintage Corgi models. The bigger canvas may make my job easier. The principles are the same.

It will take a week or more to gather together what I'm thinking and document it, but here is where we start. All of these cars are red. The quality of the remaining paint is roughly equal. At a quick glance, I believe that they are all a different shade of red, yet very similar. At the upper left is a Matchbox Ford pickup (5d I think). To my eye, the closest match is the Corgi Rambler Marlin just below it with the black roof. To the right of the pickup is a Corgi Cadillac ambulance, then a 1958 Ford Thunderbird. Lower right is a Corgi Aston Martin DB4.

It's not a great picture. taken indoors, at little blurry, I think it has a blue tinge compared to what I saw in my hand. Lighting plays a role in getting the shadows and highlights next to each other. That doesn't matter. If it ever stops raining, I'll get some pictures in daylight. What's more important to me now, is how we differentiate these colors. At this stage of the game, it's not necessarily what color they are, but what color they are in relation to each other. If Rambler red is the 1st run color, and I say there's a blueish-red variation in the color of the Cadillac, you can compare those side by side and know the difference. A difference that's not as evident in the picture. Farther down the line, we'll try to indicate which of the two colors you own.

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Bernie
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Re: bringing some order to describing colors

Post by Bernie »

Here's the Ford pickup (upper) right up against the Rambler Marlin (lower). The DB4 is to the left. I'll come back to them later.
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I first begin the process of running through the RAL color chart to find the closest match for the Ford pickup in that schema. Which color would you pick?
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You can follow along with these two websites to get a broader feel for how these colors compare to each other
http://ralcolours.com/
http://www.e-paint.co.uk/RAL_Colourchart.asp
The downside of not having a professional studio is that the lighting changes each time I move an object or change the zoom. I had other pictures but will give you the abridged version.
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So which one did you think was the closest match? Here's the Rambler. I think the closest match is RAL3001. Is that the same color you chose for the Ford pickup? If not, go back to the top picture. Can you describe the difference between the two shades in words everyone can understand? There are other color schemas that I will also explore to see if we can find an even more accurate match.
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Tinman
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Re: bringing some order to describing colors

Post by Tinman »

Here we go again. Can we merge this into the older thread or was that thread on Lefora and lost.

Regardless, I'll make one comment and then I'm going to bail on this thread: This only works on your own personal desk and in your hand ... even then, it won't work for everybody. It's doomed to total failure online, for reasons that have been repeatedly addressed.
It might be time to start my "Bucket List."
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Idris
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Re: bringing some order to describing colors

Post by Idris »

Tinman wrote:Here we go again. Can we merge this into the older thread or was that thread on Lefora and lost.
It was on Lefora (and I think it formed part of a 42b Studebaker thread).
MatchboxFreak
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Re: bringing some order to describing colors

Post by MatchboxFreak »

Hello Bernie
Your suggestion for color matching is very well thought out and well described.
Descriptions of color are challenging and vexing. As Tinman mentioned we talked about this a few years ago and didn't come up with good universal solution.

Different countries and different industries use different ways to describe color.
Colors look different under different lighting and when viewed from different angles or with different background colors. Color rendition under sunlight even varies with time of day and local weather.
And different eyes see colors differently. My wife and I have an ongoing debate about a shirt I own. I think it is a purplish, reddish brown (like dried blood) while she thinks it is pure brown.
Comparing colors to a broadly available standard like RAL may be the best option but is likely only useful when comparing the model and the color chart both in the hand. (The color chart needs to be printed by the manufacturer and not printed from ones own printer.)

Color matching using computer/phone/TV monitors and or photographs is extremely unreliable.

Thanks for bringing up the topic and good luck!
Kurt
Happy hunting!
Kurt
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nickjones
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Re: bringing some order to describing colors

Post by nickjones »

Hi Bernie.
I have to agree with Kurt. I have one green/brown eye while the other is blue/grey. When I close one eye the colours look different depending on which eye I have closed, no two cameras will see the exact same colour and no two monitors will display a picture exactly the same, unfortunately its a no win situation.
Nick Jones.
In sunny Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, UK
brainstrust
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Re: bringing some order to describing colors

Post by brainstrust »

What Nick said!!!
With all our modern technology we still haven't mastered the basics of precisely photographing/videoing colours. Maybe we never will. If we do our eyes all see colours and shades differently anyway. There was that recent example in the media of that gold coloured dress that wasn't gold at all.........or was it :?
brainstrust
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Re: bringing some order to describing colors

Post by brainstrust »

I can't remember what colour it actually is :roll:

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GHOSTHUNTER
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Re: bringing some order to describing colors

Post by GHOSTHUNTER »

On my VAIO laptop screen, it looks Gold and White striped.

Ghosty.
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motorman
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Re: bringing some order to describing colors

Post by motorman »

GHOSTHUNTER wrote:On my VAIO laptop screen, it looks Gold and White striped.

Ghosty.
Ha ha you are blind Kevi, go get your glasses it is clearly black and purply blue!!!
MOTORMAN

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