Mpc general Lee

[chiefwiggum]

Hi guys

Looking to pick your brains..I've got ano mpc 1/25 snap kit general Lee which I want to do a proper job on..the shell is molded in orange plastic but I'm wondering is there a closer match to the proper colour?

Would anyone know a good match of orange to respray the shell in tamiya or vallejo please

Thanks everyone

Barry

[ElectricLightAndy]

Hello Barry,

 

The colour is a widely and nastily debated subject on these cars, When I made mine I used halfords 'Volkswagen Brilliant Orange' it seemed orangey enough to me and they spray really nicely.

 

AMT General Lee

 

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

 

Andy.

 

 

[kapam]

I did a little Internet research.

Apparently the colour is called "Hemi Orange".

Some sources say Model Master "Chevy Engine Red" is quite a close match.

Some also say Model Master "International Orange". 

I hope this helps, but I feel it may be opening a can of worms.  There is a lot of subjective opinion involved.

[MetroRacing]

2nd vote for Volkswagen Brilliant Orange. I paint a Charger Daytona in it and thought it would make a good match to Hemi Orange.

Hemi orange as used on the General Lee is the same Hemi Orange used on the Hemi engines and some other high power Chrysler Big Blocks.

 

Ashley

[bhouse]

If you're judging the colour from a TV show there's another can of worms.  The show was edited in the USA using the NTSC colour system which is notorious for its colour handling (many broadcast engineers suggest NTSC stands for Never Twice the Same Colour!). The well-saturated red/yellow/orange part of the spectrum is particularly problematic and there is a range of saturated orange colours that simply can not be reproduced accurately on tv.

 

Also in NTSC there is no precise colour reference as there is with the non-USA PAL system. As a result NTSC TVs (and edit systems) have a 'hue' control so you can adjust the hues of the colours to your liking.

 

So what colour was the General Lee? From watching TV, about the best you can say is 'orange'. So just go with whatever matches your preconceptions. That way you can't go wrong! 

Brian

[ElectricLightAndy]

39 minutes ago, bhouse said:

So what colour was the General Lee? From watching TV, about the best you can say is 'orange'. So just go with whatever matches your preconceptions. That way you can't go wrong! 

 

Exactly, definitely 'Orange' nobody can argue with that

 

Andy. 

[ptcruiser]

In the TV show show where the General was built, Cooter refers to it as engine orange. This has lead to the conclusion of Hemi orange. In terms of consistency, this illustrates your options: 

 

Rich

[MetroRacing]

Chrysler Hemi Orange was a colour option on the Chargers and was the supposed colour of the General Lee, so that's the colour you're aiming to recreate. That colour is also the colour all replica's are painted.

The colour has a paint code and can be mixed up if you want the actual colour. But Halfords sell a very close shade that would fool anyone like previously stated.

 

Ashley

[chrisrope]

Correct orange is GM code 70 Flame Red (in 1975) or Orange Flame (in 1976). Variations of colour on the cars used, especially early series cars, was due to different colour cars being painted orange. 
In later series they primed them before painting to eliminate the variations in shades.

However, try as I might, I've not managed to find GM70 in an aerosol or otherwise in the UK. For my GL build using the Revell kit as a base, I'll go for what looks right, probably Hemi Orange. 

I did build the AMT version in Humbrol 18 over a white base and it didn't look too far off