Casting Vintage 80s Solid Color Blanks?

[PatrickR]

You have taken on a big challenge.
I assume its the "blue mustang" that you are trying to replicate. I would try Blue, white, yellow and black. VERY small amounts of yellow and black. Blues and grays can be the hardest colors to match as it takes very little to make a change in the hue.
What you are doing will give you a baseline start but will change as you move to resin. Trying for an opaque blank further complicates it. In the end you will only know if its the color you want by turning some to pen thickness, and even then you may have to play with back paint colors to get what you want.

 

[jrista]

You have taken on a big challenge.
I assume its the "blue mustang" that you are trying to replicate. I would try Blue, white, yellow and black. VERY small amounts of yellow and black. Blues and grays can be the hardest colors to match as it takes very little to make a change in the hue.
What you are doing will give you a baseline start but will change as you move to resin. Trying for an opaque blank further complicates it. In the end you will only know if its the color you want by turning some to pen thickness, and even then you may have to play with back paint colors to get what you want.

Actually, I was able to replicate the blue mustang, as it is mostly blue.

It is more the colors with a bit of a greenish tinge/tone to them that I've been having trouble with. I've been trying to identify mixing ratios so far. That way, when I get to the resins, I can leverage the same ratios, just with bigger quantities overall to achieve the opacity I'm looking for.

 

[PatrickR]

Yes, that should work as long as you reach opacity before exceeding the amount of additive allowed in the resin.
I have found very few truly opaque plastic blanks. This could be cost driven though. As you've found, some pigments are very expensive.

 

[jrista]

Yes, that should work as long as you reach opacity before exceeding the amount of additive allowed in the resin.
I have found very few truly opaque plastic blanks. This could be cost driven though. As you've found, some pigments are very expensive.

Yeah, I am not expecting absolutely perfect opacity. I have been using the solid color blanks from Exotic Blanks lately, and while they appear to be pretty opaque, a I found out twice now, when they get thin, they are not as opaque as they appear. I used a kind of sky blue blank for a pen last night. I painted the hole an almost identical blue, then painted the tubes gray. The gray was kind of a mistake, I painted them first, then decided to change the color I was using, and things were already kind of a sticky fit, so I didn't want to add another coat of paint. The difference in color between the hole and the blank, however, seems to show through in a couple places where I apparently missed painting the wall of the hole. Its not overt, its a subtle change in color, but it still bugs me.

So, I know these won't be completely opaque. I just need them to be opaque enough that I can paint the hole and have it work. And, since I've been experimenting with these colors with water as a base, it really wouldn't be hard to mix both resin, and a simple water based paint, so I can pain the holes and the tubes the exact same colors, which should do the trick, I think.

 

[jrista]

Well, looks like Viridian Green was indeed the missing color I needed to mix a more appropriate turquoise with the Gamblin pigments. Even just a 2:1 ratio of Viridian Green:Cobalt Blue immediately got me much closer to what I was looking for. I think some tinting to lighten it up a bit will bring it to the right color.