|
|
Post by JKP on Sept 16, 2019 10:23:29 GMT
Are there fans of fantasy paint schemes or what if schemes. Rocky Mountailn mentioned fantasy schemes in another thread. If you have them what ones do you have.
|
|
|
|
Post by thebigcrabcake on Sept 16, 2019 13:28:16 GMT
The Polar Express and the Polar Railroad are two of the most produced fantasy schemes.  |
|
|
|
Post by rockymountaineer on Sept 16, 2019 13:40:24 GMT
As the saying goes... beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. And that is never more true than with toy train fantasy paint schemes: they either call our name, or we just cringe a little bit — sometimes maybe a lot.
I ordered the Lionel Hiawatha-colored S-3 steamer a couple of years ago, because the catalog image looked really cool. And I always like to add a splash of color to my model railroad — which is a blend of scale equipment and Lionel postwar offerings set amidst a stage largely comprised of Lionel tinplate accessories, Department 56 buildings and even some scale arched bridges.
I’m posting this from my iPhone right now, so I don’t have a photo of the S-3 handy. But overall, Lionel did a decent job with it. Unfortunately, they did veer off slightly from the catalog image — which has become more the norm than the exception on Lionel’s part lately. So we need to proceed with caution when ordering. It’s a double-edged sword of sorts: if we don’t pre-order, Lionel might not make the fantasy offering. And if we order and take the gamble, we might not get what was illustrated in the catalog. But that’s the nature of the beast these days.
I have a few other fantasy paint scheme offerings as well, but the Lionel Hiawatha S-3 is the one that comes to mind off the top of my head. It heads up a train consisting of Milwaukee Road passenger cars that were catalog’d with the more prototypical black S-3 which is also on my roster.
David
|
|
|
|
Post by laz57 on Sept 16, 2019 14:03:16 GMT
If it looks cool to me I’ll buy it. A good example of this was Lionel’s Western Maryland paint scheme on the AC6000, very cool.
|
|
|
|
Post by kstrains on Sept 16, 2019 21:49:56 GMT
Before Norfolk & Southern came out with their Heritage Paint Schemes, Lionel created their own Heritage Units for the NS which were all fantasy paint schemes. I wish NS would have put some of those paint schemes on their engines. I particularly liked the Southern SD70ACE that Lionel did in 2010.  |
|
|
|
Post by Charlie on Sept 17, 2019 0:19:57 GMT
Interesting story regarding fantasy paint schemes.
In the late 90’s I had the opportunity to meet with one of the photographers from EMD (LaGrange/McCook) Illinois. This was a very early effort to move the photographer from film to digital, and as you can imagine, this factory was already downsized and growing smaller every year and money was an issue.
Fast forward to the end of our meeting and he took me to the “archive” room with many pictures and images of paint schemes from all the EMD customers. He also showed me the “fantasy” schemes that EMD proposed and I can say with in no uncertain terms, there were some railroads that did not choose wisely.
EMD offered some beautiful paint schemes only to have the “expert” railroaders/buyers/engineers etc. choose a truly drab or uninspiring scheme. Maybe money and upkeep were factors, but I can guarantee you, there are some really great schemes that have, or will be lost to time.
It would be nice if someone could or did find the original proposals to the customers and crate a book. The history of the artwork of EMD might be an interesting read.
Charlie
|
|
|
|
Post by Country Joe on Sept 17, 2019 1:28:19 GMT
While I'm not a fan of fantasy paint schemes I'm not opposed to them. Prototype fidelity isn't very important to me so it's more a matter of something catching my eye. If I like it I'll buy it.
|
|
|
|
Post by thebigcrabcake on Sept 17, 2019 1:32:50 GMT
The Hogwarts Express is a great fantasy scheme drawn from modern literature.  |
|
|
|
Post by ptc on Sept 17, 2019 10:43:02 GMT
Yes, several. For starters, how about the Cab Forward.
|
|
|
|
Post by Joe Saggese on Sept 19, 2019 13:55:55 GMT
When a fantasy paint scheme is done right they do look good as referenced above.
|
|
|
|
Post by rockymountaineer on Sept 19, 2019 16:29:29 GMT
The Southern Pacific Daylight paint-scheme is one of the most eye-catching of all railroads. So much so, it's basically a license to print money for model-makers even when applied to locomotives that didn't have it in real life. Here's another such example of the SP Daylight paint-scheme in all its glory on Lionel's fantasy SP Daylight AC-9 locomotive from a couple of years ago...  |
|
|
|
Post by ptc on Sept 19, 2019 20:10:05 GMT
David, Lionel outdid itself with these AC9's. Just beautiful.
|
|
|
|
Post by Country Joe on Sept 19, 2019 20:59:51 GMT
I didn't remember that I have some freight cars in fantasy paint schemes, an LRRC bulkhead flat car, some MTH freight cars and a number of MTH Railroader club cars.
 
  |
|
