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 Posted - August 12 2012 : 11:27:13 PM
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So I was in a decrepit but awesome hobby shop up north a week ago that had stuff for stupid-cheap prices. Picked up a dirty but serviceable Tyco Atlantic Coast Line F7 A&B pair for 4 bucks. My intent was to clean and flip them to pay for my other acquisitions... but I was in for a surpise when I cleaned them:
I don't know how these spent their lives (the old dirt and cobwebs were but a fleeting clue), but look at the paint! It fades from purple to gray in all shades between, in completely random spots. It's almost like they were left outside under the dappled shade of a tree. For years.
Note that the silver and yellow is pristine. And did the "ghost lettering" on the A-unit, showing the original deep purple beneath! The spots on the roof look textured, but the entire finish is as glass-smooth and satin-sheened as you could hope to find MIB. I thought maybe it was paint over mixed/gray plastic, but nope: the shells are black.
I've also seen (and own) some ACL F-units that are gray instead of purple. But they are a perfectly consistent finish, not at all "faded" in appearance. Yet this pair makes me wonder if there is in fact a connection?
I simply don't understand how in the world this could happen...
...but it's like a perfectly aged, authentically-weathered finish. You couldn't hope to paint this yourself.
Needless to say, I'll be keeping these and adding a bit of dirt and wear around the trucks and sills, etc to complete the effect. 
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Posted - August 13 2012 : 03:20:09 AM
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That's wild, Tony. My best guess is sun bleaching, with dust, dirt and moisture settling on them for many years creating the mottling effect. Maybe they sat near a window, though you'd expect to find them faded on one side only.
It looks like the lettering just flaked off like it's doing on the B unit, and perhaps someone gave it a little help with a fingernail. That's the best ghost lettering I've seen.
I guess we'll never know, unless they start talking.
The Tyco Depot
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Posted - August 13 2012 : 07:30:01 AM
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I've searched online for ACL Mantua units before, and I've noticed that very, very few have a bright purple color anymore, most are faded to this grayish lavender shade. I've got an A unit myself I bought through Ebay that looks like this, although the color is not mottled. Could just be that the purple they used didn't hold up over time. Matter of fact, I've only seen maybe 1 or two pieces online that still have a fairly bright purple cast to them, maybe kept in the dark. Dunno. But it seems to be a common issue with the ACL paint scheme to fade out over the years. I don't think it's anything special. But it looks nice if you like the weathered look. Here's a pic below of a set I saw on Ebay, the purple on the passenger cars is bright, but the engines are faded out.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - August 13 2012 : 10:46:37 AM
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Nelson: Yeah, I thought about a "basement window" type of environment, but as you point out I'd expect the fading to be more uniform and/or confined to one side. And I've seen engines where mildew, etc ate into the paint, but these are perfectly butter smooth with no surface or texture blemishing. At all.
The ghosting on the A-unit was mostly by me, finishing what was begun (but I will note that for some reason the B-unit did not strip... and the fading around the lettering was telling. Tyco lettering from this era is pretty easy to remove, and usually you can't tell where it was as all). I also added the missing horn, mismatched deliberately in keeping with its worn character.
Jerry: interesting point, and I too have noticed a wide variety of shade variance in ACL units. But I think the difference between the engines and cars is more due to the plastic and undercoat: silver on the cars, versus black on the engines. Even the blue on B&O engines does not match the cars, nor does New Haven, nor does Canadian Pacific from what I can tell. You know what does match? Santa Fe, since the warbonnet was painted over the silver basecoat on the locos.
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Posted - August 13 2012 : 11:47:34 AM
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Making me jealous there Jerry! That is interesting to point out that purple shades varied from run to run of the ACL's F's.
" Heck with counting 'em rivets, TRAINS ARE FOR FUN! Not called the Mad Scientist for nothing either!"
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Posted - August 13 2012 : 12:21:15 PM
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neat loco Looks like one that could be used in a scrapyard scene or in a freight train that was sold to another line
The hobby store sounds like my kind of place 
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Posted - August 13 2012 : 12:27:05 PM
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Tony,
I have found that when I wash a piece that was previously in the home of a heavy smoker, the paint tends to weaken & and wash out a bit after the wash. I wonder if the nicotine reacts with the paint and softens the outer shell, leaving it with an uneven white washed look afterwards. This really happens with Rivarossi units that are originally coated with the nasty brownish glaze of a heavy smoker's home.
Sean
"If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!" - Mario Andretti!
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Posted - August 14 2012 : 08:58:31 AM
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| Sean - That's an interesting theory. I don't think these were from a smoker's home, though... they didn't have that trademark film or smell and weren't really grimy. I generally avoid stuff like that when I can, but I know the grime you're talking about. Lots of stuff can affect paint over time... smoke, moisture/mildew, even basic dirt can affect some finishes. I've not had too much trouble with fading when cleaning... but then I've not collected nearly the amount you have so my day is probably coming.
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