There are
specific colors but they really refer to color groups. Why?
Simply because there can be many shades of the same color which
can vary from casting to casting, from year to year and from
country of origin to country of origin. This is attributed to
many different factors but usually the preparation of the
casting prior to being painted has a lot to do with how vibrant
or not the color appears. If a casting is highly polished, then
it tends to be very bright and colorful, where if a casting is
not polished well and the metal has a darker finish, the color
would tend to be dark or dull. In addition, it seems that no
two batches of the same color of paint were mixed the same way.
So, for example, you can have a dark aqua, a very blue looking
aqua, a very green looking aqua or even a very light or icy
looking aqua. The color is still aqua; it’s just a particular
shade of aqua.
It is important
to note that UV rays can affect the paint color over time. A
good example of this is the result of taking a true green car
and exposing it to direct sunlight. Over time, it faded to an
icy aqua-blue color. The theory for this occurrence is that
this particular mixture of green paint was prone to induced UV
fading. Not all paint colors and not all of the same color
paint is susceptible. Nevertheless there are some paint colors
out there that are, so always store and display your
spectraflame beauties appropriately.
Mattel did use
some enamel paints during the Spectraflame Era and they are
listed below among the spectraflame colors. The terms in
parentheses are alternate names collectors use when describing
the corresponding color. A rainbow can be quite challenging
when trying to find the same casting in as many different colors
as possible, but don’t forget about the shades in between.
Tracking down shades can turn a rainbow into a spectrum – a feat
some collectors say is never complete - but is quite impressive
when on display.
Color Chart
Spectraflame Colors |
Antifreeze |
Aqua |
Blue |
Brown |
Copper |
Creamy Pink |
Gold (Honey) (Platinum) |
Green |
Hot Pink |
Light Blue (Ice) |
Light Green (Apple) |
Lime |
Magenta |
Medium Blue (Windex) |
Olive (Gold Olive) (Green Olive) |
Orange |
Purple |
Red |
Rose (Red Rose) (Pink Rose) |
Salmon Pink |
Yellow |
Watermelon (Light Red) |
Enamel
Colors |
Dark Green Enamel |
Blue Enamel |
Grey Enamel |
Orange Enamel |
Red Enamel |
White Enamel |
|