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Week XX: Coaster Color


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In response to our SIX 2O15 topic, it was discussed that the new color of Scream! makes it look better. So, does a coaster color really matter or does it not? What are your favorite color schemes?

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In coasters, I think color scheme matters to a degree, but is rarely make-or-break. In my humble opinion, upkeep of the colors matters more than what they are. For example, I liked Invertigo's red and yellow color scheme better than the current one. But I think the ride looks better now in 2015 than it did in 2011 (or 2010, I don't remember which was its last year as McDonald's: The Ride) because the colors are vibrant and the coaster has a nice shine. It looks loved.

See also Mantis / Rougarou. I liked the Mantis color scheme better, but I think the ride itself looks better now because the paint is fresh.

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It depends on the coaster IMO. With smaller rides, you can get away with about anything. With rides that stick out in a park's skyline, well...I'd rather not see something that doesn't mesh. SFMM's X in its original pink and yellow comes to mind.

The most eccentric paint job goes easily to this.

Dragon @ Ocean Park in Hong Kong.

lvk04000575i16ig001uq2.jpg

Picture courtesy of RCDB.com. Link

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I always had the idea that paint would keep a roller coaster smooth for a little while longer, especially wooden coasters. Steel coasters always need that new layer of protection against corrosion. On wooden coasters, the wooden track expands and contracts at different rates, which is one of the leading causes of roughness. A layer of paint would prevent it from getting rough as quickly as it does because the sun gives off the light, which turns to heat, expanding the wood, and the paint reflects the light and heat back. Although there may be reasons, as Terp mentioned, why some coasters do not get repainted.

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Well, most of what I could say has already been said, so I'll just confirm on some points:

#1- While it may not affect the quality of the ride, for visual aspects, yes color is VERY important. Especially if said ride is going tower over the park or something.

#2- Some paintjobs are great fresh, but need maintaned...or else. For example, Vortex here at Kings Island IMO has a great paintjob, but when it was neglected for quite a long time in the late 90's, by 2000...it looked horrible. Thankfully that problem was easily fixed with a new paintjob.

And also...

#3- Certain colors should be mixed with other colors, otherwise the ride will look horrible. There will be an example of this later in this post.

And now, some of my personal favorite paintjobs...

Afterburn @ Carowinds

kan00000r5g10u00089140.jpg

Silver Track and Blue Supports on an inverted or suspended coaster is ALWAYS a good combo in my book. This ride shows it off perfectly. With both this and Fury 325, Carowinds will have some pretty pretty coasters in 2015. Other rides have also had this paintjob, and they look often as good, but I'm just going to use this one example here.

Millennium Force @ Cedar Point

14ctgo000086bkg4kk0051.jpg

The "inverted" (LOLZ) version of the color scheme is also gorgeous IMO...granted MF has white supports, but it's close enough. Other coasters also have this color scheme too of course, but I'm just using the most famous example...

Blue Streak @ Cedar Point

gur12p8s00cg00k8920400.jpg

Cedar Fair seems to know some good color choices IMO, even if they do over-use red (due to being over-used, no red coasters will appear here even though I don't really mind it though). :P Blue Streak is the first woodie to appear here, and the slight hint of blue in the supports and blue track make it just that much prettier than your average wooden coaster.

Now for some exceptions to the rule of "you need more than 1 color" (mostly)...

Batman: The Ride (original paintjob) @ SF Great America

h870000kg01c0012bjg000.jpg

OK so there is SOME gold track. But it's 99% all-black. While most color schemes would be painful to look at like this, All Black just makes a coaster look more intimidating. And said gold track is an awesome touch. The new paintjob isn't bad, but compared to THIS...

Woodstock Express @ Kings Island

mp3s08002dhq804g0008jr.jpg

It's a bit easier to get away with an all-one-color paintjob with a wooden coaster- with some exceptions. The natural browns usually work for them, but Woodstock Express here shows off how pretty a nice all-light-blue can be. I love the "official" color name too...Blue Ice Cream... :P Also it should be obvious by now what my favorite color is...

And now, one of the few paint schemes I have seen that made me cringe...prepare yourself for...

T3 @ Kentucky Kingdom

T2%2001.jpg

(Pic from: http://www.coaster2coaster.com/)

MY EYES!!! :wacko: Seriously, this one looked 100x better in all black...TOO MUCH RED!!! EVEN Cedar Fair WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND DIS!!!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this post. Save the last part. I'm so sorry. But I had to include a bad one, and that one came to mind...

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I'm a big fan of anything blue and/or green. I agree that red and yellow are WAY overused.

Maybe something's wrong with my eyes but that T3 pic, I see as orange, not red. Wouldn't be quite so bad if there were different color supports.

Banshee and Fury 325 have the prettiest colors, IMO :) I love the color combinations on both of those rides.

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Favorite coaster color schemes:

- Fury 325 (already)

- Banshee

- Afterburn - The silver track and blue supports look awesome from the parking lot of Carowinds.

- Blue Streak

- Rougarou - I was there for Winter Chill Out so it was my first view of the new track in person, and I thought it looked very nice up close and from a distance.

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I do think the color schemes of a coaster matter as they get a chance to make a first impression to a potential rider. Color schemes I enjoy are/were Stealth (previously at California's Great America), Nighthawk (same ride, but now at Carowinds, with that yellow color scheme), any of Ricochet' (Carowinds) s color schemes except the current one, Rugrat's Runaway Reptar (all former Paramount Parks that had this ride), Colossus for Thorpe Park, both of the Invertigo (Great America and Kings Island's)s original color schemes and probably many others that I can't think of at the moment. And yes, I do like Scream's old color scheme better, although I was at first impressed with the new color scheme. Afterburn's paint job is also cool as is Millennium Force's.

EDIT: I also like the paint job of the 3 Deja Vu coasters.

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I don't really pay much attention to coaster colors, but Mantis and Raptor's color schemes at Cedar Point always seemed backwards to me. The green one is a bird, and the parrot colored one was an insect. I always got them confused because of it.

The new purple people eater at KI does make me appreciate a good color scheme more than I ever have before, though. Banshee is so pretty.

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Banshee is pretty awesome just to look at, but I guess I really never payed much attention to colors.

I guess if i was gonna really take look at it, McSalsa pretty well hit the nail on the head for me.

I'm glad they all don't look the same, though.

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I agree with a lot of what has already been said. I'm not going to base my decision to ride on the color of the ride. But for a ride with super faded paint or that it clearly hasn't been touched up, I can see where it might be a bit worrisome to some riders.

I do appreciate a nice color combination. I tend to prefer the blue, green, purple, white and silver colors in general.

I do wonder how different some rides look to those that are colorblind, especially the blue and green rides.

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  • 3 weeks later...

It depends on the coaster IMO. With smaller rides, you can get away with about anything. With rides that stick out in a park's skyline, well...I'd rather not see something that doesn't mesh. SFMM's X in its original pink and yellow comes to mind.

The most eccentric paint job goes easily to this.

Dragon @ Ocean Park in Hong Kong.

lvk04000575i16ig001uq2.jpg

Picture courtesy of RCDB.com. Link

Looks like a coaster themed to Willy Wonka IMO... I just feel like taking a bite out of the track :P

As for some of my favorite paint jobs:

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All these photos are from RCDB. How do I make it so there's the border saying "This picture provided by the Roller Coaster DataBase"?

EDIT: Nevermind

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Some of my favorites (part 1):

Fury 325: WOWZA. What more can I say. Probably THE most beautiful coaster, in my opinion. The bright green on the back of the track spine really does it for me.

hh504sm9hfu40004a2o000.jpg

Shambhala: dark, sleek supports--not your typical gray/silver--as well as track with a contrasting white a cool shade of blue on the rails. And since it's in the picture, I'll give an honorable mention to Dragon Khan--I know it has red track but it looks great with the pastel blue supports.

4iq00gs7g20002hqp4vvg0.jpg

Banshee: While it would have been even cooler with the original shades of colors seen in the renderings, the final product still turned out amazing. So unique and visually stunning.

a7opu00024c7o0g000pg48.jpg

Gatekeeper: This coaster provides such a statement along the front of the park and the beach of Cedar Point. In my opinion, it's the best looking coaster at the park. I love the crisp white supports and the two toned blue track, as well as the sleek shiny, golden trains soaring along. For me, the colors all mimic the beach and the sky. The gold trains like the golden sand, the white like the clouds, and the various colors of blue like the lake and the sky on a sunny day.

b1m2l2o0048u1o00009c7o.jpg

All images from rcdb.com

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My favorites (part 2):

Behemoth (also Nitro, Impulse Talon among others): I love the contrast between orange and blue. It just stands out so much.

-Can't forget about the new pain on Scream too! I love it.

7ick0024j480g004r5b0fk.jpg

I love the inverted blue/yellow on Impulse too.

9brn0g0015nd0000175bub.jpg

Medusa: Purple against yellow looks so sharp, and I love it.

g2c80i004q80009eqg1000.jpg

There are many more interesting color combos I love, but I'll stop or else I'll be posting for a long time :D

Anyways, I find it interesting how all my tops are B&Ms. They truly have the most beautiful and aesthetically pleasing coasters.

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For steal coasters, I'm a personal fan of Deep Purple supports with gray track. For a truly sick night ride.

Yeah, running from the police while towing a huge stolen coaster behind you probably would be a sick ride at night... with the specific definition of "sick" depending on whether or not they catch you. :P

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