Date   : Wed, 03 May 2006 23:35:47 +0100
From   : Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk@...>
Subject: Re: BBC Model B Colour scheme

Peter Rendle wrote:
> If it isn't any bother then that would be very helpful.  Not much luck 
> from others on the list. 

Problem is (as someone else hinted at) plastic ages horribly and breaks down 
over time in normal light. I'm not even sure that there ever was a single 
standard for beeb cases either; e.g. were ICL-built beeb colours [1] exactly 
the same as Acorn-built ones? Did keycap colours stay exactly the same across 
the different keyboard revisions?

[1] Both my ICL-built machines have 'faded' to a glorious bright orange colour :)

It's bad enough trying to colour-match old and new with painted metal - it's 
not something I'd fancy doing with paint and plastics!

You'd get good results painting the BBC case shell, by the way - so you could 
go for an approximate BBC shade and then spray both BBC case and keyboard case.

As an exercise in historical research, you might want to see if Alan Boothroyd 
(who designed the BBC case) is still contactable; he may well know the exact 
shade used. A google suggests that his company's still going at least 
(http://www.cpdesign.co.uk, but I refuse to go near any website that uses 
Flash-only!)

cheers

Jules