Colors for space colony vehicles?

[DoctorPete]

So...I have a pile of metal, resin, Matchbox and plastic vehicles ready to paint for my space colony project but am at a loss as far as colors.  Should they be painted according to function (ie. red/white for medical; black/navy blue for security) or just a single color for all types?  I guess my imagination is just not up to making a decision  .  Any ideas are welcome.

[Red Orc]

Yellow. Dirty yellow. All off-world colony vehicles are a dirty yellow colour.

In my head anyway. Maybe because it looks so completely un-military.

[Painting Princess]

A grey with a purplish tinge might be interesting ... purple seems like a space colour to me! Maybe with some bleached bone and metallic colours for detail? You could always make the emblems the traditional functional colours ...

[Bahir]

I guess it would depend on what you are tying to portray.

Is it a first colony on the world?  Are the colonists concerned about safety?  If so, perhaps the vehicles would be painted in ways that could easily be spotted if they break down away from the colony and a search is made.

Is it an old established colony?  Then maybe the vehicle are old work horses with the paint coming off, etc.

I hope that helps...

[Rivera]

I'd have to go with either yellow, white or a bright orange - sounds bright but as Bahir has pointed out they'ld have to be very noticeable in case of breakdown (think rescue helicopter colours)

[Momotaro]

Take a look at photos of modern mining camps, polar bases and the like for inspiration.

As Rivera says, you often want to be VERY visible - I'd go for bright orange as well (we would pick the most difficult colour to paint, wouldn't we?) or blue or yellow depending on the terrain.  That goes for buildings and clothing as well.

As well as whether the colony is new or old, consider its purpose and the money behind it. Is it a huge purpose-built showcase, a working camp, or just a bunch of cheap prefabricated buildings and modified shipping containers dumped from orbit?  Are there repair facilities, or regular resupply drops? All these will affect the look and feel of the vehicles.

[DoctorPete]

Hmmmmm...  The initial concept is for a first landing with pre-fab buildings and plenty of exploration.  Not a fully established colony yet.  Sounds like bright colors (orange?  Yikes!  gotta study ways to do that color right) will be the way to go.  The planet in question is cold with some tundra but not frozen wastes.  Thanks for the ideas.  The creative juices are flowing once again! 

[area23]

Great ideas!!

[Brandlin]

Yellow and black.

Predominantly yellow bodies with black accents and highlighted bits. They are great contrast colours, and the black really helps to break up the monotony of the yellow.

I'd make sure to do something like all the pipe work or cabling in the same accent colour - dull red, or blue maybe, but nothing to stop the yellow from popping.

Roles of vehicles can then be discriminated by the use of logo's. you'll have to decide if you wan to go with logo's the players recognise, or make up your own. A Red Cross on a white background means medical to most of us but why would it be the same in the future?

[Glitzer]

I'd have to go with either yellow, white or a bright orange - sounds bright but as Bahir has pointed out they'ld have to be very noticeable in case of breakdown (think rescue helicopter colours)

I second (or should I say fifth) that idea. You could paint some (para)military ones in camo (if there exists some reason to send the marines alongside your colonists) but the rest should be clearly visible. For some variation, you might want to mix yellow, red and orange vehicles (the collection might look a little bit artificial otherwise). For the medical ones I'd just add Red Crosses (Red Halfmoons, blue asterisks, whatever) on a white circle on the otherwise brightly coloured vehicles.

[former user]

The creative juices are flowing once again! 

Yuck 

so, how about You post some pictures of the vehicles?

[Elk101]

I initially thought this was an odd question, surely they can be whatever colour you want them to be? Then I saw the responses and realised it was actually a very good question!  As I will have some to do myself you may have saved me making a mistake and underthinking thus. Cheers!  I like the idea of yellow myself.