Visualizing though a Model

Professionally, I do a lot of computer modeling.  It is natural for me to try to visualize a future state through a model.  For this project, I have learned that computer displays and photographs often cannot render colors accurately, or at least not exactly as they appear naturally to the human eye.  The reasons have to do with limitations in the color palette available on digital displays, and ink pigments for photographic prints.  Also, lighting conditions can make a very big difference in how colors are captured in both sliver-based and digital photographs.  The blue color that Dad and I are going for on the t-bird seems to be one of these problematic colors.   Every online photo I found, supposedly of this same color, was a different shade or hue.  How could I trust that the color was accurate?

Well, last month my son gave me a die-cast model of a '55 T-bird.  I decided to paint it, using an available color (ModelMaster Grabber Blue) that sort of resembles the color we are going for.  Ford's '55 Peacock Blue, '70 Grabber Blue, and '10 Grabber Blue are similar colors to this.  You have probably seen a new Mustang painted this color.  For the interior, I started by matching the original colors that came on this car (turquoise, white, and a darker turquoise-green on the dash & upper trim).  Here's how it turned out (recognizing the limitations of digital photography):

The color in these pics is pretty close to the real color, which is a very vibrant blue.  Surprisingly, the interior colors don't clash.  Dad also suggested painting the removable hardtop white, but adding a racing stripe... like this:

This has provided a good color-baseline.  I will need to compare this with color chips for the Ford colors before I invest in paint, but I have more confidence about the color combinations now, and I can confidently say that this color appeals to me much more than the original "Thunderbird Blue"/turquoise.  I also think that it is consistent with the original fun character of the car, without blatantly going over the line into lack of taste (evidenced by the "bright lime"/Pinto green color I picked in 1973).