was at the Athearn site today checking on the SD40-2 and they had a picture of it. Looks a little too red
In meeting with their representative in December, he assured me that all future releases would be in line with what most of us feel is correct, that being Atlas. If this is indeed the color, I think it will be very close as it looks like this locomotive is glossier than the Atlas ones and therefore will look redder when photographed. The Atlas locos are cast in that color and if this is painted, that will account for the difference. Bob Hoover FriscoFriend
That's what I thought when I saw a pic of the real model. O well, they did add the Gyro and rotary beacon lights. I wounder if they will work in DC, but I would have to install a decoder anyway.
The unit does look a tad too red to me also. It could be the lighting they used when they took the Photoraph. I know I have some slides of freshly painted locos that look a little too red. I am not sure what type of film I was using but I am sure that film type plays a part in what the colors look like in a photo. Even if these locos are a little too red they can easily be lightened with a small bit of white or gray weathering chalk. One would be surprised how much better a loco will look with a little weathering. Bob Wintle MMR Parsons, Ks.
True. Most of the "as delivered" images I've seen look rather garish to me. They tend to tone out somewhat after some real use.
I'm with Bob W. A little gray weathering powder and they will look ok. The fact that they have a gyrolite, beacon, other details and are DCC ready can make up for a reddish paint. Plus they will be right at home with my red/orange fleet
For nitpicking purposes (God, I hate that word), I just noticed that the tops of the handrails on the sides are orange when then should be white. Again, another easily correctable error. The vertical ones on the ends are correct, but not the horizontal ones. Go figure! Bob Hoover FriscoFriend
What about a little bleach? Not like a straight bleach, but like a water and bleach mix? Also I need something clarified, what decoder would I need to install to this loco to still have beacon and gyro lights working? What a bout a sound decoder?
I have never heard of that before. I don't think I would try it though. OK all you weathering gurus chime in please. Bob
Dilute bleach might or might not work to adjust the depth of color in this case. It depends on whether pigment used is oxidizable and how protected it is by the coating or plastic matrix. Bleach could certainly attack paint vehicle that holds the paint in place and make it slough off eventually. It also could attack certain kinds of plastics, though that would be fairly subtle; you would not necessarily notice it. Bleach functions best for removal of organic stains due to contact with plant or animal material (food, for example). It really eats up proteins and things of similar chemistry. It certainly is an opportunity for a "controlled experiment."
What is the nose length on the Athearn SLSF SD40-2? What kind of air horn are they putting on it? Can't really tell from the pic on either of these. Ken
and I tried the bleach. I used a 50% solution and it has no visible effect on the paint or the plastic of an Athearn GP40-2. If I didn't think it would melt the plastic I would set it outside and let the summer sun fade the paint
Bleach? Holy Crud ! I don't think it's so red that I would do that. I would compare it to the orange used by Atlas first. If it is too red, I would prefer to let the sun work on it a bit each day for several days. I would keep a control unit out of the sun for a daily comparison. I have never been convinced that we get the best, toughest paint for the model railroad hobby. Short exposures to direct sunlight should do nicely over time. Since I am no chemist, I cannot predict what bleach will do to these models. I appreciate the comments below from Windsor Spring regarding bleach. I will only add that years ago many of us tried to strip the Stewart F unit shells with brake fluid only to find out that it somehow caused them to crack. For a while I was stripping with Pine-Sol but it turned Bower hoppers into mush. Now I am pretty gun shy on anything except Chameleon. It is my understanding that the chemical makeup of plastic can vary between model manufacturers making a single solution difficult to identify. Ship IT on the Frisco! Rick
I'll stick with a light application of white chalk, thanks.....as it is, Frisco's diesels faded over time, thanks to weathering and the effects of the sun on the paint. I could use one of those SD40-2s to go with my custom-painted blue-box unit......just add plow pilots, MU hoses, and it's ready to go. Oh yes, and those crappy McHenry "couplers"......
In the Athearn SD40-2 pic, the nose looks short to me. Am I being paranoid? The Athearn horn will be easy to pull off and replace. The beacon looks good. Will have to replace the pilots (also an easy fix). After BN day (ugh!), the beacon on some of the units was changed to a different type. How about a cab roof antenna - did all the Frisco SD40-2's have them? I can't find evidence on my photos that they all carried antennas. ????? The red/orange being too red is almost expected now ..... except from Atlas. I wonder why Athearn and Walthers keep on making it too red? They have been often told by folks who know (us) that the Atlas color is the standard to duplicate. Go figure! Ken
Talking about the color for a moment, tha last I remember about the color debate (a decade ago) was that EMD painted the diesels with the same red that GM used on their engines in their cars. (Chevy engine red). Is that still "gospel"? Darren
Amen Brother. Chevrolet Engine Block Red it was (used on Chevy V-8's mid-1950's-1960's). The Chevy inline six of that era was blue (Blue Flame Six). EMD first used it on the GP35-DD35 demo units. Frisco saw it and liked it, and eventually switched to the red/orange & white scheme for all their diesels. Ken
