Hey guys this might have been asked before but I’m building some custom ho scale gp40-2s for Quanah Acme and Pacific and I’m wanting to paint them in the o/w scheme. The question is how wide is the white strip in the middle of the locomotive? I don’t have any ho scale Frisco units to measure it out.
Jacob, I would look at prototype photo of a Frisco GP 38-2 and see where the white meets the red, compare it to the model you are to mask off should be good to go.
Exactly what John said: Look to what the prototype did on the same basic body style. In your case, you're in luck: The Frisco took delivery of GP40-2's 755-774 shortly before the BN acquisition of the Frisco. Find a pic of one of those GP40-2's (i.e. #775-#774) and put your paint lines where they did.
All the 2nd gen road units (except the GP50) followed the same guidelines. Top line is at the bottom of the radiator grills. Bottom line is bottom of the cab. GP40-2 pictures: http://frisco.org/mainline/tag/gp40-2/ In case you want it, I came up with a paint mix for Frisco orange a while back. http://frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/model-paint-summary-2022.13637/ Good Luck!
Iantha Branch I’m going to using badger reefer white and badger Frisco orange with vms matte varnish to top it off. I’ve had good luck with badger and vms goes on real easy and covers decals well.
I'm a big fan of Badger Modelflex. I didn't care much for the Frisco Orange right out of the bottle. I like 1 part Frisco Orange, 1 part SP Daylight Red and 2 parts BNSF orange.
When I did these in O gauge I just printed reference photos and "eye-balled it". Yet, I think they turned out very exact.
That certainly does look like a good match. It also looks different than the stuff that came in the bottle I bought. Anyway, I like the idea you've got going and can't wait to see how it turns out.
Alright after doing more research and after getting my hands on an old damaged athearn Frisco unit I’ve come up with 14.5mm -14.6mm. It comes out to 49.66 in -50in in real life. 50in is actually 14.597mm but hey who can really tell the difference 14.597mm and 14.6mm, the athearn cab I measured was at 14.5mm and I used a conversion cart to figure out the rest, I’m good at math but not that good
