Just received Greg Stouts new Frisco Power in Color. Great book , Greg. Many photos I’ve never seen before. $ 59.00 on E-bay
Well, thanks for the shout-out. I enjoyed working on it. You know the great majority of those images came from the Frisco Archive. GS
Have just got a copy of the book. Fantastic. Just one question. As someone who has never seen a Frisco O/W loco in the flesh would I be right in assuming that the dust jacket is just about the right colour? If not, is it too light/too dark, too red/too orange? Would it be better to paint everything Black/Yellow? Thanks Rob
Thank you. It was fun to write. Okay, looking at the GP7 in the second image on the cover, if I were painting that unit as a model, I would use Floquil Daylight Red, which has a bit of an orange flavor to it. The photo of the U25B on page 114 conveys the same look (of course, it's obviously fresh from the paint shop. There's a similar image on page 74). The GP50 on page 111 looks a bit more orange, but it's still not a "true" orange, and none of the other photos in this book or any other I've seen shows up as "orange" as I understand it. Also, over the years, the "orange" didn't seem t fade as badly as some other colors (Chicago Great Western and Katy red come to mind, but, of course, both those railroads were led by William Deramus, who was a notorious tightwad and so specified cheap paint). Also, it's worth remembering that the majority of the images in the book originated as Kodachrome slides, which were exceptionally true and fade-resistant, even after many years. As far as black and yellow, I'd say that depends upon what era you want to model. The last B&Y units were delivered in 1964. Also . . . if you're painting passenger units (E7-E8), the best match I ever found was Floquil Signal Red. Floquil paint can still be found on line from a private seller. Here's his website: > https://www.narrowgaugemodeling.com/floquil-paint/ GS
@Rob R, asking a question about the red color on the third Frisco diesel freight locomotive paint scheme is akin to asking what color is the sky. In my mind, the definitive answer for newly painted units from EMD has always been Chevrolet Engine Red (which was slightly orange/red) from the 1964 time frame as it was used on the EMD GP35 Demo sets from which the Frisco adopted the paint scheme. Keep in mind (everyone) that red colors, when exposed to UV light will fade to more orange-leaning colors over time. The discussion has received a lot of type over the years as evidenced by the number of threads where the color is discussed or mentioned: http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/frisco-orange.3940/#post-26500 http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/i-have-a-few-qustions-about-painting-1st-timer.2041/ http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/couple-of-paint-questions.5276/#post-38781 http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index....arin-red-orange-most-correct.6060/#post-46937 http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index....-painting-guide-from-gp35-on.5971/#post-46259 http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/touch-up-paint.7045/#post-54258 http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/mandarin-orange.10547/#post-67378 http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/the-paint-question.2090/#post-60300 http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/rattle-can-model-painting.12074/#post-74953 http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/tru-color-paints.11703/#post-72622 http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/workshop-wednesday.10880/page-96#post-83243 http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/model-paint-summary-2022.13637/#post-90782
Thanks for the replies guys. The question wasn't so much about what colour Frisco orange/red is but whether or not Morning Sun and their printers have matched the colour on the dust jacket of Greg's book. I have read through most of the threads Keith linked but being on the wrong side of the pond most of the options are unobtainable. I did ask about the Chevy engine red at a local auto spares place and was told to look over in the paint section, somewhere between the cans of Rainbow and Tartan...... They are good lads really. If the main colour of the dust jacket is close then I can find a local match or at least mix something to suit. Thanks Rob
I would think that a hobby store that sells plastic model kits would have some of the U.S. Automotive paint colors. The Pontiac Sunburst Orange is a reasonable facsimile of a slightly aged Chevy Engine Red, especially if it is toned down with a little "dusty" weathering.
If you're wanting to use the dust jacket because it's large enough to sample for a paint match, you could consider something like what I did. Several years ago I happened to like the color Atlas used on their N Scale GP38s - so I took the shell with me to the home improvement store and lined the shell next to several paint cards (there were hundreds of shades) When I found a card that matched, I gave it to the paint guy and said, "make that" - got a quart or pint tin of acrylic of "Frisco Orange." I wish I could find the picture I took of the cards - I'll keep looking for them. From the dust jacket I'd say try to match that GP-7. It seems to balance that red with orange more-so than the main red on the right side, in my opinion. The shades of these locomotives were so varied due to weathering that I don't think any of us would say a particular shade is wrong as long as it's somewhere between red and red-orange. -Mike Edit To Add - found the pic of the paint card experiment. I sprayed a gradient to see the range. Full coat is where it's at:
Just as a shorthand, the Chevy Orange you want is probably the one for the big block v8s, not the small-block. I believe that color was also used on the GMC big block v6s of the '60s.
Thanks Mike, I shall experiment and create a new thread for the results. I know you guys are pretty much sorted for Frisco orangey/reddy colour paint over your side of the pond but there may be someone else here in the UK or Europe also looking for a local source. I don't think that GMC over this way (Vauxhall and Opel) used that colour but I will keep looking just in case. Cheers Rob
I have studied the Frisco orange color extensively and I have uncovered original paint samples on original equipment (cabooses) that have been hidden under decals etc that are still new. The color match is 100% "Chevrolet Orange Red" not to be confused with "Chevrolet orange" or "Chevrolet red" GM actually used all 3 of these colors on auto and truck engines, and there is one time when the color Chevrolet orange red was used on a Holden Monaro which was an Australian Chevy. EMD of course used the GM color on their demonstrators and Frisco went with it as we know. Dupli Color spray paint makes all the original engine colors so maybe you could order a can online that is "Chevrolet orange red" Below is a pic of the one automobile that was lucky enough to be painted that color !!
And then later on, the Monaro became the platform for the reincarnated (and last) iteration of the Pontiac GTO. And you could tell the car came from a place where they drive on the right (like many former British colonies and island nations), because the buttons on the radio were "backward" by U. S. standards, i.e., the on-off knob was on the right, the tuning knob on the left, nearest the (U.S.) driver. I almost bought one before I realized it would be the car that finally would kill me. GS