OH COME ON!!!!

You mean to tell me that not one person on this forum has custom patined a diesel in SP? 

It's not rocket science

It's not rocket science ... paint the entire loco (including the nose) gray first - this gives everything a gray undercoating and so it all looks the same in the later steps.

Then mask the nose (sans the wing stripes) and spray a couple coats of SP Scarlet (make sure it matches the decals - I put a dab on the decal sheet next to the nose stripes and let is dry to make sure).

Finally, apply the nose wing stripe decals. Use plenty of decal set to make sure the stripes conform to the hood details like they should. In some cases you may need to use a sharp Xacto to cut the stripe decal around details and then hit it another time or two with decal set.

Lastly, I'll use a brush to touch up any gray spots with scarlet as needed.

It's just a little tedious and not especially difficult. One key is to paint the entire nose gray first so the decals and the nose paint both have a gray undercoating - that way they will match better.

Cool!

Joe,

Thanks for the help. 

Black Widow

That sounds straightforward, but what's the best way to paint the black widow scheme on a hood unit? Logic says you prime, then flash some silver on the nose, mask it, and spray the black.  But odds are good the masking is going to take some of the sheen off the silver.

Any ideas?

Black first

Ah, finally a real SP paint job question (bloody nose indeed!).

I have always painted the black first, then silver on the nose right over the black.  Then Microscale decals and stripes.  The only stripe I paint is the red sill stripe (and my wife actually paints that.  First set of F units was before we were married;  she kind of knew what she was in for, by marrying me).

MM article

Breakfast reading this A.M. was Mainline Modeler, April 1994.  On page 68 is an article on detailing an SP GP-40-2, by Michael Hopkin.  His order of painting is as follows:  Accupaint SP Lark Dark Gray everywhere, then apply decals (Microscale #87-617).  Then Accupaint SP Scarlet, with lightly-applied tape over the wings, "leaving as much of the front of the wing visible as possible so the red paint can be blended onto the decal."

In his article, he also references an RMC, Nov. 1990, article by Dave Hussey, on SP and DRGW GP40-2's.

Hope this helps.

An illustrated example.

Step 1: Paint the entire loco of your choice SP grey.

Step 2. Mask off the surrounding area of the nose to where only the

area you want red looks like this:

Next, use a VERY SHARP X-Acto knife, and cut out the wing section of the decal sheet to

suit your specific model to look like this:

If you want your model to look like it was just painted at the SP shops, and to match the Microscale

decal sheet's red PERFECTLY, go to your local auto body supply outlet, and have them mix

up a quart of lacquer on their computer. Make sure to tell them you   want a

"FLAT SHEEN," Otherwise they will assume you want gloss. If you plan on weathering your model,

then Floquil's SP scarlet will work fine, because the weathering will hide any color variations.

Here's one (of 2) of Microscale's decal sheets that you will need, and the item number is

shown on the sheet:

Here's the second sheet you'll need:

Between the two sheets listed above, you'll be able to add a bloody nosed paint

scheme to most SP locomotives that require a grey/scarlet combination.

Good luck on your project,

NOTE: A few of you might think that it's too expensive to have to pay $25 dollars for a quart of

automobile lacquer, but if you are replicating an 'out-of-the-shop' paint job, Floquil's SP scarlet

red will not match Microscale's red perfectly; the computer matched lacquer will.

Thank's Larry

Larry,

Thanks for the input.  Just curious; what is the large red rectangle on the second decal sheet for? 

Large 'red' area..........

..........that large red area is used to cover any large expanse near,

or around the area of the bloody nose to 'fill in.' But I would

suggest to airbrush any surrounding area instead.

And, most importantly, work from a photograph.

Which loco are you modeling?

Kato SD40

 I have an undecorated Kato SD40.  I originally was going to do a Kato SD38-2 but I already have the Kato.  

SD-40

Here's an SP SD-40 for comparison, and the nose appears to

be of the same length. The same techniques apply, and with the two

sheets suggested, you'll have plenty of leftovers for your next projects.

SD40 should look like this BEFORE...................

This is how your SD-40 should look after you've painted the nose,

but BEFORE you've added the 'wings' from the Microscale decal sheet.

Notice the red section that is in the same plane as the top of the upper stair tread?

It almost looks like a small 'b,' This is the most 'definitive' example I could come up with

in Photoshop. (I did this rather quickly, but I'm sure it conveys the story)

Accupaint update

I am told that Accupaint is now Star brand.  P-B-L handles some of the colors:  SP Scarlet is 1-STR-25.

P-B-L's website is   http://www.p-b-l.com

Hmm, I'm somewhat puzzled

Hmm, I'm somewhat puzzled here. I have always heard that with painting jobs you gon from light to dark. Why are you going the reverse way? Anyway if it works, fine with me and maybe I' try it sometime.

The way I go for the nose, rear end and wing job is to paint these area's scarlet, then mask these off and paint the rest of the shell. The result can be seen here: http://espee.railfan.net/spsd45-m.html picture of 8831

More on SP 'Bloody Nose'

Hey TunnelMotor,

In most cases, you are correct, but the SP bloody nose scheme breaks

that rule. (SP grey/scarlet scheme)

Imagine having applied the scarlet red, and then the decal?

Well, now we would have to mask off the red, and the entire 'wing area' making

it too labor intense. Since the scarlet occupies just a relatively small area, what

I've suggested above is much easier, and doesn't require that many passes of the airbrush

to hide the underlying SP dark grey.

Edit: I'm not saying that the reverse of the way I do things is 'impossible,' but I've given

examples based on my 32 years experience, and not what 'Ive heard' 'or read' other

modelers can do.