# SP Bloody nose colours



## supagav (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi,

I'm working on a USAT SP GP9: fitting gyralights, speedo, air filter etc. I was just wondering if any one had a good paint match for the SP bloody nose colours, grey and red. Any suggestions? 

Thanks for your help, 
Gav


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## Tom Daly (Jan 3, 2008)

Maybe Paul Burch can chime in and help you.

Tom


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Ditto Paul Burch.


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

There isn't one that matches perfesctly. Floquil Polly Scale S.P. Scarlet is the closest. Funny that comes up now. I will be spraying the end of a long hood today. When adding gyra lights I usually use the Polly Scale and just brush it. Red is a hard color to get good coverage so it will take several coats.


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

I used Floquil and poly scale for my sp h.0. stuff. On one model, I mixed my own using some formulas I downloaded off the net. I checked out my bookmarks to see if I still had the link, but it appears to be gone. You might try a search on google for S.P. paint schemes. I seem to recall that's how I found the formulas. 
BTW, they worked ok, but unless you have a really, really good eye, the standard sp greys and reds from poly scale and floquil work just fine.


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## Bob Pero (Jan 13, 2008)

Floquil SP Scarlett and Floquil Lark Dark Gray. Even with the prototype, there occasionally was some variation in color hues. I model the older colors like the black widow or tiger stripe, but the SP modelers site recommends these two colors for the "bloody nose" scheme.


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## supagav (Feb 8, 2008)

Thanks for your help guys! 

I was using those PolyScale colours but the dark lark grey just didn't seem light enough to match the USAT paint. It's a pretty good match but when you're up close to the loco you can notice a very slight difference in shades. 

Here is where I've got to so far, still needs a few couple more decals (the "F" on the front end) and a good weathering job: 






































Sorry the pictures aren't great, will try and get some better ones soon when the weather clears up and I can run outside! 

Thanks again,
Gavin


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

Gavin,
Looks good to me. If you are going to weather it then any minor paint differences won't matter one bit,they will disappear.


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## supagav (Feb 8, 2008)

Thanks Paul, after reading all the my Strapac books cover to cover it's my first attempt at trying to detail and customise! 

Can I pick your brains on weathering? What do you use? What paints? Chalks? I really like the effects you got on your SD45 and your GP40, would love to know what you did and what you used. 

Thanks again, 
Gavin


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

Gavin,
Most of the weathering is done with an airbrush and Polyscale paints thinned down about 50% with bottled water. Just go slow and have the brush adjusted so only a very small amount of paint is being sprayed. Its easy to keep going over the model until yopu get it the way you want but hard to fix it if you get to heavy with it. When you start thinking it is enough then stop because it probably is enough. I have about 5 or 6 colors mixed in small jars so I can switch colors easily. Dirt colors,grays,grimy black and oily black. Practice on an old freight car until you get comfortable. Main thing is go slow with it. I still get a little nervous about weathering a locomtive that I have spent a lot of time detailing,but it always seems to work out.


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## Mark Thomas (Jan 2, 2008)

Gav, 
Where/who did you get the detail parts from? Looks fantastic by the way. 
-Mark


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## supagav (Feb 8, 2008)

Thanks a lot Mark! 

The speedo on the right hand side truck is an Ozark part, I just snipped off the end and replaced it with a length of paper clip as the wire wasn't long enough to reach up to the loco. The rest I made out of styrene, sadly no one makes these bits in 1:29, plenty for the HO folk out there, but sadly not many for the large scale SP guys. Ozark do make a few bits and bobs that are worth checking out, but none that I could use for this geep. The red emergency light has a red MV lens in the centre.


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Gavin it looks great


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## mhutson (Jan 2, 2008)

Excellent work, Gavin! 

Sincerely, 
Matt


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## supagav (Feb 8, 2008)

Thanks guys. 

After a busy weekend, I finally managed to get some time to myself down in our train shed. Here's a few pics of the new hoses I added to the pilots:


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## Bob Pero (Jan 13, 2008)

Even better for airbrush practice is to spray a soda can black and practice your trigger control on it. I did this long before I pointed my air brush at a model. Get photos of the real thing to see what is weathered and how much. On my SP models I use a lot of Earth, Grimy black, Rust, Roof Brown and Dust. I also use washes to simulate diesel fuel spills on the tanks and water spills.


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## supagav (Feb 8, 2008)

Thanks for your reply Bob, 

Have you got a photo of one of your locos so I could see the results? 

Gavin


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## Bob Pero (Jan 13, 2008)

You can check my web site www.liveoakrr.com click on the Roster shots or the 2006 Meet photos. I will try and find some individual pics for you to see when I get home.


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## mancosbob (Jan 5, 2009)

I don't know, your model looks pretty good to me...the colors are okay, what is the big deal is the lighting where it will be viewed. What looks good outside is often way off indoors; SP gray being good at this. I like what I see though; well done.


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## supagav (Feb 8, 2008)

Thank you, 

I think I've proboably just being looking at it too long! I got some more shed time tonight so I filled in the space in the pilots round the coupler draft box, looks so much better without all that empty space! I'm just peeking out the window and hoping that the rain and hail over here will eventually pass over so I can get out and get some action shots. Scottish weather is just so awful!


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## supagav (Feb 8, 2008)

After studying a selection of photos, I took the plunge and started weathering the geep tonight. Here are some more photos: 








































































Sorry the pictures are a little grainy, I'm using a different digital camera and haven't quite worked out all the settings yet!

Gavin


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## Bob Pero (Jan 13, 2008)

The weathering in your pictures looks real good. You definitely have a good feel for the technique. You have created a realistic looking model. Very nice work.


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## Bob Pero (Jan 13, 2008)

Sent you a message but not sure if it went. 

Check out this site for SP Modeling-Great Photos!!! 

http://espee.railfan.net/espee.html


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks like you have been weathering for years.


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## supagav (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi, 

I finally managed to get outside and take some proper photos, just wanted to share some of them. Thanks for looking! 

All the best, 
Gavin


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