Can anybody tell me what color red this Army Loco is?

I’m finally getting around again to working on my US Army Loco and I painted it red months ago but it does not look like the photo. I want to try painting it again and I just can’t identify the color.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=86637

 

It's extremely difficult to compare because computers seem to vary with colors but... holding a bottle of Poly S "SP Scarlet" near the "shaded" areas, it look fairly close, but not exact. The red I see is, without a doubt, different from what you see on your screen.

 

Thanks I know exactly what you’re talking about, because I held up a color to the screen that I thought it was, but after it dried it wasn't even close.

 

The Rail Pictures shot looks to have a little bit of a blue cast to it (color shift?), at least to me. The Army engines are a bit darker than that shot shows (not a lot but at least noticeable)... probably closer to Signal Red or Caboose Red.

Here's a link to the USAX album at RRPA. You might have a bit better luck matching a color with some of the photos presented... which is a better way of choosing a color, looking at a variety of shots to get a better feel of what it should look like.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/locoList.aspx?id=USAX

 

If it helps at all here is the color after it has faded:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ErieChris333/LTEXMcDonaldOH#5080304199527999778
http://picasaweb.google.com/ErieChris333/ProtoPhotos#5080321302087773730

 

Thanks! That first Photo looks like paint color I got now. I’m after one that’s still in service. From what I have seen, the Army keeps their stuff clean and freshly painted.:tb-biggrin:

 

The closest match I could find, and my best guess, would be something close to CalTrain Red. An unsaturated RGB screen color would be 224, 37, 33.

 

Well I know that what Dick is saying is true about each monitor showing a different Hue. So I opened up a photo of the Loco that I’m trying to model and a Color sample of all the colors mentioned here to look at side by side on my monitor and unfortunately none of them match.

It does look a lot like the color of my craftsman tool box, so I look at photo of them side by side. It’s closer than the other colors but not quite. I also noticed that different photos the same loco look different.

The classic Chevrolet red engine paint shown here might work, but I don't know if I can get it in a small bottle or I might just give up and use this Chevy Engine Spray Paint that might work, but I just don’t know.

 

Check some of the military colors, too.

 

I would be really careful about using that Chevy engine paint, most automotive paint will destroy model plastics unless protected with primer or sealer of some kind, (altho I've seen this fail firsthand as well). I would try to match the color to something already available in model paints, simply because mixing is going to result in color variations between mixes. To my eye it looks like a glossy SP scarlet red. The Polly S/Floqul paints of late are more glossy than they used to be.

Cheers
2slim

 

Here's my best guess: Badger Modelflex 16-187 C&NW Red. I think some of the photos of clean, glossy prototype units are reflecting a lot of blue sky which makes it hard to judge the color.

 

Thanks I was wondering about that and I sure don’t want to destroy it.

I can’t remember what color I originally painted it, but after looking at photos from different computers and from different websites , I determined that I’m pretty close except that I don’t have the glossy paint.

I saw this or a loco identical to it last year on a visit to Georgia to visit my son who is in the Army there and I remember a very bright red. I’m on a lunch break and don’t have time to look up the SP scarlet red right now, will do so as soon as I get home. Thanks again :thumbs_up:

 

From the army contract for the gensets

Paint Requirements for Locomotives:
Paint Classification: Polyurethane
Substrate: Primed Steel
Pre-treatment: Sandblasted
Federal Color Standard (595B): White # 17925
Black # 17038
Yellow # 13538
Red # 11105
Paint Application to Locomotives:
a. Locomotive body: Red
b. Underframe: Black
c. Handrails and steps: Yellow
d. Trucks: Black (fog coat only)

 

FED-STD-595 Federal Standard 595 Color FS 11105

 

Well that certainly looks official. Now all I need to do is convert it to a model paint color. Thanks

 

I think I would go with Insignia Red .. try here

Ultimate Model Paint Conversion Chart - Paint4models.com

 

Did we solve the OP's original question?

I was thinking CP Red, might do the trick.

 

Thanks for the tip; didn't know something like this existed