Large Scale Central

Death of a 2 axle caboose

Modeling
#1

Like every one else I suppose, I had a couple of 2 axle cabeese lying around without any real purpose. I just don’t like them. I also had one of the hideous gold belt gondola cars without a home, so decided to do a bit of hacking away.

I removed the steps from one of the cabeese, and did some carving for fit.

and after removing all protrusions from where it and the sides of the body would mount, attached the steps to the end.

I cut peices from the lower edge of the second (donor) caboose so the body would extend to the bottom of the now-flat car.

I used spray primer allowed to dry to near putty to fill the gap after assembly, then carved the board slot grooves back in with the edge of a hobby knife.

The roof had to go, so I went with a tin roof. I had no intention of trying to find the hole for the stove pipe, so used a wooden dowel and cut it and the stock stove pipe at 45 degree angles, then blocked out one of the windows.

Had to ‘man’ the caboose. This is a Lionel 1/24th scale dude…

I attempted to replicate a double block and tackle crane in here, with marginal sucess. It looks okay from 3 or 4 feet away I suppose.

I still need to hit it with flat clear, then a bit more weathering.

#2

Nice job Don.
Hideous has it’s benefits. I picked mine up real cheap :wink:
Ralph

#3

So two wrongs do make a right!

Sweet.

#4

Really nice bash. Good use of ugly!

#5

Nice! Good trick for extending the car sides.
Steve

#6

I have seen Many work cabeese with the passenger portion sitting on top of the flat part, and just couldn’t get wrapped around that one. In addition, the 2 axle caboose body is a little wider than the frame portion of the gondola, so the only reasonable way was to make it ‘different’.
Thanks for the positive comments guys.

#7

Very nice use of some scrap box cars. Your crane looks good, it just needs some smaller and darker rope. Dark upholstery thread might do it.

#8

Thanks Jon. I was considering what to stain it with, and am leaning towards possible acrylic hobby paint. It was a very long day, so this may just have to sit on the bench until the weekend.

#9

Nice Don. Great use of the caboose.

#10

In all honesty Shawn, your backwoods railroad has been a bit of an inspiration, specifically ‘recycling’ things on hand. (of course the fact that I am all about saving a buck when I can helps too).
I still haven’t touched the HLW 0-4-0 we conversed about before.

#11

There’s no better feeling than the one you get from creating something useful from junk. The bridge I’m building is 90% scrap materials from work; the only thing purchased will be some angle shapes and glue.

#12

Jon, After your comment, the color of the ‘rope’ started to glare at me. I just wasn’t up for disassembling the pulleys, so went with the acrylic paint for the ‘rope’ instead. I wanted a few pics at a distance to see if the diameter looked different.

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/don_pearson/_forumfiles/caboose14.JPG)

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/don_pearson/_forumfiles/caboose17.JPG)

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/don_pearson/_forumfiles/caboose18.JPG)

Now I think I can live with it as is.

#13

Much better! Maybe I should apologize for making you do more work. Seeing it now I think the thread I suggested would be much too thin.

#14

No need for apology, especially in this company of superb modelers. I took it as a suggestion to look at it differently, and I do appreciate it.
Maybe one day I can play at that level

#15

Me too :smiley:

#16

Nice looking work Don. Something you may think of trying for future builds when using white cloth or threads and cords, is coffee. This is used by some model boat builders to get the look of both dirty canvas and hemp ropes.

#17

Inspired by this thread by Don I decided that this type of conversion could be another project. Thanks Don for the prompt. lol Some time ago I converted two Ariston 1:29 bobbers from two axle vehicles to truck mounted vehicles. One was more than satisfactory but the SF one had a very pronounced wobble - more than realistically seen. lol A lovely Indian Summer here, temps up in the 70’s, makes for ideal outdoor jobs and train operations. The donor flat bed is from a Big Hauler ‘Gramps’ tank car: the tank may well become ‘scenery’ somewhere. I used the tank car truss rods to make the posts which, after a hobby shop visit, will be fitted with chain as a safety rail. The open part of the flat needs to be weathered to give a better ‘timber decking’ look. One pic is of the bobber when on trucks and the other shows the new conversion.

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/great_western/GR1%20007.jpg)

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/great_western/a%20005.jpg)

#18

Looks like good choices there Alan.

Dave, in hindsight I think stretching the white cord once wet with coffee, then allowing to dry might change the diameter of it down to a more realistic level. Then it could be coated with clear flat acrylic and once semi dry, put into shape. Thanks for that tip!!!

#19

Well, the hobby shop was useful for paint but had no chain of any dimensions. So I went to a 99p. ($1.60) store and bought a cheap teenagers necklace. I did ask my wife to pay for it lol.

It is fitted on the upright posts, which are not that obvious in my 'photo. The decking, couplers and roof boards have been very lightly weathered by one of my sons.