Next pic , lid off , yucky colour inside .
and again
ditto
same again
The problem , as I see it , is the woodwork should be in duck egg blue , not natural wood . If I overpaint , all the detail would have to be re-done , not easy with it inside the car . The bunks are wrong , the top one in the cupola should be a seat —shouldn’t it ? . It should be more like the next one— see below (when I have put the pics up )
Ok, Mike. Here’s the way I see it. And I’m being more generic rather than specific to that caboose…I don’t really know how that one was laid out.
As you said, the upper bunks should be seats, generally 2 seats facing each other. But considering the size of this caboose a single seat on each side facing opposite directions might be the proper setup. In a caboose this size there should most likely be only 2 bunks…the two that you have at the back of the caboose. One would be for the conductor and the other the rear brakeman. Under the seats in the cupola is usually storage on one side and a potty on the other. At the other end of the caboose should be the pot belly stove and a desk. The water container would also be prototypical on some cabooses. More modern ones had built in tanks. Other furnishings would be optional and generally provided by the occupants. The crew would most likely provide it’s own bedding too. So nothing would likely match…though both crewmen might use old OD Army blankets. A more prototypical color for the “upholstery” might be a dark forest green. That was a popular color for truck seats at that time and most likely the seats would use a similar upholstery. Dark brown would be ok too. Most caboose interiors were painted that same yuky green that inside of cabs were painted.
This is all basic generic information. But as Steve said, over the years they get modified and anything is possible.
Mike…GREAT MODELS…you do great work…an inspiration to us all.
OK…so there should be seats in the cupola; not beds, but then if I had that van in my back yard, it would have the beds !!!
There is a motel in PA that has beds in the cupolas of a bunch of old vans…so there is a prototype for anything.
Glue the roof on; put it on the track along with the stock car, and operate them.......great pieces of rolling stock, that would be welcome on my railroad any day.
Thank you for sharing the pictures.I’ve seen many cabeese with the woodwork left bright. Slap some glue on that roof and be done with it.
BTW, beautiful work on that kit.
Well , thanks for the nice words , but it should really be more like this :-
By golly , I thunk he were goin’ a mite fast , he’s blowed the roof off
sett’n down out the wind a touch
I don’t know if that’s enough pics , but there are some more if you want .
Here’s the two side by side to give a size comparison . Both 1/20.3 , both Hartford kits with scratch interiors and minor modifications to the outside . I shall have to post some shots of the undersides when they’re finished .
Mike
That’s more like it should look…at least for a long caboose. As for the other one, the reality of it is that once the lid is on there’s not enough light to tell what’s on the inside. So, if it’s going to be a running caboose, slap the lid on it and send it on it’s way. I’d only change the interior if you intend for it to be a shelf queen with the interior on display.
Warren ,
Yes , you’re right , you can’t see much inside with the lid on . I was thinking of fitting lighting , led’s run off batteries in the cubby holes that are left . We shall see .
By the way , a good tip for EVERYONE .
If you already do this , good for you . If you don’t , try it , it is really a very simple answer to a problem we all meet . Obvious ? Hmmmm , maybe.
OK , you have sprayed your model using a can of proprietary paint—say Ford Terracotta,the colour of my cabooses . Then you finish off fitting the little bits , and dammit , you need to paint them . But not by spraying the can at it . Ruins the rest of it .
SOOOO , save a bit of paint in the spray can ; when you need to touch in , spray some of it into the lid ,and dip your little brush in it to touch up .
Exact colour match , and bleedin’ obvious . Innit ?
OK , you can get touch-in pens . Yeah , same colour , right ? Same gloss/semi/matt, right ? OK , you’re on your own .
Mike
ps . I have yet to meet anyone who , when told the above , doesn’t say “Wish I’d thought of that”
Mike Morgan said:Yer right about that. Thanks for the reminder. :D
ps . I have yet to meet anyone who , when told the above , doesn't say "Wish I'd thought of that"
DRGW cabooses ,as above . I cannot find a colour picture of one showing the colour of the bogies . I have assumed caboose red with the same colour wheels .
Wrong ? Right ? Help appreciated . Repaints are no problem .
By the bye , Warren , I rebuilt the interior of the short caboose , I feel much better about it now . Thanks for the help . And thanks to the rest of you for the encouragement , I may not have done what you suggested , but it does not mean that I do not appreciate constructive suggestions .
I’ll take some photies later and post them here .
Mike
I don’t recall seeing any color pictures of that caboose either, but…most cabooses had black trucks, (bogies) as if you could tell the color through the dirt, with the wheels a natural rust color (unpainted) Most often couplers were also unpainted. My uniform color for trucks is grimy black with lots of rust drybrushing and a light coat of dust.
It seems to me that RGS, and D&RGW painted their vans an iron oxide colour, and yes the same for the trucks and underframe. In later years, yes the wheels and couplers were not painted, as the paint hid possible cracks or faults in them.
Excellent work, Mike! Very nice.
BTW, I’ve always wondered about something… on these models that have the lift-off roof for access to the interior, how do you secure the roof?
Ray ,
It’s all down to making it an “interference” fit ,that is a good fit all round . I make up the roof actually on the body , but without gluing it to the body . To get the required"interference" , I use clamps . In the area where glue is at risk of creeping through , a piece of Sellotape is used to mask the body to stop the glue sticking . Very small amounts of glue are used at a time . Check as often as possible that it still moves .
The real trick , though , is to paint the body first . Also paint the subsections of the roof ,where they contact the body . Otherwise the paint makes the roof too tight . Accurate building in the first place helps .
Fittings like the end ladders have to be made a slide fit into the roof (or floor, but I used the roof ) .
I have found I can hold the car upside down without the roof coming off , but I do not make a habit of it . I make the roofs detachable on all my models , you never know when you may want to gain access . I have not , so far , had to pin the roofs down .
I pick the models up by the couplers , not the roof --they aren’t that good .
Mike
Nice work, Mike. Thanks for sharing.
Most excellent artistry, Mike.
Yes, I also use the paint technique you mentioned in the labouratory.