How To ... Build A Brass Caboose

[wm3798]

Wait a minute, you told me you had a date with someone else tomorrow night...... oh,.... wait...

I guess you ARE about to date yourself...

You'll get pimples that way, you know...
Lee

[TrainCat2]

OK,

You can go back to your Ed & Lee thread now.

[sirenwerks]

I thought my hand would fall off, that was what the priest said.

[TrainCat2]

Up to this point, you may have been looking at the corners of the caboose and not liked seeing all the layers at the joint. Neither do I. Fortunately for the model, it follows the prototype here. The next item to be installed is the Corner Fascia. This is half etched metal with a .001" dashed line down the middle to aid in bending. Bend the Fascia down the dashed line and install over the corners. Ensure the cutouts go around the holes for Railings.


Install two "Large" grabs near the top of the doorway. The caboose ends are slightly different. Each ends has it's own type of end Railings. More on that in a minute. What both types of Railings have in common is how they are designed and how they are attached to the caboose. Each Railing has a small support that must be bent 90 degrees to the Railing and then inserted in the appropriate hole. The supports are bent along the etched bend line. Study the photo.


There are three "L" railings and one "h" shaped railing. Use the "h" railing on the end that has a hole above and left of the end door. Use a pair of tweezers and bend the Railing supports 90. The Railings are different in that you bend the support away from the bend line instead of into the bend line.

Secure the railings to the caboose end.


Study the photo for the End Railings. The blue lines indicate where to cut attachments. The red lines show where to find the half etched bend lines. End Railings are also different in that you bend the two halves away from the bend line instead of into the bend line.


The End Railing goes up under the Porch Landing with the two center Stanchions going into the notches in the Landings. Secure the End Railing to the Landing. Secure the upright to the Roof Fascia.


Here is how it looks so far.


.

[TrainCat2]

Time to add the Steps. Remove then from the sprue. Notice the ends of the Steps have tabs and the Stair Braces have notches. Place the tabs of the Steps into the notches of the Stair Braces. Secure them.


Retrieve the following parts; Air Valve, Bumper, Small Grabs(2), Ladder and a length of etched Chain. Begin by bending the vertical pieces of the Ladder on the bend lines. The Ladder is different in that you bend the vertical piece away from the bend line instead of into the bend line.


Look where the Ladder will go into the End Railing. Trim enough of the Railing away using rail nippers to fit the Ladder. Secure the Ladder first up top on the Roof Walkway, then secure to the Railing. Secure the horizontal bar to the Ladder.

Secure a length of chain across the center opening of the Railing.

The builder should have noticed a opening for the pipe from the Air Valve to pass through the Bumper. This goes on the right side of the caboose. Place the two Small Grabs in the Bumper and then place the Bumper on the caboose. Secure the Bumper on the LEFT SIDE ONLY. Once secure, remove the right Grab and secure the Air Valve to the Railing. The down pipe should go through the opening in the Bumper. Once secure, re-install the Small Grab into the Bumper over the down pipe.


Secure the curved Safety Railings to each corner of the caboose.

Almost finished, How does it look ??


.

[TiVoPrince]

a$$hat questions:
Since the body became one securely closed box with the ladders being attached.  How will window glazing eventually be installed?  Will the C-50-x final kit have the 'medium security prison' barricade ends as an option for those of us modeling beyond the roofwalk era?   

On a far more personal level of interest. What trucks were planned for this model?  I have a number of Kato caboose trucks on hand that your kits would definately inherit from my long delayed Con-Cor caboose rebuild program.  And those trucks have the electrical pickup for lighting/transponder decoder to meet my eventual signalling/dispatching goals...

[Chris333]

The etchings looks great. I finally tried etching with 1 part muriatic acid, 2 parts hydrogen peroxide and it worked like a charm.

I think it was you would first gave this link:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Stop-using-Ferric-Chloride-etchant!--A-better-etc/

[TrainCat2]

Yea, that was me Chris. BTW, I never did tell you what I use ... Hydrochloric Acid Straight!

Tivo, If doing anything in the interior I would not secure the Ladder at the bottom. I would NOT secure the Cupola Ends to the Caboose Sides. Leave them floating in the interior notches. That way the Roof would be secured to the Cupola as an all-in-one unit.

[TrainCat2]

Ooopps, Sorry Tivo. Forgot to answer about the trucks.

The kits are sold without trucks so it is whatever you want. The kit does have designed in accommodations for body mounted Z-Scale couplers.

[bsoplinger]

Somewhere in the thread I'm pretty certain you mentioned that these etchings have multiple levels of etching, so I assume there is etched from the front and etched from the back bits. So why do the fold lines for somethings have to be backward? Why not put the line where it should be on the other side of the piece?

Also the etched chain looks too big, out of scale.

On the end on pic under the caption which ends: "Once secure, re-install the Small Grab into the Bumper over the down pipe." why are the notches in the bend around corner pieces so far recessed from the actual holes they are meant to not cover? Ie, did you poorly install the corner piece or are those notches way too deep into the corner piece?

All in all a very nice looking model although I too am waiting for a CR xfer caboose.

[TrainCat2]

Somewhere in the thread I'm pretty certain you mentioned that these etchings have multiple levels of etching, so I assume there is etched from the front and etched from the back bits. So why do the fold lines for somethings have to be backward? Why not put the line where it should be on the other side of the piece?

Normally, you fold into a bend line when the bend is less than 135 degrees. For bends of 180 degrees, you must bend against the bend line otherwise the two pieces of metal can not lay flat. They pinch each other at the bend. Other times, you bend outward for better positioning of the piece or better display. The ladder is bent outward to expose and "pop out" the rungs. I screwed up and bent the first ladder inward. I do not like the looks, but hey, I warned that there might be goofs.

Also the etched chain looks too big, out of scale.

The chain is on the absolute edge of .010 metal being .0045 thick lines and 48LPI. I could do smaller with thinner metal, but that would drive the cost WAY up just for that. It is a compromise.

why are the notches in the bend around corner pieces so far recessed from the actual holes they are meant to not cover? Ie, did you poorly install the corner piece or are those notches way too deep into the corner piece?

Prototype Car!

I have already looked into this and could be difficult to correct as I find it to be out of my hands. The actual item(s) causing it is how tight did the builder get the edges when he folded the sides over and how well did he mate the corner edges. Each of these play together to how well the Corner Fascia fits. I have a beautiful fit on the opposite End. Knowing this, I will be pointing it out in the instructions.

.

[pbrooks]

Hey, Bob-

Actually, I'm thinking of the Southern cab attached at the bottom...

Thanks for doing these kits. I figure it's the only way to get an accurate model of a limited prototype for an affordable price.

Looking forward to more!

Having fun,

-Phil Brooks

Bob-
If I insult you, will you show us a 1950's era Southern bay window???!!!!  ;D

Sure, Here ya go ...




(Attachment Link)

[Chris333]

Bob,

Sorry to hijack, but...

Does the straight Hydrochloric Acid work just as fast and do you still heat and agitate it?

Gotta a gallon here, need to try it out 

[TrainCat2]

Sorry Chris, only one trade secret a month.   ;D

[sirenwerks]

Bob,

Why not loose the chain etching altogether? I think it would look better if actual link chain, even if it is out of scale, is used instead of the solution you have there.

Also, Phil's right, Southern cabs are needed, especially the more modern varieties. They had something about them.