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 Posted - February 05 2009 : 01:28:09 AM
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So I'm extremely new at painting, decaling, and in general cutting things up to make them look like something else. These two idler cabooses were the first things I have completed. The first I picked up on a whim while walking though a local hobby store one evening. I was looking for a cheap piece of rolling stock that I could practice weathering on. Low and behold just before I left I came across this...
Its from model power and was the only unpainted thing I came across. Having just recently got into stripping paint off models, I could fully appreciate something I didn't have to spend days trying to strip. I had no real goals, I figured it would be a good test bed to get use to painting stuff. I didn't have decals at the time. Till a friend of mine dropped me off a few sheets of decals, one was for purely MOW equipment and another was just lettering. Now I just had to find something to go after. After looking around I reached the conclusion there wasn't really anything in real life close to this. I finally decided to just pick a railroad and go with it. I really like the Bessemer and Lake Erie (I live in western PA) and I knew their painting schemes pretty well. What I eventually ended up with was this...
I don't have a airbrush (well not yet anyways) so everything you see was done via some spray cans and paint pens. Since everything of mine currently lives on my friends layout, I took the one kadee coupler off and stuck on a hook horn. Half the rolling stock is one or the other, so having one that can do both right now is pretty useful. The fuel tank was sprayed with a silver base. I later made some passes with black & brown to attempt to weather it up a little. Then I later went in and dry brushed the steps, tank mounts, and the dome to give it a little more depth. The decking came out far better than expected. Oddly enough I all had for brown was car primer. Now car primer generally sprays very rough and will not end up with a smooth finish. I sprayed the deck then did a black wash over it. Its very hard to see in the pictures, but the roughness gave it a VERY nice effect. Really sets it off from the metal surfaces. I did the side accents & handrails with a paint pen. Rest of it was pretty straight forward. The decals choices I made could have gone a bit better, but overall I think it gets the idea across. And when sitting with my friend's B&LE rolling stock it looks at home. Not bad for a impulse buy!
Down the road I might add fuel hoses and maybe a mounted tool box. When I finished this I had 4-5 other projects going on so I just wanted to get it on the rails for awhile.
Next MOW caboose I did for my friend. He gave me two different search light cabooses (one tyco and not sure of the other). Both were a little beat up and I just wanted to check out the lighting system for use in something else. I never did use the lighting, but I started to kick around ideas on just building something plain out of parts that I had. Out of the two cabooses I picked the Tyco one. It originally started life as a Durango searchlight caboose. With the lighting system gone, I got the idea of making a custom front deck outta balsa wood. I hacked off the front portion of the upper deck. It was thick enough that the balsa took up the same space, so visually it matches up pretty good. Below is my personal Durango caboose on the left, the MOW one half way built on the right.
I was going to leave the deck flat, but then decided I could probably make the sides happen pretty easily. However once finished I pretty much ran out of balsa wood, so the rear deck isn't as nice as it could be. I did the wood deck in a brown, orange, and black acrylic wash which worked nicely. I even attempted to give it windows, though the inside of this style of caboose is not friendly towards such a thing. Still, end result wasn't too bad.
The side braces on the front deck are actually tooth picks, like I said I ran out of balsa lol. I liked the green paint, but it just didn't set as well around the copula. So I tried in vain to touch it up. Also by accident I ripped one of the decals when it was still soft (this was the first thing I decaled). Thankfully I had a similar decal I was able to hack and stick back on there. The rear decks sucks I know. And I had dry brushed a nice set of trucks for it. But when we stuck them on the rails they binded alot. So we had to cobble the set you see together on there. Finally I had to add some weight to get it to ride right again. Still, my Lima liked towing it around.
So thats it for now. My final caboose is a Tyco streamlined copula caboose that was Rock Island, and is now halfway though being a Norfolk Western C-18. But that's another post :) Any comments or criticism please fire away!
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Posted - February 05 2009 : 07:00:25 AM
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Nice work and creative too.
Alco Fan
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Posted - February 05 2009 : 08:23:33 AM
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 Sharp stuff...
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Posted - February 05 2009 : 4:15:51 PM
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That tanker looks great! The colours blend very nicely...cool stuff! 
And hey, I don't think there's anything wrong with using toothpicks. 
    
- Matt -
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Posted - February 06 2009 : 01:54:53 AM
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Glad you guys liked them! MM1498, who do you think was my inspiration for switching to toothpicks in my time of need? Actually in another reference back to your toothpick post. Just by chance I was doing weathering test on my Life-like caboose tonight (not trying to copy lol). My brother gave me this kit that was ment for weathering flower pots (I guess people do that stuff). But it had a container of yellow & brown paint, along with a small sponge. I have been using my LL Chessie caboose as a sacrifice for weathering test. Mixing between the paint & some rubbing alcohol this was the result.
The picture doesn't make it look half bad. Aside from the ladder I need to glue down. But that's sorta what a brown wash over a caboose looks like. I tried to keep the majority of it on the lower half of the caboose, like it would be in real life. One difference is under all of that I sprayed it with this stuff called weathering spray I picked up at the local hobby store. Its basically a very light tan spray that gives the effect of dust/dirt. Look on the coupler and roof you'll notice a lighter color hanging around. The spray works ok if you use it VERY lightly. I need to get into chalks next, I think that might offer some of the effects I'm looking for.
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Posted - February 06 2009 : 06:58:09 AM
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VERY NICE WORK....., YOU WILL LIKE CHALKS AFTER YOU GET USE TO USING THEM...THAT IS ALL I USE NOW EXCEPT FOR AN OCCASIONAL WASH OF BLACK, GREY OR BROWN RUST...LIKE THE CHALKS MUCH BETTER..THE FANGED ONE...LIKE YOU MOW, HAVE SEVERAL AND LIKE TO MODEL THEM...IF YOU LOOK ON INTERNET THERE ARE A LOT OF REALLY COOL AND STRANGE ONES....FOR EXAMPLE...
... HAVE A COLLECTION OF THESE THAT I USE TO MODEL THEM AFTER..
"Though amid all the smoking horror and diabolism of a sea-fight, SHARKS will be seen longingly gazing up to the ship's decks, like hungry dogs round a table where red meat is being carved, ready to bolt down every killed man that is tossed to them . . ." by Herman Melville
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Posted - February 06 2009 : 3:01:05 PM
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Well Done! Been wanting to paint but no place for an airbrush system...
-Gareth
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Posted - February 06 2009 : 3:03:55 PM
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| hi chrisc,if your happy,thats what matters,i think they look great ken
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Posted - February 06 2009 : 4:12:33 PM
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Hey! My work was an inspiration! That made my day.
I've been thinking of using powders the weather cars as well, but I'm not sure where to find the right stuff.
I think I read somewhere that artist's pastels work nicely?
- Matt -
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Posted - February 07 2009 : 1:04:36 PM
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catfordken - yea I'm happy. There are some little details that if I would have taken my time would have come out better, but for the most part I'm happy. Though I anytime I showed any of my creations to my 'rivet counter' friend at work he'd roll his eyes...makes me want to do more hehe.
To everyone else thanks again for the comments! My local hobby store has a decent selection of weathering chalks, I've just been holding out. I've been lucky though as far as not having a airbrush. We have a decent amount of spray colors here at my house from various house projects. Anything else I've needed you can usually go out and buy one of those small spray cans for a buck or two, and that will get you though several projects easily.
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Posted - February 07 2009 : 1:09:16 PM
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| rivit counting costs big money tyco etc costs pennies or cents depending which side of the great divide you are,rivit counters are always striving perfection,where as us mere mortals are happy with our lot,less stress more fun ken
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Posted - February 09 2009 : 02:09:38 AM
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Ok, one more update on this then I'm done with cabooses I swear lol. I was going to make a separate post for the final one since its not really a MOW caboose, but I didn't wanna clog up the board. Lots of pics coming up so load this post, go make a sandwich, and come back
Anywho I mentioned I was working on a N&W caboose (to match my rough around the edges Tyco C630 in N&W themed black). I had a Rock Island caboose that drove me nuts due to its bright colors and I had nothing else Rock Island, so it was a prime candidate for a makeover. Started with this...
After going though a million photos on the net of the N&W C-18 cabooses (they were all a bit different) I finally got a game plan together and painted it once. Screwed up on a few things so it was stripped a 2nd time and done over again lol. Ended up with this.
The real ones do have blocked off windows, but it varies between each caboose, so I picked the most common. The white ends were something of a aesthetic choice. The real ones are all red, but I wanted to try the white ends on for size. If I did another I'd just go all red I think it would look better. Still it came out ok I think. A steady hand really paid off in managing to paint all the molded handrails. Only downside was when everything was said and done, I went to dullcoat it. Except I didn't use dullcoat, I used Top Flite LustreKote flat clear. If you see this at your hobby store, do not buy it. Not only does it not take the glossiness down. It popped some of the small air pockets in the decals. I never recall dullcoat doing this. So next time I'll wait till dullcoat is back in stock rather than buying the cheap stuff. Still, it looks freaking great out on the mainline!
Revisiting the Chessie caboose I posted yesterday. I never intended this one to be a actual project, it was just a testbed. However alot of people who saw it liked it, only thing I kept hearing was "sliver roof, did they come with those?". After my inner child started bugging me about it, I caved it. Repainted and re-weathered, I've decided I'm going to keep it on my friends layout with the rest of them rather than put it back in the box.
So that's it for the cabooses. Currently I have a PRR 40' boxcar kit I picked up awhile ago. Once I stop breaking all the tiny pieces on that I think I'm going to try my hand at a structure. I actually have one more flood light caboose that was given to me (not Tyco, dunno who made it). I think I'm going to turn it into a trackside structure of some sort, like a small shipping depot. Should be something I can really get creative with so I'm looking forward to it. A final parting shot, the whole gang...
Thanks for reading and all the comments!!!
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Posted - February 09 2009 : 3:28:10 PM
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Comparing the pictures of the Chessie caboose with the silver roof, to after it was painted, the black roof really is much better.
Good call! 
I like the N&W caboose too, the blocked out windows were an excellent idea.
I may have to try repainting an old Tyco caboose I have!
- Matt -
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Posted - February 12 2009 : 09:55:41 AM
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CHRISC...YOU CAN GET A REAL GOOD SELECTION OF COLORS AT PAT A TANS OR MICHAELS...VERY REASONABLE, ANY GOOD ART STORE WILL ALSO HAVE THEM...JUST MAKE SURE THEY ARE THE CHALK VERSION AND NOT THE OIL ONES...USE THEM ALL THE TIME AND LIKE THEM..GARRET
"Though amid all the smoking horror and diabolism of a sea-fight, SHARKS will be seen longingly gazing up to the ship's decks, like hungry dogs round a table where red meat is being carved, ready to bolt down every killed man that is tossed to them . . ." by Herman Melville
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Posted - February 13 2009 : 02:05:48 AM
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Thanks puppyfang! I was in Micheals the other day to get some balsa wood for a project. I had no clue they had chalks, I'm going to have to swing by again and take a look. Hopefully they are a little better priced than the stuff at the hobby store 
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Posted - February 15 2009 : 7:14:28 PM
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Nice job! I am actually picking up those same Model Power ( and other manufacturer ) MOW cabooses for a special project. I'm thinking of a special "tourist" train, the cars will be converted to rolling living quarters, all the cranes and tanks will be stripped off the flatbed part, and you will be able to take your automobile with you on the trip, and then go sight-seeing from a special station where this train will park, and have the "dock" height same as the flatbed part, so you can just drive your car off and see the sights, then come back to tie down and go "training" again to another far-off place. The white MOW I intend to be the "bridal suite" car, with black accents, for newlyweds. I have noticed just by checking Ebay that there are maybe EIGHT of these MOWs in different colors and versions by Model power? I also have some Tyco , Lifelike and other make MOW cabooses as well, so I'm planning on maybe a 10-15 car ensemble to pull eventually. So far, I've stripped the crane and tank off two of them. I have the old Tyco Pennsy version with half a red passenger car, that will be the "party barge" of the tracks! LOL.
Anyway, your detailing looks awesome, you did a nice job with that. Thanks for posting that.
- Jerry in VA -
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - February 16 2009 : 01:48:01 AM
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Your idea sounds far wilder than anything I thought up...I say go for it and post pictures here
If you wanna compare the different model power "work cabooses" they are all listed on their site if you haven't been there already.
http://store.modelpower.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=11
When tearing them apart, I found there wasn't alot of glue holding them together. On mine I took a exacto knife just worked it between the caboose housing and the deck, came right off. Same deal with the tank. If you want more MOW ideas, go into google image search and type in "idler car" you'll get some good MOW pictures.
To be honest, now that I'm working on some full blown "kits" where they include every detail down to the molded grab irons, ladders, and stirrups. I'd jump back to the model power/tyco/etc rolling stock in a heartbeat. The one kit I've built thus far rides like crap. I can believe how stable my MOW tanker is despite riding on plastic wheels & axles. And the other I'm building all the little detail stuff doesn't want to fit into its mounting holes. Makes me appreciate taking something that started cheap and making it more than it really is (case in point, all my cabooses).
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Posted - February 16 2009 : 07:56:55 AM
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THINK YOU ALL SAW MY DISTILLER MOW AND HERE IS ANOTHER THAT I AM WORKING ON CURRENTLY..THE FANGED ONE
"Though amid all the smoking horror and diabolism of a sea-fight, SHARKS will be seen longingly gazing up to the ship's decks, like hungry dogs round a table where red meat is being carved, ready to bolt down every killed man that is tossed to them . . ." by Herman Melville
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Posted - February 16 2009 : 10:24:32 PM
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Thanks for the link. I noticed the glue came off easily, thankfully they didn't use much, although I did break a few side pins off when removing the low siderails, oh well. I'll punch them out of the flatbed ,and not worry about putting those sides back on, won't need'em really. I'll probably buy more of the crane variety, to get more variety.
- Jerry -
\quote:Your idea sounds far wilder than anything I thought up...
If you wanna compare the different model power "work cabooses" they are all listed on their site if you haven't been there already.........
When tearing them apart, I found there wasn't alot of glue holding them together. On mine I took a exacto knife just worked it between the caboose housing and the deck, came right off.
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" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - March 16 2009 : 12:56:23 AM
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| cool cabooses that Rock Island/NW caboose you did that design is based on a real caboose! I've seen it only in CB&Q & BN paint schemes will take a pic of the BN one I seen at a museum 40 miles from me
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Posted - April 12 2009 : 01:53:59 AM
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Man I thought I was done with this sorta stuff lol. I got contracted by my friend's dad to turn a passenger car into a MOW shed. I took this as a bit of a challenge, especially since locally we had a real thing that was a benchmark for this project.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1428189
Didn't have to be exact, but that was the rough idea he wanted me to shoot for. This was what I came up with.
/tyco/forum/uploaded/ChrisC/trains207.jpg
Look in the background of this shot at the two B&O passenger cars, that's what this one use to look like.
/tyco/forum/uploaded/ChrisC/trains228.jpg
Only thing I didn't do was the mounting the post under the whole thing. Overall really happy with how this attempt came out. My weathering is ever so slowly getting better!
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Posted - November 26 2020 : 12:37:40 PM
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Nice kitbashes.
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Posted - November 26 2020 : 5:49:29 PM
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| Excellent work - love the cabeese!
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