HOn3 cars for TrainNut

[nachoman]

next, I poured a lead weight from old auto tire balancing weights I found in the road. I used a piece of aluminum flashing to make a mold for the molten lead. For further details, see threads by Dr. Wayne . This weight should bring the total caboose weight to approximately the NMRA standard for HOn3. I don't have a scale, so I usually just guestemate on car weight . But if I was to calculate from the rough dimensions of this lead weight, it would be about 1oz. NMRA says for HOn3 3/4oz plus 3/8 ounce for every inch of car length. The caboose is about 3 inches long, so the total weight should be 1 7/8 ounces. The car has brass trucks, so I figure the weight when finished will be about perfect. :ugeek:

   

I also built the cupola. I always run into issues with passenger cars and cabooses because I want to leave the roof off until the car is painted and the window glass is installed. This usually requires not following the directions! So, what I plan to do is assemble as much of the body as I can, then paint the body, at least around where the windows are, then install glass, and then seal the roof up. I will then mask off the windows while I paint the rest of the car. The design of this caboose makes leaving either the roof or floor detachable impossible.