doctorwayne's Spring Bash Challenge II...

[doctorwayne]

Just like the stock cars, I was unsure if I should enter this one:  it's an Athearn Blue Box caboose, which I had hoped to upgrade with a few details.  However, I'm stumped as to the best method to create one of the details, so I've decided to omit them for now, adding them later if I come up with a solution.

Here's the kit, $3.00 new in the box, probably 'cause there aren't very many around here modelling the New Haven :
   

The diagonal-panel roof is too modern for my late-'30s modelling era...
   

...and the sealed-pane type windows wouldn't be too popular with my crews...
   

As you can see in the photo above, I've already started fixing the windows.  The replacement shown is from Grandt Line, although Tichy offers an identical part.

I also started altering the roof, using an X-Acto #17 chisel blade to remove the bulk of the material, then finishing off with a small mill file:
   

My original thought was to replace all of the windows with the Grandt Line versions, but once the end windows were enlarged, I thought that it looked too crowded...
   

...so I made some plugs from .060" sheet styrene, sealing the openings completely:
   

Still "plugging along", the holes in the roof and floor casting were taken care of, using styrene rod of the appropriate diameters.  I prefer it over sprues, as it's easy to re-drill holes to suit the rod, making the holes .006" - .009" undersize, then forcing the solvent-soaked rod into place.  This saves on the necessity of using body putty to fill any gaps:
   

As you may have noticed, I also shaved off the grab irons and a few other details - this is easiest to do before removing the paint, although there's usually a little finishing work to do after the paint is gone.  Next, into the paint stripper, in this case methyl hydrate, which works well on the original Athearn paints:
   

In a few minutes, the paint began to blister.  I'll take a break while it works:
   

Wayne

[TrainNut]

Is there a more common name for methyl hydrate and where would someone go about finding it?

[nachoman]

Methyl hydrate - basically the same thing as Methyl Alcohol, which is basically the equivalent of denatured alcohol. My guess is that depending on where it is sold, you may buy either Denatured alcohol, or Methyl Hydrate.

[doctorwayne]

It should be available in any hardware store, home improvement centre, etc., as it's a common thinner for shellac and is also useful as a gas line anti-freeze.
I find that it doesn't work very well on many of the newer paints, though, and, if you use it, be aware that it's readily absorbed through the skin, causing liver and kidney damage.

Wayne

[Ralph]

Looking forward to seeing what happens next after it gets out of the science experiment beaker!
Ralph

[doctorwayne]

Actually, Ralph, that's a sealable plastic container for so-called "gourmet" jelly beans. It'll last a couple of months before the plastic begins to crack from exposure to the alcohol - the only plastic which I've ever seen affected by it. In the meantime, it keeps the vapours in check.

After a little scrubbing with a toothbrush, the paint was gone. I cleaned-up some of the areas where details had been removed, then added a .125"x125" styrene block at each end of the carbody, drilling and tapping for #0-80 screws. I wasn't satisfied with the fit between the body and floor using the tabs on the ends, as there was a visible gap at the platforms.
   

Here's the cleaned-up plug in an end window:
   

And the shaved plugs on the roof and floor:
   

After removing the cast-on brake gear from the frame, and improving the fit between the floor and underframe, the two were cemented together. The next step was to add some more-detailed brake gear. The valve, cylinder and reservoir are leftovers from a Red Caboose boxcar kit, with actuating rods fashioned from .012" stainless steel wire and piping from .015" brass wire. The operating lever for the second brake wheel is from Tichy, bent to suit the offset installation. The slack-adjuster chain is from Detail Associates, and the bleed rod is formed from .008" brass wire, working through a formed "eye" of .006" wire inserted into the AB valve.
Because of the excessive truck swing on our models, I route the actuating rods to mostly follow the line of the main frame, ensuring that they're directly in-line with the frame before they reach a point where the wheels can touch them. This allows them to terminate out of view above the trucks without fouling either wheel rotation or truck swing. While this arrangement is incorrect when viewed from below, it looks perfectly acceptable under normal on-layout viewing and provides additional incentive to avoid derailments, lest anyone discover the ruse.
   

   

   

...and as viewed from the side:
   

The next task was to alter the roof. I had used several of these cabooses, more-or-less unmodified, on my current layout and had also built some "modernised" versions, extending the roof over the platforms. However, following the roofline of the car resulted in a slightly drooping appearance. I was hoping to get a longer roof here, without the "droop".
The first step was to cut back the ends of the existing roof, removing the slight taper which caused the droop, then adding a support piece of .020" styrene on the underside of the remaining overhang.
   

I purposely left it narrower than the roof, as I want to add a valance around its perimeter:
   

Next, overly-long pieces of .060"x,125" strip styrene, scored at their mid-points to allow them to be bent, were cemented in place atop the support piece:
   

   

They'll be trimmed to length after the valance is in place. Here the sides of the valance have been installed, using .020"x.100" styrene strip. The joint is further strengthened with pieces of .020"x.020" strip.
   

   

Note too that the new straight panels have been added to the roof: They're .020" sheet styrene, cut-to-size to span the full width of the roof, then scored and bent at their mid-point. I dragged their edges over sandpaper to round them slightly, as they're supposed to represent stampings:
   

Here's the end valance. It's bottom edges were aligned with those of the side pieces, then cemented in place. After the cement has hardened, they'll be trimmed to size:
   

   

While the roof dries, it's time for a little work on those replacement windows. These are the windows as-supplied:
   

The 2-over-2 panels are meant to be installed in the larger frame from the rear, then the entire assembly goes into the window opening in the caboose from the outside. However, they would merely be a different style of fixed window, the same as those with which the caboose was originally equipped.
I decided to change them to a simple double-hung style. First, the inserts were cut in two, with one piece retaining the entire horizontal divider muntin. This piece was cemented into the larger frame, and will represent the upper, non-moveable part of the window.
The remaining parts were turned face-down on the work surface (there's a slight draught angle on the edges, making the front side slightly narrower), then a piece of HO scale 1"x2" was cemented to the open ends. As shown below, the strip of white styrene is slightly thicker than the window pieces, causing its upper surface to stand slightly higher than the window framing - this side will be on the inside of the caboose once it's been installed, leaving the outside face flush with the grey plastic to which it's attached.
   

I left all six lower sashes attached to the styrene strip, making them easier to handle. The windows will have to first be painted, then clear styrene "glass" installed, followed by assembly, then installation of the completed units into the enlarged openings in the otherwise-finished caboose.
Below, one of the partially-assembled windows is positioned over a lower sash, showing the desired effect of a partially-open window:
   

As shown here, any window can be partially open, wide open, or closed:
   

The sticking point mentioned at the beginning of this thread is what would logically be the next step: window screens. While I've made them before, the kit on which they were installed provided a frame (meant for storm windows), which, while rather clunky-looking in the third photo below (taken through a loupe), looks pretty decent on the layout.
   

   

   

However, even by using HO scale 1"x1", the frame for the screen will hide too much of the window. At present, I'm going to forego window screens - perhaps something will occur to me after the rest of the caboose is done, perhaps not. In any event, it will have to be easy to do, as I'm about to embark on building a fleet of cabooses for my layout, all using this same window technique, albeit on scratchbuilt bodies. This caboose is the "test mule" for the various ideas and techniques.

Wayne

[nachoman]

Great, another caboose! with some of the more extensive bashes thus far, I was skeptical that it would remain a caboose Thanks for the brake detail photos.

[Gary S]

DocWayne, you never cease to amaze me. First, what a super trick of using screws to hold the chassis to the body... I never thought of that, but it seems so obvious now. Second, the window mods are really nice. And third, even though you aren't putting the screens on yet, are you kidding me? HO scale screens? Your attention to detail astounds me!

[doctorwayne]

Great, another caboose! with some of the more extensive bashes thus far, I was skeptical that it would remain a caboose

Yeah, I'm afraid this is going to be another of my "lame" kitbashes, with it remaining a caboose and probably not looking all that different from when I started. It's one of those projects which I've been meaning to do for ages, and the Challenge is my excuse to finally tackle it.

Thanks, Gary, but even the screen mesh is oversize, although I think that it looks pretty good from normal viewing distances. It's left-over silk screening material, coloured with a black marker. You may not have seen the last of it, either.

Wayne

[doctorwayne]

As shown previously, the end valances added were over-size. The advantage to this method is that the part can be sized to fit its application exactly, rather than leaving an opportunity for an inaccurate measurement to cause a wasted part. I trimmed the majority of the excess material using a knife, but finished-up with a suitable needle file. Using your work light to cast shadows is a good way to keep track of how much material needs to be removed, as shown below (looks like that plug in the roof needs a little touch of filler, too :oops: ):
   

Here's a better view of the re-panelled roof:
   

And a couple of shots of the finished valance:
   

   

Prior to starting work on the end handrails and ladders, I cut out four blanks for the screen doors from .005" sheet styrene.
   

After the openings have been sized to match in pairs, these parts will be painted, then cemented together in pairs, with a sheet of silk screen material "trapped" between the two. On this caboose, these doors will be modelled in their "latched open" position.

Wayne

[Ralph]

That's so neatly done Wayne! I like the roof extensions and modifications.
Ralph

[Sumpter250]

Yeah, I'm afraid this is going to be another of my "lame" kitbashes, with it remaining a caboose and probably not looking all that different from when I started. It's one of those projects which I've been meaning to do for ages, and the Challenge is my excuse to finally tackle it. Wayne

............and the documentation of the process, teaches, so it is not "lame".

[Tom]

VERY cool. Are you going to paint this car in Grand Valley red, white & black?

[doctorwayne]

VERY cool. Are you going to paint this car in Grand Valley red, white & black?

Thanks, Tom. This caboose is going to be an EG&E one - I'd post a photo of the other one in service (unmodified) but I don't seem to have one :oops: and Deano owns the caboose now. Here's an EG&E cupola-style caboose, which is the same dark green that I plan on using for the current project, most likely with a dark grey roof and black underbody, but much smaller lettering.
   

I currently have no Grand Valley cabooses, so my next project will to build a number of cabooses, all cupola-style and all wood (styrene) bodies. I figure 6 for the Grand Valley (probably in the red/white & black scheme), 4 or 5 for the Erie Northshore (in yellow & black), one for the Grand River Southern - paint colours undecided (this one is to go with a loco currently sorta under construction), and one for the TH&B (dark boxcar red).
The latter one will be done from photos of the prototype,and mostly scratchbuilt, while the others will be free-lanced, and based on the floor and underframe of the Athearn cupola caboose - I have no desire to scratchbuild steps for that many cabooses, so they'll be "parts-built" rather than scratchbuilt. My plan is to make several variations of the same style, with details to suit each particular road, all of which are owned or controlled by the EG&E.
My "historical background" for the Grand Valley steel cabooses in service around Canada and the U.S. (along with those SW1200RS diesels), is that they're the modern-day, relatively-speaking, replacements for the wooden ones on which I'm about to begin construction.

Wayne

[doctorwayne]

After a lengthy interruption for other projects and some non-train stuff, I'm finally back to work on this project, although I doubt that it'll be finished before the deadline.
I decided to modify the floor and underframe further, as I want the end ladders to be permanently installed. Normally this would make the body shell and floor inseparable, a problem if one ever needs to replace window "glass", so I decided to segment the floor:
   

   

When final assembly is done, the short ends with their attached platforms will be cemented in place, then the end ladders and other details added. The centre floor section, with the trucks and brake gear, will be affixed using screws, allowing the shell to be opened for any future repairs.

In order to begin construction of the ladders, the roofwalk needed to be installed. I used a cast plastic one from Tichy, representing an open-grid steel type - a fairly modern innovation in the '30s. My first attempt expanded on the style of the stock Athearn roofwalk, with the lateral platforms even with the main roofwalk and level all the way out to the car's eaves:
   

   

However, to my eye this looked awkward and too bulky, so it was re-done in a style similar to that used on most boxcars:
   

   

Also visible in the latter photo is the slightly re-worked end sill, which included moving the mounting position for the power handbrake housing closer towards the coupler pocket - this is to accommodate the width of the ladder, which will be mounted at the left side of the platform.

Next up, building the end ladders.

Wayne