have gotten bitten by the scrachbuilding bug, big time. Great Northern's X1-X30 series cabeese. Distinctive slant cupola, as only GN could. I want to have one of these on my layout so bad I can taste it. And not pay for brass, even IF it has been done. Where to start: Atlas int'l. std. cupola caboose (ends, roof, underframe, trucks) Evergreen .015" styrene sheet (sides/cupola) Brass rod-- .008" (grabs) Firecracker antenna, Gold Medal roofwalk material, Microscale decals/ Micro Kristal Kleer, MT couplers, Polly Scale Caboose red paint. The caboose underframe needs to be lengthened, and the sides sanded. The new sides will be scratchbuilt, as will the cupola. The sock Atlas caboose ends will be reused, and modified. Watch this space, as this is an ambitious, and complex project for me! [ January 31, 2006, 09:56 PM: Message edited by: HemiAdda2d ]
It will be interesting to see what you encounter. Isn't there a slight angle in the front and rear walls of the cupola? (It's been years since I last viewed one of these up close.) Correctly shaping those side windows will require a little patience. After you complete this project, maybe you could also do the caboose pictured behind it! Pacific Coast RR #1. Boxcab E50
Yes, Ken, there are slight angled walls on the front/rear sides of the cupola. Last night, I chopped up a MRL caboose, stripped and started reassembling it. I made a simple jig, to kee the length consistent, and glued the caboosebody parts together. The cupola will be the hardest. I haven't decided if I will cut in the caboose body rather large holes for windows on the outer skin--or attempt to match-cut the windows on the body under the skin to the windows I cut in the skin(a la Brass Car Sides Great Dome conversion).
Any thoughts on what you'll use for trucks? Would a MT passenger car version be "in the ball park?" Hope you're taking plenty of work in-progress photos! Boxcab E50
Actually, I am planning on using the stock caboose trucks, till a correct replacement comes to my knowledge, and fundage to boot.. I have some in-progress shots, from last night's work. Maybe tomorrow I'll process them, and post here.
Please do. This is a unique project in N scale. I'm very curious how it works out for you. Boxcab E50
This one is gonna be a doozie!!! Warning to dialup folks, this is image-heavy! OK, I started late last night, and as of today, I have the basic caboose structure done. It really looks neat, and it's not painted yet!!! From the top, here's how it came from a basic Montana Rail Link caboose to be a Great Northern X1-X30 series slant-cupola caboose. Start: Stock Atlas caboose, std. cupola Chop it up, add a .015" styrene inner frame--cobble it back together for the off-center cupola: Test-fit a side: (.015" styrene sheet) Modify the cupola, by filing a slant onto the ends, and opening up the windows: Lay a chunk of masking tape sticky-side-up, and secure it to the work surface with another piece of tape on each end--this makes holding the sides for window cutting extremely secure! Start cutting blank sides, and cutting the windows into them as well: Drill 1/4" holes in the caboose body, (and hog out holes with file) for the windows, fill in the major gaps with .040" styrene to add rigidity:
Continued: Glue on sides, allow to dry, and fill in gaps between roof and side edges with putty: *don't glob it on like I did!* Cut a pair of pieces on .015" styrene to fit behind and in front of cupola, file to fit, and using same operation as for the sides, cut in the cupola windows. Glue in, and putty the gaps as before: Starting to look amazingly like the GN X3 picture I posted in here, eh?
Yes. It is! Did you work in the slight angle of front and rear cupola walls? Or just do it flat? Boxcab E50
Slight angle my foot! It was hard enough to get the cupola together straight! I was asked on another forum, if I was going to cast it... I wish I had heard that/thought of that sooner, I already added the roofwalks and underbody! This kitbash is a prime candidate for Brass Car Sides!!!!!!!
Thanks guys, But I am not too elated about how the windows turned out. I just couldn't get them square, and when I did, they ended up too big (wide). Casting the shell is prolly not gonna happen, unless I had a better (consistent)window pattern and size. It's not a hard kitbash, but it is tedious! The decals are on order, same goes for Micro Kristal Kleer, which I hope will help makes the windows look smaller.
Detailed! Smokejack, antenna, grabs, window drip rails, tool box, ends, underframe. Whaddaya think? I need to finish touch sanding the sides, to get them smoother, wash and dry the model, then to the paint shop it goes!!!
I just may make a drawing for the sides, and cupola, and have them laser cut!!! Then, I may start building them!
Making it a kit with everything is a real job, but just cutting out car sides is an easy affair. I could probably have a complete model in a day, but to make it a kit with decals, details, instructions, etc. turns it into a month or so of work, if you had that much time to devote to it. If a guy just wanted the sides cut from plastic, or even better had the parts he wanted all laid out 2 dimentionally with measurements, for cutting out of say .03" plastic, that becomes an easy affair. The laser tends to melt styrene as it cuts, but a little sanding on the sheet afterwards, and a small file to square the corners of the windows, and it should work real nice. Another option that I would choose first, is to use smooth birch plywood. First I would make it super smoothe with a coat of spackle, then sand it back to smooth wood. Prime it with flat grey or white to verify it's smooth, and the laser would cut it real nice and sharp. I have an idea for a better laserable plastic formula, however I cannot find anyone who wants to make it. The recipe would be mostly cellulose (very fine sawdust powder) mixed into a batch of regular styrene, such that the material will be flexible, and workable as regular styrene, however will cut very well with a laser. When someone finally makes this stuff, that will be a turning point in the model industry, and new companies will spring up overnight to crank out neat new laser cut models.
