Thanks John, and you're very right. The Atlas caboose was a good starting point though, and removing the roofwalks and replacing the wheels were simple and cheap (read FREE) upgrades. This Bachmann trainset caboose needed a bit more work, but I'm still pleased with the results.
Kato Superlines. Updating truck colors and adding people through out the whole train even the Pacific Parlor Car and maybe tail lighting.
So, I finally finished this one. Not 100% pleased, but will live with it. Learned some lessons if I decide to do another one in the future. The car sides are made by Union Station and I used a Con-Cor Superliner for the frame. Additional details came from an American Limited core kit. Also did some weathering to these gons in addition the new reporting marks and high visibilty stripes: Brian
At the moment...WATER !! :angry: I leveled THE RV and now the rain water on the roof has found a place to seep in....run down the face of a ceiling cabinet...and pool on the workbench ! Dried off all the tools and 'stuff' that was on the workbench. Got up on the roof and think I found the spot its running in at. Need to go to Kmart and buy another can of "Flex Seal". That stuff works as advertised
Right now a beer and a pair California Northern GP15s just finished installing decoders and painting end rails yellow.
Quick, easy, cheap (!) and it works because the wide ones have a plastic stiffener inside. If you cut the foam down to the stiffener and work it down in the shell, it stays put. Plus is does a good job of filling most of the shell.
Spent a lazy Sunday building the Micro-Trains Large Pier. It still needs the wash/weather/detail. I plan to do tiny individual deck slats for that classic boardwalk texture.
Been working on trucks for the layout lately. I need to touchup the paint on most of them yet, but that's why they're still on the workbench. I was really excited when Showcase Miniatures released their Ford Cabover and International truck models earlier this summer. Reading through online comments and discussions especially of the International models convinced me I didn't need to read all of the directions. I soon found that a hobby knife and a sharp blade were all I needed to build the models I really wanted for my layout. I started with the hy-rail truck. I had an older Showcase Miniatures kit with a Ford cab that I thought would look better with the new body than with the older MOW body style it was designed for. The Ford's bumper hangs down a little too low to work with the included front bumper, but I intend to replace it with a hydraulic wheelset to be mounted out of sight under the body of the truck (similar to the Brandt trucks found in maintenance service on various railroads across North America). As it stands so far: Left with a spare International cab, I turned to the Loadstar tractor I purchased at the same time specifically for the chassis. I intended to convert it to a more modern International tractor, similar to one I see on the road quite often, owned by a USPS contractor. The Loadstar cab was originally to be used with the chassis the Ford cab was removed from, but after painting the cab, I thought it looked better on its tractor chassis, pulling one of HuskerN's 43' grain trailers, leaving me with the extra International cab and the two axle chassis. A little bit of carving on the bottom of the cab allowed the cab to sit nicely on the chassis, and with a cast refrigerated box behind the cab, I had the beginnings of another type of truck I see on a regular basis: The announcement of a builder's pack of International trucks was certainly well timed, and along with the daycab version of the Ford cabover trucks, and another of HuskerN's models, this time the 22' grain box, I wound up with this. The grain box has been sitting on the workbench for a while as I've test fit it onto several different trucks looking for the right look. I originally planned to use a C in C chassis with the box, but I made the mistake of ordering direct from the manufacturer as he went through a forced relocation this summer. I'll attach the grain box after either test fitting it to the C in C model when it arrives, or the arrival of my second order of the grain boxes. Using the Ford cab on the builder's pack chassis freed up an International cab as well as a tractor chassis resulting in: The other half of the builder's pack is currently waiting for one of those 22' grain boxes. When I first saw the hi-rail truck, I was awestruck. I decided that when the funds became available, one wasn't going to be enough. So I bought two. The second remained in its package until I was ready to build it. My plan was to do something crazy with the first truck and build the second one "correct." But hi-rail capable trucks aren't common commodities in my N scale world, and the kit as designed looks more like a utility truck than a railroad truck to me. Not to mention I have a fascination with hi-rail dump trucks. So my second MOW truck kit started the concept phase last night. This is where I'm at with it so far: I'll wait to prime/paint it until either the C in C models show up, or the small fleet of trucks I ordered from Shapeways the other night arrives, which should give me time to develop the concept a little more thoroughly. I'll wrap up this rather long post with one more photo, showing several of the trucks lined up on my workbench. I find having the various projects sitting next to each other while I'm working on them helps me to better visualize where they'll fit in at on the layout. It also forces me to vary the color patterns a little to better reflect the subtle variety of paint schemes found in the real world.
I changed the cab on my Athearn 2-8-0 to a Bachmann 2-8-0 cab I bought as a replacement part. I'm still working on details and lettering/numbering, but this is the "modernized" branch line power I like
Stripped and repainted four cabooses into BN paint and starting the decal work. Took two NP cabooses and simply blacked out the numbers for a BN patch job. Two more still in GN red await the stripper bath to eventually get GN BSB colors. Also started decal work on the BN full domes using black stripes to give a nice even line between the black and green.
I just completed a Amtrak Phase VI diner: This is kitbashed from a Kato CZ diner. I removed skirting and modified window arrangements.
Finally got to the point were I can work on the roll up door on the rear of the theatre car. I know it was silver in the rebuilt BNSF version and the only thing I can find to suggest the color in the BN green version is that the door was silver, although it could have been white. just not a good close up with the door down in the BN version to tell the color. And that is a snow dozer underway on the side and two former NP cabooses now patched with BN numbers. Plus a bunch of caboose chassis for my green BN cabooses I am doing.
