A while back I posted a thread asking if anyone had ideas about bashing a Bachmann eight wheel caboose into a four-wheeler. Well, the idea has been noodling around for a bit and in that time I got hold of an Atlas O scale bobber caboose. Parts from this caboose were essential for the following caboosebash! [*]Get one Bachmann eight wheel caboose. [*]Get an O scale Atlas Bobber Caboose [*]Cut the Atlas wheel hardware from the body, just even with the springs [*]Dismantle the Bachmann caboose. [*]To remove B-man wheels slightly bend the brass pickup for the light and snip wire, then unscrew wheel set [*]To remove the roof for this operation, GENTLY squeeze the roof together and pry one end up. Since my caboose will not have the "hook" tops on the ladders, I cut them off first. If you intend to use them on yours, release the AC underneath the car and the ladders will come away with the roof. You will want to take the ladders off the later anyway. The catches should release. Repeat on other end. [*]Remove undercarriage from body in same way. I removed the end sills as well by gently prying them loose. This way if you have left the ladders attached they will be out of the way and there is less chance of breaking any of the platform hardware. [*]Remove the B-man couplers by unscrewing them. [*]Cut a small block of wood that will serve as the base for the wheel set 27/32 nds inch wide by 2 inches long. [*]Drill two small holes in the center of the wood and two corresponding holes in the car undercarriage. [*]Screw and glue in place. I used two 2X ¼ round slotted brass screws but you can use what ever is handy, just make sure they are not so long that they come through the car floor [*]Line up wheel hardware and drill two small holes per side with corresponding holes in the wood block. Glue and screw in place. I used very small eye glass screws (Because that is all I had!!). You can use anything in that size range. [*]Prime and paint parts black [*]Set aside to dry [*]Using 70 percent Rubbing Alcohol and cotton swabs, strip the paint from the car sides (It is better to buy an undecorated caboose so you don’t have to do this step!) [*]Remove the hardware from the car sides and ends. These are glued on the inside of the car but if you gently pull they will come loose. [*]If you like the individual board look then take time to score each board. I use the back of a hobby knife blade that lost its tip years ago but broke in such a way as to make a great scraper/adz [*]I also roughen random boards up with a sharp hobby knife. It helps give the car a rougher appearance and brings out individual boards. Remember to cut these in the direction of the grain! [*]Remove the Bachmann windows by gently prying loose with a hobby knife. [*]Paint the car body your chosen color. If you change the color dramatically I recommend priming. I did not prime as I wanted the Bachmann boxcar red to bleed through into the caboose red I used. You can mix different shades of the color in small containers to paint individual boards (unless you are air brushing of course). Now is a good time to paint the doorknob and plate on the doors. [*]Remove the cupola by gently squeezing above the tabs and lifting off the roof. Gently pry glass loose and paint cupola. [*]Paint end sills and platforms [*]I painted a coat of Grimy Black on the caboose and cupola roofs as the stock black was just too shiney. [*]I kept the interior of the caboose in tact, including the light in case I want to light it. If you want to light it, remove the brass pick ups from the wheel sets. Drill two small holes in each end of the wood block under neath the car and trap one end of the pick up under the screw. Hook the other end over the top of each wheel set. You can carefully re-solder the wires once you remount the car body. I don’t care for lit cars, so I did not follow this step. [*]I cut a facia board for each side of the car. These are simply made of thin card stock cut to shape and painted. [*]I placed support braces running from the cupola to the caboose roof. These are simply wire painted Grimy Black. [*]Cut and place decals of your choice on the new facia board. [*]After placing decals and in my case rubber stamp numbers, I dull coated the entire car. The following pics are illustrations of the major steps. John Bachmann Eight Wheel Caboose Dismantled Atlas Bobber Wood block mounted for wheel hardware Caboose stripped of paint and boards cut/roughened
Kitbash Pics Continued And the results: Complete Caboose Caboose 306 and the real 306 (Poole and Martin Pp. 112) And another angle This was a fun bash and a personal challenge: I completed it in one day. The 306 was built in 1880-1881 for the DSP & PRR. It was numbered 69 for the CCRR in 1885 and was likely the 1507 under the UPD & G through 1899 when C & S took over. It was the 306 through the system-wide renumbering in 1912 when it became the 1005. It was scrapped in Denver in 1942. John
John, A definite improvement on the Bachmann caboose IMHO. The thing that bugs me about the Bachmann caboose is the cupola. It seems too small in my opinion. Anyway back on track with your kit bash job. I think the bobber running gear worked very well and I wouldn't have thought to use it. Nice thinking out of the box there. As usual your weathering and really adds to the success of your project. Excellent job......... Greg
Thanks Greg. I agree, the B-mann caboose leaves some things to be desired...I thought about cutting the windows larger and adding in Grandt Line windows but it would have exceeded my one day self-challenge. This upgrade will likely come later. Larger windows will show off the caboose interior which B-mann actually does pretty well. With the stock windows you can't see inside even when the car is lit. Also, yes, the cupola needs to be taller....may have to scratch one out later on John
Yep, all in a day's work The challenge began at 8:00am and was to end at 8:00pm, but I was done before 5:00pm. Why would I do this to myself? Mainly because once I had the idea firmly planted on how to do the job, I just wanted it done!!! I also wanted to see how far I could get in a day if I did not put the project down. Anyway it was fun and I would like to do another caboose this way sometime. John
