New York Central Caboose Build

Looks great Pete.

Another masterpiece by the master, .....outstanding!...

Pat

Looks great. How does it handle 3 rail track?

Thanks Lou. Those trucks are mostly for show. They are all plastic San Juan trucks. I have a set of three rail trucks for go, though not sure how many miles this one will get as I have many other cabeese on the roster.

Pete

Yeah if it's not going to be a runner those trucks should be fine. They look good on it.

That really came out nice.

Beautiful model. Love the interior. Thanks for sharing

great job!

Awesome

VERY nice!!!! And that from a PRR guy! 👍👍👍

Curt

looks great

Pete,

It actually looks real ! outstanding work !

Alex

Very nice job on one of my favorite prototypes.

Gee, looks just like the Lionel version from the 80's....not.

Stupendous. I have become so un-productive that I can no longer even imagine doing a kit this involved.

I always liked the low-cupola look of these NYC caboosi (alternative to "cabeese"?).

D, this one has been on my bucket list ever since I saw the kit. Never understood why Lionel and MTH could never make an accurate one with the exception, ironically, of Lionel's pre war 717 and even that they missed on the trucks.

Its good project to fill the lockdown days.

Pete

@D500 posted:

I always liked the low-cupola look of these NYC caboosi (alternative to "cabeese"?).

That's funny!  You have (inadvertently or otherwise) happened upon the reason for the goose-geese vowel change in VERY Old English.  Oversimplification:  an "ee" sound on the end of the word in the original plural mutated the vowel in the middle of the word.  So you just showed us what cabeese would be had the word existed in English ca. AD 500.

Very nicely done.

I have one or two of these sitting in a box for "one day." Maybe I should split up the work and at least get the rivets done now.

I've done many plastic kits, two or three brass kits, but not wood.

Some questions if you're willing:

1. What did you use to punch the rivets? Wondering if I can get away with a spring-loaded center punch, or if I need to see if one of my friends in the area has a Riveter I can borrow.
2. The seating inside, very good looking cushions...how did you make those? Perhaps aluminum foil or black electrical tape?
3. Did you seal the wood before assembly and/or painting? If yes, with what, and both sides?
4. Did you paint before assembly or after?
5. Handbrush or airbrush?
6. I haven't read what glue to use, but I assume wood glue was used for the majority of the build.
7. What type of paint did you use to paint the interior and exterior?
8. Those look like Yoder trucks, which I was planning to use on mine. Anything special to use them with this kit?
9. Is there enough room to really screw the kadee box into the wood?  I imagine you can't tap the wood, so you've used some sort of wood screw?

Hi Dave. I was able to locate and purchase a NWSL riveter. The brass is relatively thin and and center punch would distort it. I ended up removing the indexing table as the brass has fine dimples at the rivet location and just using the Sensipress with the pointed tip rather than one of the sized punches.

The colors are Tru Color, airbrushed mostly, the black is just rattle can flat. Parts were painted after sub assembly but before final assembly. No sealer used. I pretty much followed the instructions and its mentioned when you should paint the various items.

The coupler is screwed into the brass frame with the supplied Kadee tapping screw.

Trucks are San Juan T section Bettendorfs. One set was purchased from Mullet River at the time I bought the kit 6 or 7 years ago. I think San Juan is the only one offering scale trucks of this type though I am not sure they have much standard guage any more. If you are doing a different prototype then you likely have more choices for trucks.

Glue used was yellow wood glue, CA, plus canopy glue on the window glass. I used the clear plastic he provides but would use real glass on future builds.

Seat cushions are just some packing material I found in the recycle box.

Here are some pics taken during the build.

Pete

Gorgeous!

@Norton posted:

Hi Dave. I was able to locate and purchase a NWSL riveter. The brass is relatively thin and and center punch would distort it. I ended up removing the indexing table as the brass has fine dimples at the rivet location and just using the Sensipress with the pointed tip rather than one of the sized punches.

The colors are Tru Color, airbrushed mostly, the black is just rattle can flat. Parts were painted after sub assembly but before final assembly. No sealer used. I pretty much followed the instructions and its mentioned when you should paint the various items.

The coupler is screwed into the brass frame with the supplied Kadee tapping screw.

Trucks are San Juan T section Bettendorfs. One set was purchased from Mullet River at the time I bought the kit 6 or 7 years ago. I think San Juan is the only one offering scale trucks of this type though I am not sure they have much standard guage any more. If you are doing a different prototype then you likely have more choices for trucks.

Glue used was yellow wood glue, CA, plus canopy glue on the window glass. I used the clear plastic he provides but would use real glass on future builds.

Seat cushions are just some packing material I found in the recycle box.

Here are some pics taken during the build.

Pete

Pete,

I appreciate your reply.  Thanks again for the extra photos. You really did do an expert job on this kit.  I'm saving off this post so I can reference it later.

Looks like I'll need to find myself a riveter or borrow one for the kits I have.

As to the trucks, RY did have these, which is why I got confused. (http://www.richyodermodels.com/rym-o-scale-trucks.htm)  Looks like Rich is doing a final run for several of his trucks for those who still need.

I also use canopy glue for my clear plastic windows, but may seek out real glass due to your recommendation.  I will need to see if I can use the same glue for glass.

Do you have anything more on that packing material used for the seats?  Any idea if it was paper or plastic?  Looks very realistic IMHO and I'd like to do something similar, though I could probably also settle for wood if I can't replicate something reasonable.

David

I realized what the packing material is. It came from a box of chocolates used by many vendors. Usually found between the cover and the chocolates themselves. I suspect a candy store can provide you with a sheet.

As for windows I have both plastic and glass microscope cover slips. Either would work. Glass gives you the option of using any type of glue including CA. CA fogs most plastic so I avoided it here.

The Yoder trucks look great. I may order a set or two. The ones on the car are all plastic. I am saving the brass ones for another project.

I saw a riveter complete sell on the bay a few weeks ago for 40 bucks. Micro Mark sells a copy of the Sensipress at a reasonable price along with punches and dies that would work.

I think NWSL might be back making these tools as well.

Pete

@Norton posted:

I realized what the packing material is. It came from a box of chocolates used by many vendors. Usually found between the cover and the chocolates themselves. I suspect a candy store can provide you with a sheet.

As for windows I have both plastic and glass microscope cover slips. Either would work. Glass gives you the option of using any type of glue including CA. CA fogs most plastic so I avoided it here.

The Yoder trucks look great. I may order a set or two. The ones on the car are all plastic. I am saving the brass ones for another project.

I saw a riveter complete sell on the bay a few weeks ago for 40 bucks. Micro Mark sells a copy of the Sensipress at a reasonable price along with punches and dies that would work.

I think NWSL might be back making these tools as well.

Pete

Brilliant.  Valentine's Day is around the corner, so it should be really easy to find me a set of that plastic. I'll buy a few brands to be sure there isn't inferior plastic.

Wish I had saw that riveter, as that looks to be a steal, though I have a feeling it will be useless to me after these kits.

Thanks again!

I was about to order the Yoder trucks when I noticed they have coil springs. The San Juan ones do as well. I replaced the coils with leaf springs from PSC but they are not ideal. I emailed Rich to see if he can produce a caboose version. You may want to do the same and get a chorus going.

Pete

Added the final detail with poling pockets and wooden steps. Now its time to switch gears.

Pete

Pete,

Very nice.

Tom

@Norton posted:

Added the final detail with poling pockets and wooden steps. Now its time to switch gears.

Pete

Look at this thing!...gorgeous!...I couldn’t touch this man with a ten foot pole!..stunning!....I’d be dangerous if I had half his knowledge!.....that’s craftsmanship on a biblical level!....

Pat