Repainting model trains.....my How To....FINISHED!

Dis-assembled, cleaned and first round of prep. I sanded all the tampo printed logos and marks with a very fine sanding stick. First with one about 600 grit then a 1000 grit. Washed with soap and water and put into the dehydrator to speed drying time.

 

Primer up next........

Primer applied. I use Dupli-color almost 100% on my trains....I use Tamiya but it's a lot more costly and harder to get.....so Dupli-color first choice.

Also being a primer and sealer really helps in the other colors.

Primer sealer etches into the surface and gives the paint some tooth.

 

 

Two light coats of primer. Since the body was red....and being painted red again.....just a good smooth coat is the first priority. If the final color was white.....I'd apply a coat of Dupli-color white primer.

Stand was made from steel wire and a 2 x 4 block. Been using it for 30 years.....good investment for under $2!!

Back into the dehydrator to speed drying time. A dehydrator is not 100% necessary but I have a short attention span....so it helps me!!!!  

Great thread! I 2nd Duplicolor. Are the wires in the 2x4 form a loop under the cab shell?

Thanks, Malcolm

Nice.  I use Rustoleum mostly because its available nearby and Duplicolor is a longer drive.

Where you get Duplicolor....auto parts store?

This will be a great tutorial!  Thanks for taking the time to share.

-Greg

I get mine at Magic Mart a local dept store. Auto parts store usually cary it and I have even bought it off Amazon when my local was out for a extended time.

 

The stand is two loops...I'll show it later....

 

Thanks

Time for decals!!!!

I had started the art work last week. I did not size it until I got the caboose in hand.

I plan on doing the block letter version....but while I am at it will print two other versions too.....all this black art work will print white.....

 

I know most modelers do not have a vector graphics program. But you can do basic decal art even in word. And there are some shareware programs out there that work well enough for self printing decals.

And I also know most folks can't print white at home. But there is white decal paper that you can print on using blocks of color....Scott Smith has covered this a number of times.  Look it up if you need more info....

Thanks

First....my stand.

I made this a long time ago. The wire is 'music' or 'piano' or 'spring' wire.....called different things by different folks!

Bent as shown and inserted into holes drilled into block.

 

First coat of paint......

This is Tamiya Bright Red spray can. Tamiya is a synthetic lacquer and VERY thin....which is great for not covering up detail. But it requires a number of thin coats rather than one or two heavy ones....if you try to put it on heavy it will run and sag.....meaning more work. 

This model will end up with maybe 4 coats of red. The roof is black so it will get one light coat. It may also get a coat of clear on the sides to help finish and decal application.

 

Back to the dehydrator again......30 minutes max for next coat. 

Thanks

Thanks for taking the time to document your painting process. It is very helpful!

So I 'bake' the body for the last time before the black roof color is applied.  I'll let it sit in there for 30 minutes than allow to cool before masking for second color.

( I do NOT recommend an oven to set paint. More often than not you will end up with a glob of plastic) 

 

While I wait....I started on the end platforms. They are made of a flexible plastic that does not always accept paint well. And leaving them black plastic gives that it a toy look IMHO.

So a coat of Dupli-color primer will help a color coat adhere. And since it will be painted black again....just a good dusting will do.

 

I put them in the dehydrator for a while....then a coat of semi-gloss black. 

Thanks

Dave

Super job. cant wait to see finished model

STEVE

Well.....I am pretty close to done with the paint side of the project.

This has been real time. I got the caboose in the mail today....and I opened the box at 12:30 this afternoon. Here it is right now........

 

I dusted the chassis and trucks with Dupli-color Hot Rod Primer....a dark gray color.

It got rid of the plastic look of the trucks and gives me a base to weather them later. Couplers got a light coat too.

Brake wheels were primed and painted yellow....then re-installed correctly on the platform side.....unlike almost all of them I've seen facing outward!!  The smoke stack was altered a little so it would sit flush to the roof. I 'frosted' the windows by sanding them slightly....to defuse the light a little. I will do more detail painting later....but want to decal the caboose first.

 

A note on masking color separations....For the line were the color breaks I use Tamiya masking tape. I use a 1/4" version....they make many widths.  I burnish the edge were it will be painted with a stick or even finger nail to make a hard seal at the color break. I them cover the rest of the body with Shurtape masking tape. I didn't take any photos of my masked caboose body because I like to tape up a item and shoot the paint ASAP so the tape has little time to lift.  Also never put a item into a dehydrator with any tape on it.....it will 'cook' into the paint and make a mess!!! 

Up next....decals!!!

Thanks

Dave,

 

Absolutely fantastic, I will follow your thread. Looking forward to seeing the finished

product.

 

Alex

Great how to thread Dave!!

 

Alan

Great job Dave!

Very nice work so far! 

 

I've gotten some really nice results on some projects using a rattle can. Obviously, the intricate paint schemes like camouflage are best done with an airbrush but a one or two color paint scheme can be done with a spray can and yield a satisfactory finished product.

 

Good job.

Thanks all.......

This will be it until early next week......I have to travel this weekend and I need to let things set for 48 hours.

But I applied the first decals before I lost my outdoor light!!!

 

I will paint the grab irons and a few other small details later....and some very light weathering.

So we went from here.......

 

TO....

 

Not the most complicated project ever undertaken!  But I thought it was a good example of what almost any one can do with minimal equipment. And once you master a project like this a more complex project is possible.

 

Any questions post them and I'll try and answer. I know repainting, kit bashing and scratchbuilding is not a big part of O scale 3 rail trains...but a fun way to get things they may not make or hard to find.

 

I'll finish it up next week......

Thanks

great thread, but what do you mean by 'baked it"?  you lost me there

I an earlier post I noted I use a food dehydrator to speed up paint drying.....that is what allows me to start a project at noon and by 20:00 be applying decals.  So the dehydrator 'bakes' the paint but cautioned not to try an oven to do the same! 

Thanks

How did you get white decals?  I tried to look it up but found nothing by Scott Smith unless not looking in right place.  I'd like to do a bunch for U.S. Army in white.  Can you tell me what to look up?

 

BTW, that caboose looks outstanding.

 

Rick

Looks fantastic. Great job.

Dave

Thanks for taking the time to post this. I have said it over & over- but this is hands down the best forum with the best group of folks I have been a member of, period. I also appreciate your help on my very first decal project a few months back. I took the two cars up to our Historical Society & they were speechless.

I hope this topic would be considered for print in OGR. 

"I 'frosted' the windows by sanding them slightly....to defuse the light a little."

 

So did you reinstall the cardboard on the caboose?

 

BTW, this is a project I'll be doing on the same type of caboose.

During dis-assembling I noted a single piece of black construction paper in one bay window.....didn't know if this was a personal addition or factory....so I left it out and 'frosted' the windows which I like better if no interior is in place.

Thanks

Dave,  Great job and very informative post!  How hot does the dehydrator get?  What is the difference in pricing for the Alps in the US vs. Japan.  Are the Alps inks availble here?   Thanks, Pat B.

Added a little paint detail......early next week it will get a coat of flat finish and light weathering....Thanks

 

Nice work and a very informative post on repainting a car.  Enjoyed it and looking forward to see the end results after a light weathering.  Nick

AMCDave,  thanks for the info on the decals.

 

Rick

OK...calling it done!! My airbrush was acting up and it took me a day to get it working. A light weathering and dull coat and it's ready to roll.

From this.......

 

 

To this........

 

 

Not a dramatic difference but well worth the work to me.

Thanks for following along.....hope some other folks try their hand at making something they want but can't find!!!

Dave, that is one great looking caboose and you did a super job in painting it.  That will look good with your consist and engine.  Thanks for the detailed step by step of this project.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

A short course in kitbash painting, very well presented.  I have heard people babble

about ALPS printers on here and elsewhere, inclluding a  decal printer maligned

because he said his ALPS printer was down and he wasn't delivering paid orders.

Sounds like he could have had a legit excuse.  YEARS! ago, when in HO I bought

decal paper at a little print shop.  Is it now available at places like Staples and

Office Depot?  That white printed decal paper,  too? 

Very Nice however you are missing one thing, STRIP  that IC engine and make a mate for this caboose.   Nick

These decals were printed on my ALPS with white ink. But I do keep white decal paper on hand for when that option works.....I try and save the ALPS for work I can't do any other way than screen print....which I need to do 100 copies to make it work./ Thanks

Pretty sharp. Nice addition to your fleet.

I was interested to see your topic, Dave, in that I've fooled around with a couple MPC-era and later traditional bay windows. My last project, although not nearly as involved as what you've done, was with a no. 9361 Chicago Northwestern bay window, which I've always liked. I wanted to update it a bit, in short of the shortcut way. What I did was relatively minor on the exterior, although I swapped out the chassis (short cut!). Mostly, rather than frost the windows, as you did, I wanted to add an interior.

 

First I got ahold of a Postwar Celebration Erie bay window, and used the chassis from that with the shell of the 9361. The newer Lionel traditional bay windows, including the Erie, have some nice added details compared to the earlier versions. Lionel has added diecast metal trucks, underbody details (toolbox, air tank, support structure), dual pickups, and rear lighted flashing red strobe light, and the side marker lights are red instead of white. Also note the brakewheel is now facing the correct way!

 

Being a Postwar Celebration caboose (all the PWC engines have TMCC), the lights on the Erie should handle 18v command voltage (or so it appears so far; the manual says the interior light bulb is rated at 14v and the rear strobe at 12v), so that detail was already taken care of with the chassis swap (I run command). 

 

For adding the strobe, I drilled out a hole in the rear above the door of the CNW shell, and cut off a piece of aluminum tubing of the right diameter (purchased at a hobby shop), and painted it to match the yellow on the caboose. I glued the tube to the caboose roof, and ran the stobe and wires through it. I also painted the platforms and steps to match the CNW green (they had been black), and dolled up the bottom steps with a white safety stripe. The newer cabooses use a metal tab at the rear to secure the shell to the frame (the older versions use two screws), so I removed the tab and drilled out a hole in the rear of the shell for the CNW's back shell screw to fit though. I then painted the screw heads yellow.

 

Inside, I added two crew figures, and an interior using painted/magic markered poster board. As you can see in the pictures, it's fairly crude, with just a few simple colored furniture pieces, tables, chairs and cabinets, and poster board painted brown for the floor, which I raised up with small wood pieces to allow for the wiring that runs on the floor.

 

Given the reduced light inside (whether daylight or dark) and fairly narrow viewing openings through the windows, it works fine. Only a modest amount of detail effort is necessary, I found, and it gives a decent appearance of a finished interior. Plus, the caboose will be moving.  

 

All the funky paper sheeting around the interior light is set up to adjust and limit the light on the two interior ends and to the crewmen, so it's partially blocked to provide the right amount of subdued lighting. I also blackened the top of the bulb with high temperature black paint to cut glare some more.

 

Finally, I added some additional aluminum foil to the inside of the roof to distribute the heat more, and it also probably gives some reflection to distribute the light more evenly. Pictures are added to show what was done, and the resulting look.

 

Ok, I'll ask. 

Dave,

Why did you weather your cab as though it was pulled out of the Johnstown Flood?

 

Dave,

This would be a great article for OGR mag. Of course you might have better luck "over the hill" . I found your style of writing easy to follow (even in my aged state).

 

Hey Allan! Have you seen this article?

I agree it would make a good article. It's well done, well explained, thorough, and something a lot of people would probably want to try.