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| Joined: | 19 Oct 2014 |
| Location: | Shelton, USA |
| Posts: | 1255 |
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With some time on my hands....
This little caboose was part of a package deal from an estate sale.
I normally would have passed up acquiring something like this.
But it was thrown in as an added "bonus".
So what is wrong with it ?
It appears to have been a fairly decent kit.
But it was rather hastily assembled.
Things don't fit together very well, there is no glazing in the windows,
the ladders are installed on the centerline under the catwalk,
the stove pipe is broken off, and there are no brake wheels.
Kind of a sad little caboose.
I was about to pull of anything salvageable and throw the rest away.
But I got looking at it. I like the general lines.
It is very similar to the GN 400 series cabooses, though it lacks the fourth window.
It has wire grab irons. The paint and lettering are pretty good.
So, I set out to see if I could improve it.
It was a bit of a chore getting disassembled. It is not an Athearn kit.
The body is open at the roof rather than the undercarriage, as is typical of Athearn.
That presented a problem, since the roof was glued on.
Fortunately, whoever hastily assembled the kit used a poor grade of glue,
and neglected to scrape paint off of mating surfaces.
So it actually came apart rather easily.
I spent a relaxing couple of hours glazing the windows, installing a new stove pipe,
installing new ladders in the proper location, and adding some brake gear.
Now she is a pretty decent little cabin car.
Not a particularly super-detailed model, but she looks presentable.
Not bad for a free piece of non-revenue equipment
plus some bits and pieces out of my parts bin.
A bit of philosophy for the any newcomers considering entering the hobby.
It is possible to add to your rosters without spending a lot of money.
In my early days Athearn, Mantua and others
sold pretty decent "shake the box" kits for very reasonable prices.
Now, with kits and R-T-R in the $30+ range, it is not so easy to build up stock.
Shopping eBay and model railroad shows
(as well as keeping your eyes peeled for opportunities, such as estate sales)
it is possible to acquire rolling stock very inexpensively.
You just have to be patient and be willing to put in a little clean up.
This little caboose is a good example.
About the parts bin.
I have been modeling for about 50 years.
In that time, one can collect a lot of misc. little bits and pieces.
Some kits have extra parts for different detailing options,
sometimes one botches an assembly so badly the best route is to salvage
whatever isn't ruined, and sometimes the parts just seem to accumulate.
I never throw detail parts away.
You never know...
Reg
____________________
Reg
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