People have asked, and since I am working on a new Z Scale kit, I am at a perfect point to post the drawings for the 1/64" plywood sheet. I am still working on the 1/32" underframe parts. Can you guess from the drawings, what kind of caboose it is? -Robert
i don't know caboose styles or numbers, but it looks very similar to ones used on the Rio Grande. can i buy one? i'll build it inside out (without wood grain) so i can have a late steel-side version, as used by the Grande. now if you could adjust a few things to make a wide-vision caboose -- that would fantastic!! thanks for what you do. dave freehling
David, that's an interesting idea! "Turn it inside out for a steal sided caboose". Great, now I'll have to buy two! One wood side, and one steel side!
My guess is an NP hack.... I would love to see a Z scale DRGW 01400, but I'm trying to get one in N first!
That's a very nice caboose! Thank you Robert for the drawing. Will you show us the upcoming process? Regards Jürg
Hey that's pretty cool, Robert. Does the computer tell the laser to cut all the way through the purple lines, and only a little on the black lines? Adam
Hi Adam, and Welcome to Trainboard! Yes, I'll update this topic as I progress. This project was planned a long time back, and was never finished due to lack of time, in fact I only have that sheet done, which is the car side details and brake gear layout for AB brakes. Yes Adam, the red (they are supposed to be red anyways) lines are cut all the way through, and the black are cut 1/3 the way through. I also use green lines for 2/3 through cut, mostly for roof parts that I want to bend at the scribe, but not break. I still have quite a bit of drawing to do before I cut the first model and start the test fit process, however I do have a plan to finish it by summer. I am still getting lots of hobby shop orders so I don't have lots of time to work on it. My normal mode of operation has been to work on kits and trades, then about once a month I take a couple days o modeling time for myself and do something I need, like those grain elevators I did last weekend. We get a 3 day weekend at my day job, and the boss is making me and another guy come in to work Saturday, to kill the whole 3 day off experience thing. Why do they do that? Oh well, I am only working 4 hours then I'm going to work on trains! -Robert
All is not lost Hemi, as I still have the drawings you sent me, and will re-visit that project too when things slow down a bit. -Robert
So, I had the day off work again, and continued the caboose project. Here's how it goes, Draw the model you want: Send the drawing to the laser: Cut the parts: Test fit, and reiterate until everything fits good: Draw out Decals:
Print out Decals and overcoat them: Paint Model, then Decal it: Take pictures and see if you are happy with it: And enjoy knowing that you have the only one in the world so far! : -Robert
As is often the case, I end up building a different road number than I intended. The reason why? Well, I always look up a bunch of roadnumbers to see if there are safety slogans, different hearlds, different lettering, etc. so that when I draw the decals I draw all the variations at the same time. If you look at the decal sheet, you can see several different road numbers that the sheet supports. I found a Big Sky Blue wood caboose and decided I wanted it first: And that is the easy part. It will take me till summer to get around to doing instructions, and a new project just came in the mail today... Converting Father Nature old time reefers into old time boxcars! -Robert
I wondered about if you built the kits and then made changes to make the parts fit better. Almost every laser kit I've built I've been disappointed at the fit of the parts, but when I built your "widow maker" there were no gaps at all and everything fit great!
