Scratchbuilt Caboose - Showin off BIG style

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DTI973

Member
Scratchbuilt Caboose - Showin off BIG - midweek PhotoFun

Hey All,

Thought I'd do a bit of SHOWIN OFF here. :D

I started this project during the Christmas holiday. I say it's totally finished with the exception of replacing the trucks with caboose trucks once USA Trains releases them (later this year).

It's 1:29 scale

There is very little that isn't scratchbuilt on this.

It's a model of a Steel Car Co. caboose that was built for DT&I in 1925 which was during the years Henry Ford owned the railroad. They had 40 of these cabooses (the most of one style ever on the railroad). I painted it in the paint scheme used between 1956 and 1971 when these cabooses were retired. The B&O had a similar model caboose.

Many of these cabooses still survive today. Strasburg #12 was one of these former DT&I cabooses. The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI has one on display inside the museum. Flat Rock, MI (home of the DT&I's biggest yard) has one on display in the park. And several private owners have them on thier property, including the real #89 which was restored completely recently and the owner was nice enough to help me with some info.

Enjoy,

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Brian Briggs
DT&I 1980ish
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sweet, great work Brian!
I'm planning on scratching up a caboose and some log buggies this year.
What styrene did you use? Man those trucks and couplers are pricey!
 
That is a beautiful piece of rolling stock Brian. I dig the tremendous attention to detail you spent on it. Lot's of tedious work. The model is sure to be an attention getter. Thanks for sharing and including the pre-painted pics to reveal the rivet detail in the sills.

Johnny
 


Great work, Brian! That reminds me of the DT&I cabooses I used to see when I lived in and around Detroit as a kid.
 
Brian, you certainly have earned the right to show off that work of love. Excellent display of true craftsmanship...beautiful!
 


Wow, your model really shows the level of detail you can get in large scale. OTOH, you have to be really good to get everything just right since any mistake stands out like a sore thumb. The sharp paint separations, perfectly aligned grabs, and the attention paid to the end platforms really shows a high level of modeling ability. To say I'm impressed would be an understatement.
 
Thanks Again Guys, especially Jim for noticing what it does take to achieve the extra measure of anal-retentive modeling.

Brian
 
Brian, I was involved in the restoration of a WP steeple cab electric and thought the painting would be way easier than a model. Wrong! Every mistake jumped right out at you. I've seen a lot of large gauge models that don't have the careful attention to the little things that you have on yours and the difference really shows.
 
That is a fantastic model! I hope the paint doesn't fade outdoors...or maybe it wont go that far. I look forward to seeing more from you!
 
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