Scratchbuilding a Caboose - Part 7 (end steps and black chassis)

I have been going back and forth as to how to make the steps for a while. The prototype ones are small and almost fragile looking, which for a model would translate into fabrications that are difficult to make and easily broken. Not a great combination for a model, even such as this one that probably will only sit on a display shelf. Many caboose building articles I have seen in print and online call for using castings, which is great if you can find what you want. One I read recently even showed etched brass HO scale caboose steps pretty much exactly like the ones I needed, but this caboose is O scale. I didn't easily see something suitable in an online search. And, I didn't want to lose merit points. So that meant scratchbuilding.

I had two options for materials: brass or styrene. As much as I love the later, I had no way to bend the thin stock to the zigzag stringer shape required without it breaking and cutting L-angles into lots of little pieces and trying to piece them together into a zigzag seemed tedious. That left brass stock. It could be bent easily and soldered together, hopefully resulting in a strong bond. I took a full size scale print to the hobby shop and picked up a couple of sizes of brass stock: #815020 (1/64" x 1/16") for the supports and #815021 (1/64" x 3/32") for the steps. Getting it out of the package without kinking it is best accomplished by slicing along the bars with an X-acto knife.

I measured up some dimensions (in millimeters, as is my usual practice) and considered building a wood former. But, I was only making four stringers and didn't want to go crazy. Instead, I laid out some critical dimensions on a piece of thick styrene (itself fabricated from three layers of my 0.040" stock I have all over the place) and used various colored Sharpie thin point markers to indicate various bend spots. Hint: a multicolor pack of the markers is wonderful and the ability to use different colors on various materials without it smearing is really helpful. Once this was done, it was time to stop stalling and start bending brass.

I glued various pieces of styrene to the former as I went about my bends. I never used the styrene as a bending point because it would never have given me the sharp corners that I wanted. Instead, after laying the brass strip in the jig and marking where to bend I pulled it out and bent it with pliers. I wish I had paid more attention to those guys at train shows who sell various pointed pliers, because my smooth jaw round needlenose pliers weren't the best tool. Next year at Springfield, I am stocking up! But, they managed. After every bend, I dropped the stringer into the jig to check for the fit. Then, I glued another couple of pieces of styrene onto the jig and let it set and then made the next few bends.

As I got near the bottom I noticed that some of the bars didn't always want to lay flat. Rather than just using fingers to adjust it (and possibly messing up a bend somewhere else that I didn't want to change) I stuck it all back in the pliers and fiddled with it. It was very springy which was both good and bad. But, in less than an hour I had managed to get all four pieces bent into the proper shape (without myself getting bent out of shape) and all relatively equal to one another. Then the excess was cut off. Considering I was essentially making this up as I went along, I was surprised how well it worked. Of course, the soldering step which is next would determine whether the method was viable or not.

To prepare the brass zigzag supports for soldering the step boards onto, I needed to find a way to securely hold them parallel to one another, with the proper spacing equidistant between them, and also conveniently enough to get access to solder them. Nothing fancy was required, and some short pieces of left over wood were quickly marked with some dimensions for spacing and centerlines and then glued together. I considered using screws from the top with the screw heads overhanging the brass stock to hold them to the wood but worried they might kink the thin brass if the screws didn't go in perfectly flat. Tape didn't seem the right answer either. Looking around, I saw a bottle of white glue and ran a few beads over the tops of the pieces after aligning them how I wanted them. Once soldered, soaking in water will hopefully release them.

In addition to the zigzag stringer there are two parts to the steps: the horizontal tread boards and the vertical risers boards. Since it isn't easy to solder both at the same time (the risers will fall off because they are vertical) I first worked on the treads. They were cut from brass and then the corners were rounded with a file to match the prototype. Tedious, but there were only eight to do. Soldering was pretty painless though I had to frequently adjust the stringers to make sure things lined up. If they had bent identically to one another then it would have been a breeze. As it is, though, I think that they came out fine. I didn't solder the bottom board because it is longer than the other treads and had I done so I wouldn't have been able to fit the steps over the platform... it would have bound.

The pieces that go in the back were a separate matter. I tried long and hard to think of a way I could solder them on but I just don't have clamps or pliers or any other way to keep what I already did together without the heat from the iron working it loose. I tried JB Weld epoxy but the joint areas were so small that it didn't work and the pieces easily came off. After cleaning them up again, I used really thin super glue to attach them. It filled in the voids and made a bit of a fillet on the back. A couple broke off during installation and they were attached with super glue gel, which worked a lot better. I hope they hold long enough for the caboose to survive judging. After that, I don't care! 

The end platforms were drilled with a #60 bit for the railings which I still need to build. That hole may be too small, but it will be a useful starter hole.

Then, the chassis was washed in soap and water and left to dry for a couple of days. As for painting it, I have no pictures of how D&H bobber cabooses were painted 150 years ago. It currently has a gray frame with black axle boxes, black metal stair straps, red tread boards, and gray riser boards. I think it looks pretty gaudy, and my chances of painting it cleanly are pretty low. As the Rolling Stones would say, "I want to paint it black" and instead went with the all black underside below the body, which I think looks better and matches other D&H cabooses.

I used Testors flat black from a spray can to paint the chassis with several light coats. There were lots of nooks and crannies that the spray paint wasn't getting to, so I switched to a brush and a bottle of the same paint and did some touch up work. The brass step assemblies were also sprayed black and then they were glued onto the chassis. Looking at it all, the flat black is too flat for my liking but once it is lightly weathered the details may come out more. In the picture I had just attached the lower steps made from brass Special Shapes Co. #85026 (1/32" x 1/8") stock. They still need to be painted, and some areas need black touch up paint.

Right now, the steps are a big jump for me skill wise. I have never built something like this in brass before and wish I could have figured out a clamping system so that all of the pieces could have been soldered together. The superglue works, but the bond much weaker. Not all of the steps are perfectly level, the same size, or profiled in the corners the same way either. It looks like an old, beat up bobber caboose. That wasn't the look I was going for when I started, but it is the direction I am now going. I wish I could build it better but I can't. This is my first scratchbuilt caboose and I am going to have to live with it, warts and all. I am still very proud of what I have done. Perfection can come on later models as I gain more experience. And, at the end of the day, I can't lose sight of my goal: 87.5 out of 125 possible merit judging points. That is only 70%. 

Only a few more things are left to do. I need to add the decking on the top of the caboose steps. I also need to fabricate the end railings and brake wheel. Then, some weathering and installing the window glazing will finish the model.