Finishing ideas for a D&RGW HOn3 Caboose?

[Graffen]

Hi all! I just bought this brass HOn3 caboose to accompany my K-27's:

What color should I paint it in, and which decals should be used? I model the late 30's, early 40's.

Thanks for help. Anyone have any experience with the mfg?

I think I made a bargain (again....), as I paid $ 28 for it including shipping.....

[mlehman]

Graff,

That is a sweet deal for a brass caboose. Many of the older ones have detail and dimension issues, but look fine once painted as most don't sweat the details. Got no idea about yours, but I can overlook a lot at $28.

I generally clean brass in some TSP-substitute  and let dry, then thoroughly shoot it with a decent primer. If you have access to railroad colors, tehy're good to use, although it's brown paint. The main thing is to get a suitable shade. A handy reference is Blackstone's website, as they shoot different colors on their freight equipment to represent various aging and fading effects. Cabooses were the same brown as most of the rest of the frieght rolling stock, so whatever looks good to the eyes will work.

Micro-Scale 87-60 has the older hearlds and other caboose lettering, plus is for locos, so can't go wrong having it around. Foothills Model Works offers old-timey stuff, too.

I usually use canopy glue to attach clear plastic for the windows after painting, although purists may want the challange of real glass from slide covers.

One trick that really helps with brass is to get some Blackstone trucks underneath. This largely eliminates the shorting that brass trucks often experience. The brass trucks can then be recycled to plastic or wood rolling stock where the shorting isn't an issue or sold. The running qualities are much improved and this helps compensate for the extra weight ofbrass, too.

[Graffen]

Thanks! I will try to find some of the decals for it. Not so easy when living in Sweden.... many sellers don't export from the US. I will certainly look at the Blackstone page for some inspiration, and to see if I can get hold of some trucks as well. I use real glass on all my models now, so this one will be no exception. :-) I saw some good pics of the original from Gunning Co. But it was VERY restaurated..... Thanks again!