give them an even base coat, just like the prototype, and then
painted them using Floquil Conrail Blue and Engine Black. Once
dry, I hand-brushed the underside of the roof Conrail Blue, to
match the prototype, based on pictures.
I lettered the caboose using a combination of Champ and
Microscale decals. However, since I modeled the car, Champ
has gone out of business. As an inspiration for filling the void, I
created the ultimate Conrail caboose decal set in HO, and now
sell it through my own cottage decal company, Mount Vernon
Shops. Since my caboose will have roller-bearing trucks, I had
to find a picture of a car which had all of the modifications I did
to this car (7-8).
The Bowser grab irons, made from Delrin plastic, were hand-
painted using Pactra #RC51 Sprint White. Pactra is a paint com-
monly used by RC modelers, and is known for its excellent
properties in adhering to Delrin and Lexan plastic. Once dry, the
paint flexes along with the Delrin plastic during handling, and
doesn’t chip off. The additional body grabs were also painted
this same color.
7
7. The end, now painted
and decaled. The
“reflective” red blocks
and end lettering are from
the Champ decal set.
Modeling Conrail’s EX-PC/PRR N5 Caboose Fleet - 4
8
8. The side, now decaled. The can-opener, “Conrail”
and number are from the Microscale set, the
remainder, from Champ.
Windows were done using the American Model Builders
Window kit #345 Bowser Modernized PRR N5 Caboose. These
are laser cut and etched, with a masking you can peel off to
paint the window gaskets silver. Once the paint is dry on the gas-
kets, peel the remainder of the masking off to expose the clear
glazing. Using the kit instructions, glue these into the caboose.
Assemble the rest of the car. Once together, I carefully mea-
sured for the kick plate on the end of the car and used Evergreen
#9010 .010” styrene, which was cut, painted, and then glued it
into place. I would have liked to have MV Lens for installing with
the marker light castings, but the size needed is indefinitely out
of stock, so until suitable replacements can be found, I simply
dabbed a dot of Floqil Reefer Orange on the marker lights.
Then all that’s left is to install the trucks. Atlas makes a fric-
tion and roller bearing version of the correct caboose trucks,
I used the roller bearing version, which fit onto the existing
king pin boss and then screwed them into place. After adding
MRH-Feb 2013
