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 Caboose - 4
MRH-Feb 2013
