My friend is switching scales, and has offered to sell me his OMI brass T&P Muley Caboose. Now I have been wanting one for a long time, but have been making plans to kitbash one. My question is since the caboose is factory lettered for the T&P how hard would it be for me to reletter/paint it for my own road? Is it worth the time and effort? I was also thinking that I should save my money, and use it towards a brass SP C-15. The C-15 has been painted and lettered for a freelanced road, how hard would that be to repaint? Any help is appreciated. I really don’t want to screw up a beautiful model, especially since I’ve been saving my money for some time to purchase a nice model.
Is this the caboose you have??
If it isn’t a very highly detailed paint with many colors I would strip it. OMI has highly skilled people,painting their models and the chances of you doing a job like that is slim. Unless you are a very good painter. I say STRIP IT, and paint it the colors you want. Isn’t the SP C-15 a Bay Window caboose???
MIKE
Thats the right T&P caboose. I didn’t realize that the SP had a C-15 caboose. I was referring to an SP 2-8-0. How involved is stripping a brass model, especially with all those little details like marker lamps, and grab irons and such?
After looking better the SP Caboose is actually a C50. What kind of a SP 2-8-0 is it? And yes, a model like that would be fairly easy to strip.
MIKE
It’s an C-15. It doesn’t have a Harriman style boiler. It does however have a doghouse on the tender. I’m no expert on the SP, but I haven’t run across any photo’s of tenders with doghouse’s. A separate friend of mine is selling the 2-8-0, but it is $100 more. What I’m trying to determine is which one would end up being easier to repaint. I might not even repaint the 2-8-0 if I get it. Since my road is a subsidiary of the SP it’ll be borrowed power to compensate for a loco shortage. But on the other hand, I can find an SP 2-8-0 anywhere. I’ve been searching for months, and this is the first time I’ve had the money to buy a Muley Caboose that and at the same time have one that is available for purchase. I might not get this chance again.
Jason–
Wow, an SP 2-8-0 with a Doghouse? I’d sure like to see a picture of that puppy, since SP was not prone to doghouses on its steamers. I wonder if it might be a loco that SP inherited from one of the many railroads it absorbed in Texas during the T&NO days? Or better yet, one of the Cotton Belt 2-8-0’s that SP absorbed during WWII?
At any rate, stripping a brass model is relatively easy, brass is a very forgiving alloy to work with. I use a water-soluble paint stripper (and yes, they are out there, just ask your local paint or hardware store), slap the stuff on, then as the paint loosens, put the model in a pan of warm, soapy water and use a toothbrush to take the paint off. It shouldn’t need too many applications, and the toothbrush is fine enough so that it won’t damage the delicate parts. Works for me. And I’ve repainted a ton of my brass steamers this way.
But I’d sure like to see a photo of that C-15. You’ve really got my curiosity up. [:P]
Tom [:)]
Thanks guys for your help. Now I just need to narrow down which one I want to buy. I’ve never bought brass before. But at least I’m keeping up with my tradition of buying second hand.
I used to paint professionally. Not any more, but I paint for myself.
To strip the model, I use Acetone. Let the model soak and then with a nail brush, give it a light scrub. It will come out clean.
David B
Here’s a link for the model you want. I couldn’t get the link to work for some reason, so just copy and paste in the search box. http://espee.railfan.net/sp_steam_consol.html