Hello,
I’m new to this forum. I’m looking for a place to find brass parts for rolling stock to replace the handrails and such on my caboose and some of my other kits that I have to build. In other words upgrade the existing details on some of my bachman kits and two Delton kits I have. Also what is the best paint to use?. Thanks for all of your help…
Are you sure you want brass? Ozark Miniatures has a fantastic range of detail parts, highly recommended. http://www.ozarkminiatures.com/ Re paint… so just how long IS your piece of string? 
What are you painting? For outside or inside use? Material? Area? 17 other questions? Tell us details and be prepared to be overwhelmed with info. Oh, and BTW, welcome!
There is not a whole lot available in large scale. As Phil mentioned, Ozark, which are white metal and paint well with brush or spray enamels or I chemically blacken many - http://www.grblogs.com/index.php/2009/02/23/metal-blackening?blog=25
Trackside Details makes brass parts - http://www.warriorrunlocoworks.com/trackside.php
Again, painted or blacken with A-West’s Blacken-It
Phil’s Narrow Gauge for some 1:20 - http://www.philsnarrowgauge.com/Parts.html
Hartford Products - http://shop.hartfordproducts.com/main.sc
-Brian
Like Phil says, a few more questions, please. A few answers in your bio would help, like where you are. Some paints that do well in the desert don’t do so well in the ice country up north. Paints that are available here in the are not in the .
If you have plastic kits, and live in the , then I would recommend Krylon “Fusion” flat black as a primer. It is designed for plastics and works very well. I’m not sure I would want to use it on basswood though. One other point about plastic. Always wash them before doing anything. Straight out of the box they are still coated with the mold release agent. Washing with a good household cleanser (i.e. Mr. Clean etc.) allows your glues to do a better job adhering the parts, and paints stick much better.
Am trying to upgrade a caboose kit myself, but I live on the wrong side of the water ( Atlantic ), so we have even less support. To solve most of the problems l am making all the detail parts myself from scratch, using whatever I can like my little Seig " toy lathe " etc. Even the correct paint can’t be had so am blending to nearest match of magazine colours. And now to stick plastic bolt heads onto home turned brake gear. What fun, but better than the television.
I am curious which is: “The wrong side of the Atlantic”? I emigrated to the northern hemisphere at the age of 14 -so I can class myself as a neutral(!) There are times when I pity the US crowd as they do not have access to the parts, equipment and suppliers that we have in the UK.
(ring ring)
“Hello, I would like a smoke box for a Pecket tank, a set of wheels for an Ivatt Atlantic and a steam dome for an LNWR Cauliflower. Yes, I am building a Great North of Scotland Locomotive -how did you guess?”
On another note I do not consider my Seig C1 lathe to be a “toy” -but rather an investment… I have turned 95mm drivers on it with a 100mm 4 jaw chuck -which is probably its limit as only Stirling singles have bigger wheels at the scale that I am using (105mm). I would recommend this lathe to anybody. I build in 16mm scale and Gauge 3
As to blending colour -keep doing it! I am personally SICK of the colour freaks. “This is NOT Maunsell Green, Crimson Lake, Malachite”, etc etc!!! The aging effects on paint vary from place to place. Even Maunsell Green is not a true colour. The colour is the colour of a length of tape that he bought from the Habadashers across the road from Waterloo station. This was then cut up and sent to each of the companies that was to form the Southern Railway. The paint from (SECR) goes yellowish, that from (LBSC) has this weird purplish tinge to it and the mix from (LSWR) all flaked off -so they repainted them black…
regards
ralph
Wow!!! ya’ll sound like this is gonna be a greta place to get info and share ideas. Thanks for the help. I have some projects I want to get started and looking forward to it.[8D]