In one place

I was cutting a seat out of the center of three.  I used a cutting blade on a Dremel tool to cut the slice out of the middle.  The other idea would be to use a #17 Xacto blade as the chisel it is designed for.

cutting out a section of material at the center of the cupola

 I usually cut cars with a zona saw. scribe the cut lines a little bit  on the part you don't want and then after the cut gently file or sand up to the desired line( I use a block plane to finish the cut but that takes some skill with the tool and a sharp blade so a file or sanding block would probably be easier for most folks) As you file or sand to the line keep test fitting the two parts so you get a good tight fit then glue them together with solvent cement, preferably using a backing splice piece across the joint.   Have you looked for a model caboose more like that model? You might not have to modify a wide vision if someone already makes a more similar version......DaveB

Cutting with Zona Saws

I heartily endorse using Zona saws (where possible) for kitbashing cuts. My preference is to lay masking tape over the area where the cut will be made, then draw with a #3 pencil (or similar well-sharpened hard lead point) on the tape to locate my cut line first, as a visual aid.

I have half a dozen of them- not sure how many years of use I will get from each, but "just to be sure".

As to the cupola: I have done a modification of the body of one of those wide-vision cabooses, and retained the separate plastic piece that was the cupola. A measured cut section of the center, with the cut lines equidistant from a centerline drawn the length of the cupola would be best, in my opinion. then use testors or similar glue to "weld the two pieces back together...Ron

Siouxlake

Cutting

I also use a razor saw (Zona is one manufacturer, there are others) and scribe/mark  lines, then use the razor saw to cut close to those lines and then file down to the lines.  I bought a granite floor tile at a home improvement store and use that as a flat surface to sand on.  Its rigid, very flat and you can put wet wet-dry sandpaper on it without hurting anything. I do a lot of wet sanding to the final marks.

If I have to make very rough cuts to hack away large chunks of something I will also use a cutoff wheel in a Dremel or a band saw with a fine blade.

So the trick with the saw....

is not to use it to make a fine precision cut, but instead to do the major cutting and then file/sand/fit your way to the final join lines. Seems obvious once somebody tells me. I didn't know how I could make straight square cuts on such an oddball shaped piece.

As for finding a closer model than the BB wide vision, I have seen brass models of it, but those are far, far out of my modeling budget. Since the prototypes were built in the line's own shops (and the cupolas were later modified with really interesting bay windows), there's not a mass produced plastic model out there. Plus, I have a spare wide vision caboose sitting in a box, so it's a low risk venture into bashing. No big loss in case I really booger it up. And it might be fun.

Thanks for the replies

Jim

MDC/Roundhouse 2 window Caboose

Actually, MDC/Roundhouse made a steel two window caboose that's pretty close to what you want to model...

You might try picking one up at a train show and save yourself some effort.

-George

 

DT&I Modeler's Page

Brian Everett has a very good article on the DT&I Modeler's page about kitbashing a very similar looking caboose using two Athearn BB wide vision caboose kits and Moloco's International Car Co. Standard Cupola Kit.  This nine page article will walk you through each step needed to perform this kitbash.  Try looking in Yahoo.Groups for the DT&I Modeler's page.

DT&I page

I found the caboose build you noted. That's really good stuff there, and right in the wheelhouse of what I'm looking to do. Thanks for that.

I have redecorated a few Roundhouse models (and Atlas) and they all look ok, but they're really too short to be considered a legitimate representation of the prototype.