The hobby was never cheap

For the record, that $5.10 price in 1958 is the equivalent of $41.88 today.  You still needed couplers, paint and decals, however, which would increase the price.

From the looks of it, that/s the outside braced caboose based on an NC&STL prototype

http://hoseeker.net/ambroid/ambroidsinglesheathedcaboosepg1.jpg

It was a 1 of 5000 kit. A pic of an assembled model is here, a little way down the page: http://www.trainweb.org/ambroidkits/trains/woodkits/Ambroid_5-Cars.htm

Mike

NC & STL outside braced

Yor correct Mike - NC & STL outside braced - a very interesting looking prototype.

First side built and everything straightforward so far. Needs tidying up, but I'm happy.

 

Luckily for me Kadees were included in the kit, along with a tube of 1958 Ambroid contact cement !

Rob Clark
Cornhill & Atherton RR

water proof wood glue

Building a vintage kit is gratifying, especially when both prototype and model are wood.  The 12/27 picture is lookin' good.

My favorite glue for wood is Titebond green label.

http://www.titebond.com/titebond_wood_glues/Ultimate_Wood_Glue.aspx

Erring on the side of caution, the chance of moisture-weakened joints is reduced with this product.  

I bet that 1958 tube of Ambroid cement is past the expiration date.  Walthers Goo is probably similar, but could be tricky for small parts like the diagonal bracing.

Oh this is fun!

I've passed by many similar kits but am always drawn to the classics. I have a small collection of vintage roling stock that was built by others. All bought cheaply at train shows. One day I should do my own. Thanks for sharing and keep em coming.

Basic construction complete

Chris - I did try out the Ambroid cement as a curiosity experiment only. Despite the fact that it seemed to work, I'm not risking the model to 53 year old glue and like you say, a contact cement isn't that viable for the cross bracing.

Matt - have a go at building one of these vintage things. Great fun......

Talking of which, construction progress is good:

Body, under frame and cupola assembled. Now for the handrails which have to be cut and bent into shape from scratch. This will test my tired old eyes.

I'm thinking a tar paper effect for finishing the roof, unless anyone is going to tell me its inappropriate?

Rob Clark
Cornhill & Atherton RR

Very cool project

I Like It

Looks like you're doing a nice, clean assembly job on this.  I look forward to seeing it complete.

Jeepers

Bremner - this is a big enough challenge in HO scale, so N scale might be scary ! - worth a try though.

Thanks Rob - I'm having fun with the assembly, but the main game is painting and weathering. This will be a caboose that has been in service for 20 years, so I have lots of opportunities for the application of wear and dirt.

Handrails fabricated and added. "Jeepers", it was tricky:

 

Next, add the couplers, trucks and underbody detail, before a track trial to make sure it operates ok.

Rob Clark
Cornhill & Atherton RR

I usually say more that just "jeepers"

Never liked installing grab irons, it's an onerous task.

Your's look great by the way, straight and clean. Well done.

This old kit is going to turn into a real neat little caboose.

Rob this will be a very fine

Rob this will be a very fine looking model like many others you have built. One thing to keep in mind is that many pieces of equipment were rebuilt by the railroads and this model could be one of those given it's 20 year age. I believe you are modeling prior to WWII so wages are fairly cheap and raw materials are still plentiful in the form of wood and steel. There is also the line you model that might spend a bit more time and care on it's locomotives and cabooses than say a railroad teetering on insolvency or caught up in the expansion at all cost craze. There were also time periods when employees were proud of their workplace and tended to treat it with such respect that seems to be absent today.

Sanding Sealer?

Rob,

Did you use any sanding sealer on the wood before you began assembly?

Galen

Primer and tweezers

Rick - I did say a lot more than "jeepers", but I never leave any transgressional (is that a word?) evidence

Rob - Thanks for a timely reminder from you about the ethos of the C&A - used but not abused. I'll make sure that the weathering is appropriate to that theme.

Galen - I don't use sanding sealer much. Only for those parts that are supposed to represent metal. In this case the cupola roof ends.
I like a rough(ish)  finish to the woodwork and I believe you often need to over emphasize a texture in small scale modeling to get something that is visible at a normal viewing distance. Some people use wire wool as well to rub everything down before starting, but I find that can damage finer section wood and also life's too short.

 
It's  a good thing I tried a full track test, because I needed to "Dremel" away the back of the steps to clear the wheel flanges which fouled on tighter radius curves. Also bend the air pipes which stopped the truck rotating smoothly.
The cupola end view shows the one piece of wood that has been sanding sealed on the whole model.
 

 
Here we have a vital step - a coat of primer to prepare for the top coat, but much more importantly, highlight any imperfections. Even though I don't seal/sand the wood before assembly, at this point I go over the whole model with a variety of needle files, an emery board, very sharp craft knife and the most important tool in my armory - some very high quality fine nosed tweezers. After that, a top up with primer and then on to the top coat. At that point I'll add glazing and perform the final assembly.

Onwards.....

Rob Clark
Cornhill & Atherton RR

Jeepers! (First time that I have ever typed that)

I am guessing that the primer

I am guessing that the primer photo shows the model with the various parts just stacked for the photos and that once painted and glazed the final assembly will have all gaps tight. Absolutely beautiful model Rob, have you considered the possibility that this model was fresh from a rebuild from the company shops and could look very new in appearance. It would be a great contrast to your other models and could have some of the crew members fussing over her and her appearance.

Here is an example of the prototype that is now in a museum and actually looked better while in service. This is a switcher that was kept clean and shiny by her crew on their own time. In addition to the stars the bolt heads were silvered by the crew. I have no pictures that were not copy protected to post but in it's work a day garb this was one very smart looking locomotive. The crew would spend time (their own) to keep her looking sharp.

You could easily have a similar example of a crew or two that kept their locomotive or caboose clean and shiny in spite of the daily toil they would under go. Many times a locomotive and or caboose would be assigned to the same crew for extended periods so they could easily have decided to take "ownership" of their locomotive or caboose.

Just a thought that could add another story to your railroad as well as provide an interesting model or two because of their differences. In some of the photos the crew is on the front of the locomotive while she is working and one can clearly see the spit and polish that has been used on the loco. The photo looks like a family portrait. These guys even went as far as having the boiler wiped down with fish oil to keep her shiny.

LaBelle

As it happens Bremner, I am lucky enough to have a LaBelle coach kit in the pipeline for use in the C&A's 'mixed train daily' :

 
Just itchin' to build this, but it will have to wait - a future blog perhaps.........

Rob - you are correct. I just piled things up for the photo and I will (hopefully) get rid of all of the gaps in final assembly. Snagging and primer top up have been done and I will wait until New Years's day to give plenty of paint drying time, then apply the Polly Scale caboose red top coat.

I'm heading off for a small ice cold brew right now - A happy New Year to you and your families

Rob Clark
Cornhill & Atherton RR

Vintage kit caboose build

Very nice work, and very clean. I may have missed it, but what glue did you use on the Ambroid kit? I still have one in the box; just opening the box and smelling the basswood parts takes me way back. 

Now maybe I should actually work on it

LaBelle kits

Life is too short.

Perhaps life is too short for sanding sealer and steel wool, but then again, sometimes the things worth doing are worth doing slowly, as an old band director once said.  I understand your choices and agree with your logic about scale sized grain effects needing to be over-emphasized in order to be seen.  The reason I don't always use it is the smell and the need to wear a respirator when using the spray-can sealer.  The one time I didn't, I got a nasty headache and probably lost a few brane cels.

Nice work so far, can't wait to see how it looks with paint, decals, etc.

Galen

"The reason I don't always

   If you need to seal a small piece of wood a thin ca. glue works fine. Just saturate the wood then wipe off any excess before it hardens. I also use it to harden the soft ends of old cardboard car sides when rebuilding them                 (the ink on some sides will run when hit with ca. so check a small spot before applying it to a whole car side)....DaveB 

Wood car kits

I have all of these to build...........some day.

No doubt about it - It's red........

RRDan - my choice of glue is perhaps a little strange - Bostik All Purpose clear adhesive. 
It sticks anything to anything, forms a bond very quickly but can be separated easily for an hour or so. When fully cured it retains slight flexibility, which I think improves the durability of assemblies. Joints can be carefully broken at any time in the future with minimal chance of damage to components. It also works as an impact adhesive.

Down side is that its a bit tricky (stringy) to apply - apart from that its great and permits very fast construction!

Bremner - I'm not sure what your prototype looks like, but could you modify a LaBelle kit to get the roof profile you need?

GP39 - get building!. There must be thousands of great kits sitting in cupboards.. I have a pile very similar to yours - a huge waste in my opinion.

Caboose red airbrushed and glazing completed. The roof is still just 'sitting' on the body for this photo.
I replaced the original Kadee ride control trucks with new Bettendorfs. The old trucks were suffering from some corrosion issues.

Next I need to apply the tar paper roofing and I'm going to follow guidance in Jeff Johnston's excellent article in MRH October 2014 http://mrhpub.com/2014-10-oct/land/#106.
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Then we can do final assembly and roof detailing in preparation for the weathering exercise.

Rob Clark
Cornhill & Atherton RR

Factory fresh - but not for long......

Tar paper added - tissue and weathered black paint. Not obvious in this photo but some nice 'wrinkles' presented themselves during the application process.
Steel weight added inside body and roof fixed permanently.
Roof walks, smoke stack and ladders added.
I also added some grab irons on the cupola roof because it looked a bit bare.
Air hoses will go on as the very last thing after weathering (delicate!)

Everything that wasn't painted has been painted.

 

So we are now ready for some lettering and a spray of Dull Cote before weathering begins.
If anyone thinks some extra detail is appropriate, please let me know - now is the time
This is the cleanest she is ever going to be !

Rob Clark
Cornhill & Atherton RR

"If anyone thinks some extra

 Hi Rob, Nice neat job on the build, unless one has tried it they don't realize how much skill it takes to get that result. As for details it looks like it needs a brake wheel( probably on a staff)?   some marker lanterns ,and maybe maybe cut levers ?   .........DaveB

"Stretch Armstrong...?"

Unless your HO railroaders are pre-NBA days 7 footers, it seems to me that the end ladders are short a rung at the top.  It looks to be long stretch from the current last rung to the roof walk landing.  Cool build regardless.  The more I keep seeing you and others knocking out these type of kits, the more inclined I am to finally pick one up at a swap meet and give it a go.  Up to now, Proto 2K and Blueprint kits have been my forte for detail builds and the ones taking up shelf and bench space as well. Great work and looking forward to the final finish.  

Jeff EL Marion 2nd Sub 1964