Spent a rainy Sunday afternoon with a Lionel bobber caboose. Since I no longer have an On30 narrow gauge line on the layout, I want to create a train of little, "backwoodsey" freight cars to run on the 3-rail mainline. This SF bobber caboose was the first "victim" of a makeover.
Before:
After:
Removed the cast-in cupola and sanded off all roof detail.
Covered the roof with thin 0.01" styrene sheet material, then tar-papered the roof with pieces of fine sandpaper.
Modified the end railings and added brake wheels.
Added a standard Lionel caboose stack.
Sprayed the sides with red primer and brush-painted the roof, end platforms, and underframe grimy black.
Added "minimalist" lettering!
Weathered with Bragdon pigments and a light drybrushing of tan acrylic paint.
Added a few ounces of weight to the underside.
Eventually this train will probably be equipped with Kadee couplers.
Now....on to the freight cars. 
Jim
