I’m thinking about getting one, painted. How are these ? Anyone have one? I’ve heard that Hallmark models are crude.
They always looked a bit small to me, but if you can get one cheap they're worth keeping. I sold mine and either scratchbuilt mine or built AMB kits.
Do these cabooses come with window glazing? If not, how difficult is it to open up to install glazing.
Hi Patrick I have a couple of these Hallmark cabooses and a few Overland cabs. The ones I have, the bottom plate is simply held on to the body with screws. This will give you access to the carbody, the cupola is another story and is usually soldered on, so it would be the most challenging to install the glazing. Just take your time. I got glazing put in them all.
I would recommend Pacer Technologies Formula 560 or J Z Products RC56 Super Z. Both are canopy glues that dry clear. Another possibility would be Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue. Aleene's may be a little better because it is tackier and also dries perfectly clear. The first two are usually carried by R/C Airplane hobby shops and Aleene's is usually at JoAnn or Hobby Lobby. Cyanoacrylate glues may produce a cloudy film on the glass due to the vapors.
Without ever measuring anything (!) ..... I always thought the Hallmark Frisco cabs were a bit on the small size regarding length, etc. I have the Overland Frisco cabs, and think they look a bit oversized. What can we say? They both look very good otherwise. Take your pick. K
I got one and it is very nice looking. The cupola is open at the bottom so glazing the windows should be easy if I can separate the floor from the shell. The workmanship could have been better one or two places but not enough to hurt. The biggest aggravation was that the couplers had been installed by a first grader. I had to replace them with Kadee undershot couplers and adjust away a tilt in the draft gear but after that it is fine and now in service.
I dont know why, must be when they built them, but all of my Hallmark cabs seem to have the end platforms and steps kinda droop towards the end of the car. I too, had to shim the inboard parts of the coupler boxes to get them right., I ended up using Tahoe plastic trucks under them. For the money I think they are OK for me.
I didn’t know until now that Hallmark had offered a brass Cotton Belt drovers caboose. https://www.brasstrains.com/Classic...SW-Cotton-Belt-2300-Class-Caboose-Custom-2333 I’ve always loved that car. I simply must have one. If something, anything, ran in the Ark-La-Tex, my home region, then I want it. Disassembling brass steam locomotives, adding a can motor andDCC/Sound, and then painting, decaling and reassembling is way more work than I feel like doing at my advanced age. I’d much rather have an already beautifully performing Bachmann steam engine that has a few added distinctive details to resemble a favorite prototype. But for not much effort I can have a very prototypical pre-1984 end of train device.
