Well folks here is the close to this project. Please note that I did not install windows. That would greatly add to the beauty of the caboose. I wasnt happy enough with the quality of my assembly along with having some of the parts uncolored that I had to fill in with sharpies (it was a beta build so thats to be expected) so I didnt go the extra mile.
Issues I ran into in the closing phases:
The red outside panels were notched on the bottom. I think they should have been notched on the top to gold under the braces for the roof.
The roof braces that span the interior or the caboose were too long, I had to trim them.
When I assembled the sides to the ends, I was unsure of how to go about the attachment - I glued the sides to the edges of the ends then folded over the tabs. This resulted in too wide of a cabin. The side hang over the edges leaving a gap - thats my bad for not thinking it through enough before jumping in and gluing - it not overly visible though.
Also I could not figure out how the roof walk goes together. A diagram of that will be nice - be sure to include that in the final instructions.
The underside of the roof is white. At least the part that overhangs needs some kind of texture glued or reverse side printed. I would like to see some overall texture inside too on the roof - black boards or something.
The trucks are a bit wobbly. This could be due to my not installing turning axels though . Its fine for a static display though with my son,I expect to have to reglue on occasion
Overall impression. Its a fairly sound design that some simple diagrams will make it pretty easy to assemble. It was kind of a pain for the parts I did not have pictures of though papertrain did a good job of helping me along. One GREAT improvement would be a simple interior because of the size. Even really simple like a bench along each side with maybe a chest or closet. Oh yeah, couplers would be good too unless I just totally missed them which is possible with the kids "helping"
Thanks Papertrain!
Chris
the cabin
All Done!