The RMT O-27 gauge caboose is one of those items that we’ve all seen in previous incarnations from companies including Kusan and K-Line, usually with a $5 price tag in junk bins at train shows. But that was before RMT dusted off the old caboose tooling, spruced it up, and offered a nice shanty at a nice price.
The car’s frame measures 7 inches long (28 feet in O scale), 3½ inches tall, and 21/8 inches wide. Nice, respectable dimensions for a caboose operating in a semi-scale or O-27 environment.
The tooling is very clean, with molded-in details tending toward sharp and crisp. The first word to pop into my mind when I look at the handrails on the decks is “stout.” This is right on target – the rails can handle some man-handling that thin, scale-like handrails cannot.
The cars have die-cast metal trucks, a detail that really impressed me. After all, RMT could easily have taken a shortcut and saved a buck in production. But no, the firm did its customers a good turn. The trucks are well crafted and even have springs in the frames. The power pickup rollers are snugly secured to the truck, and the metal couplers are found in the company of a simulated brake line.
The cabooses have interior illumination and rear-end marker lights; you even get a vest-wearing crew figure (who looks like he just escaped from Amtrak sleeping-car duty) to pose near the metal brake wheel.
Painting and decoration of our sample was clean and professional. The caboose comes decorated in 14 road names, as well as for Christmas and Halloween.
If you have liked the level of quality of RMT’s Beep or Buddy, you’ll probably be pleased with the RMT caboose. It is value priced, but not cheaply done.
Price: $34.95
Features: O-27 operation, plastic shell, die-cast metal trucks and couplers, illumination
Pros: Inexpensive, attractive
Cons: Won’t appeal to scale-detail crowd
Made in the People’s Republic of China for Ready Made Toys
