I am wanting to know if anybody has any experience with removing the roofs from either the Walthers Heavyweights or their smoothside cars such as the Super Chief units. I tried and I now have gaps in the roof and body area where the knife dented the plastic. Has anyone had a better experience? Has anyone got inside from removing the undercarriage and going from the bottom? I would like to install the grab irons and possibly the light kits and maybe a few passengers. Any advice???
Jason
I have about 50 of the Walthers passenger cars. I know you will cringe when you hear this-
Take the car into both hands with your hands near the ends of the car
And then TWIST the car till the roof pops loose!
It will start to come up at one end or the other and then you can work it all the way loose. I have not damaged a car doing this. Sometimes you will bend or break the roof latches- just reglue them straight before you replace the roof.
Keith Turley/ Details West
I just bought the eight car set plus a few extra 4-4-2 and 10-6 sleepers. They do give instructions as to how to remove them with a chisel blade in an xacto knife and where the tabs are located. I have not tried it yet since I was afraid of doing what you said happened to you. I would like to paint some of the interiors and add people but I may leave it alone for a while.
That’s a good suggestion from Keith about twisting the carbodies until the roof comes off.
You can also use the Walthers method of using an Xacto blade. I’ve not damged the edges with the blade because I coul beging the process with the fingernail method.
Some tabs will break. Keith says his method can do likewise. I use a good quality, gel-type super glue to repair the tabs.
I wish Walthers would improve the design. I don’t have that problem with roofs of other manaufacturers. Rapido brand roofs are easy to remove and re-install. Ditto for my Kato buisness car.
Thank you. Now I can board some passengers. I guess I will have to amputate them. [:)]
Wolfgang
This situation with the roof removal is another case of people designing a great product and then handing it over to the “instruction writers”, without any communication.
I called a technician at Walther’s and he said NOT to use the chisel blade to push the tabs in because it will definitely break several of the tabs. I had already followed directions and did break some tabs on the first car I tried to open. He sent me a new roof because I couldn’t get mine back on with the broken tabs.
He told me to do what was mentioned above; to twist the 2 ends of the car till the tabs pop open. Trust me…it works, without breaking the tabs.
Hope this helps.
Mondo
I’m in total agreement with Mondotrains–whatever you do, do NOT follow Walther’s instructions on using a chisel-blade. Just grasp the car by both ends, twist until one or several of the tabs pop, then gently ease the rest of the roof off the car. Those tabs are not flexible enough to withstand pressure from a blade on them–they’ll break right off, and reparing them is a REAL pain in the posterior! I’ve put lighting in all of my Walther’s cars, and haven’t damaged any of the roofs by the twisting method.
Frankly, Walthers ought to be ashamed of themselves for issuing those kind of instructions.
Tom
I think anyone who damages a car while following instructions should receive a replacement under the lifetime warrantee.
Good thoughts on twisting-to-open below are appreciated. I’ll try that method and hopefully save on super glue for broken tabs.
Meanwhile, I suggest to Walthers that they improve the design.
Wolfgang: If you get the Preiser seated figures, you don’t have to do any amputation at all, except in the dining car. Otherwise, they fit the seats of the Walthers cars just fine. You can get them in the 36-pack, which averages out to about $1.50 or so per figure. I just populated my 1950 Walthers “Royal Gorge” with them and they look really cool.
Tom [:P]
GM&O, Mondo
You guys deserve an A+. Thanks for sharing that valuable info.
I feel uncomfortable sticking my #11 Exacto in that slot on the Walthers Budd cars, even though I’ll use several layers of masking tape above and below the lines. I will try the twist method instead, as I’ve got 15 cars that need their interios painted.
A more time-consuming but cheaper alternative is to buy the undecorated Preiser seated passengers and paint them yourself. The undecs work out to about 5 cents per figure.
As brutal as it sounds this is the way to do it.
Magnus
IIRC the Walthers cars tabs have - well what do want to call it…a hook?? - at the end that causes the roof to snap securely into place. If you take a razor saw and remove the end part of the tab, you can replace and remove the roof much more easily in the future. The friction of the remaining part of the tab in the slot is more than adequate to keep the roof in place.
[tup]Just took the roof off of one of my SCL 46 seat coaches using the “twist” method.
I put my face right up to the vestibule end as I twisted the car’s ends back and forth “gently”. I noticed that a tiny gap opened between the roof and the body on one end, then the other. I immedietly stopped twisting and carefully slid my thumb’s fingernail from one end to the other on one side, then on the opposite side. The roof literally popped up! I inspected it and found no broken tabs.
Well, once I install the Kadees that interior is coming out as it has an overdue appointment with my airbrush.
Thanks guys! [:)][:D]
Outstanding thread! I haven’t tried to open any Walthers cars yet, but I have about 10 that I will be working on this winter.
I also have some Athearn Ready To Run passenger cars, and I can’t see how to get the roof off of them.
Hoborich–
The Athearn RTR’s–at least the ones I have–are a different bag of tricks. The entire body, roof and all, is removed by a couple of tabs protrudiing into the bottom of the sides. Just widen the sides with your fingers and the whole body slips off. Really easy. I have no idea how the newer Athearn cars for their ‘Daylight’ will work, but for the older ones, it’s pretty much of a snap.
Tom [:)]
Thanks! I will be putting lights, people, and interiors in a lot of passenger cars this winter.
I have 100 of 'em. Put lighting kits in 1 set. I never read the instructions, they will literally pull apart in your bare hands if you hold the bottom and squeeze the side of the roof with 2 fingers where the tabs are (6 or 7 of them approximately) do the end to end method like the other dude suggested. DO NOT try to do 1 side at a time you’ll be out $35 bucks.
Has anyone tried to install a lighting kit -and- a lighted drumhead? Seems like the same circuit but the bulbs must be a different voltage (snap-crackle-pop). Still working out that one…
This is great advice. I broke a few tabs following the enclosed instructions, and it even took more time. Twisting the car ends popped the roof off within seconds, with NO broken tabs! Thanks for sharing!
Vin
OK,
The roof issue, thankfully, has been solved. Now does anyone have any tips on removing those cars sides? Someone posted that it was “easy” on another thread, however, that’s not been the case for me as those walls seem to be a bit stubborn to take off.
Thanks [;)]