I recently bought an undecorated Kato GP35 (used), and plan to paint it in CN zebra stripes. Along with an NW2 in CN colors bagged in the same spree, this is my first Kato. I've spent a couple of hours today studying, and gently prying, squeezing, pulling, poking, and I haven't figured out how to get the shell (in all its parts) off so I can get to work on it. I managed to somewhat dislodge the cab, but it won't come off completely. I also was able to remove the couplers and the dynamic brake blisters. The sheet that comes with it, though it shows all the parts in an exploded view, doesn't really say how the parts hold together. So after those couple of hours, two cups of coffee, and going through half the cuss dictionary, I'm stumped. I would be grateful for any advice on how to proceed. Thank you in advance. P.S. Katos are nicely detailed and run like a dream... I'm hooked.
I found this somewhere on the internet: The tabs are below the metal frame and are probably hard to see because of the trucks or a sill faring. It's difficult the first time. Just go slowly and don't break anything. The couplers do hold the shell on in some cases but I don't know about the GP35. Saturday night and it is slow. Probably more and better help tomorrow.
Thanks for the info. It's a start. For the GP35, the couplers need to be removed to get the running boards off - they go through a hole in the pilot. I'll take a look tomorrow for more. Again, thanks! :thumbs_up:
Done - thanks! I finally managed to horse the shell off, with a bit more cussin' another cup of coffee, and Flash's well-placed tip (thanks!), If one turns the trucks, one can just see the ends of the tabs sticking out of the underframe. The trick then is to get one side off the bosses on the frame, and keep it off while doing the same to the other side. What was keeping the cab on was the "light pipe" to the headlights and number boards on top of the cab. It's threaded through a gap behind the cab down to the lamp bracket, which is on top of the motor. So one needs to pull that out before removing the cab. Nice jigsaw puzzle, which I'll have to remember how to put back together again...baffled: Now I have the whole shell in pieces and I can predict that this is going to be a charm to paint - much less masking off to do. With the shell off, I can admire the innards of this gem. Now I understand why Katos are praised as much as they are (forgive my ignorance of this to date, I've been off model railroading for three decades, so stuff a lot of you guys take for granted is all new to me). Judging from the weight and the sound the motor made when I test ran it (a bit like my old Model Power shark's big can motor), this one must be a real puller. Methinks I'm going to enjoy this one.
