Kato Charger Shell Removal? I Give Up!

[tehachapifan]

I did a few forum searches figuring this has been asked before but didn't find anything. My question is in regard to the SC-44 charger but I'm guessing the ALC-42's are similar enough. What the heck is the trick with these? I tried inserting toothpicks but can't get anything to budge except for several parts that fell off in the process. It seems like I'm on the verge of causing significant damage with every attempt. I find it sort of amusing that the Spookshow site says, "to remove the shell, simply spread the sides of the shell away from the chassis and then slide it up and off". How to work with or around the lower sill seems to really complicate things as well. I feel like I need 3 or more hands and someone to hand me tools and wipe my brow.

[tehachapifan]

OK, managed to remove it after another attempt. The shell is latched to both the sill and the frame. Seems like there might have been a small spot of glue where the sill attaches to the shell but I'm not positive. Thought I broke something when it finally popped free. Certainly not the easiest shell to remove!

[peteski]

Yes, these are a real b-i-t-c-h to remove. The problem is that unlike other Kato locos where the bottom of the shell is accessible (so toothpicks can be used to spread the shell releasing the latches, in this model there is another part of the shell on the bottom of the chassis interlocking with the shell, which makes releasing the latches very difficult.

I stick down into the chassis 2 large darning needles through the truck openings in the bottom part of the shell  to release the 2 latches, then wiggle the top shell off.  The needles have thinner diameter than toothpicks and are also much sturdier.

[tehachapifan]

Good tip! Yeah, the toothpicks weren't working very well.

[martin station]

 Yep, I have the ACL42 and actually broke the thin bottom cover just in front of the fuel tank while removing my shell to install the light kit. Fortunately it was a clean break and snapped back into place. I then used some Tamiya Thin Cement to repair it. I was hoping that Kato would make some kind of adjustment on the shell to make removal a little easier but apparently not. I do love love the detail and the way it runs though. I also couldn't keep the back air hoses in on mine either.
Ralph 

[pilpro]

There are tabs that help “unlock” the shell on the thin frame, see 1:40 here:

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Hope this helps

-Paul Z

[peteski]

LOL, the guy in that video is blissfully unaware of the two "real" latches which hold the upper shell to thee chassis.    But if it works for him - the more power to him.

[MetroRedLine]

I also couldn't keep the back air hoses in on mine either.
Ralph

I have two Kato Chargers...The ALC-42 lost one of its rear air hoses to The Ether...and the SC-44 lost one of its rear air hoses AS I WAS HOLDING IT WITH TWEEZERS IN THE PROCESS OF GLUING IT IN.

And Kato has the audacity to NOT sell this frequently-lost part on their parts site (I know for a fact that you and I are not the only Kato Charger owners to lose theirs)...

[peteski]

I have two Kato Chargers...The ALC-42 lost one of its rear air hoses to The Ether...and the SC-44 lost one of its rear air hoses AS I WAS HOLDING IT WITH TWEEZERS IN THE PROCESS OF GLUING IT IN.

And Kato has the audacity to NOT sell this frequently-lost part on their parts site (I know for a fact that you and I are not the only Kato Charger owners to lose theirs)...

Yeah, lack of this part being available as a spare part is puzzling.

Yes, those hoses easily come out of the pilot. No glue will stick well to these slipper plastic hoses.  On my loco, using a thin sharp tip in my soldering iron I "kissed" the hose mounts on the inside of the pilot to heat-weld them to the pilot.  I first had to remove the coupler housing to get enough clearance for the iron's tip.

[tehachapifan]

LOL, the guy in that video is blissfully unaware of the two "real" latches which hold the upper shell to thee chassis.    But if it works for him - the more power to him.

I kept finding videos like this one that weren't helping at all.

One thing I noticed when I went to reinstall the shell on my SC-44 is that there were only two (shell-to-frame/drive) latching tabs total in the shell (one on each opposing corner) while there are four latching lugs on the frame/drive. Since the latching tabs extend off the side window glazing inserts, I thought I broke two of them off when I removed the shell. I wonder if the original design had all four and Kato realized the shell would be next to impossible to remove with four. Do the ALC-42's have all four latching tabs?

[TW877]

Do the ALC-42's have all four latching tabs?

I have an ALC-42 from the first run, two tabs only.

Chris

[OrangeAnon]

The F40PH and MP36 also only have two latches. Rear engineer's side and front fireman's side. The P42 is the only loco I know of that has four latches.

[peteski]

Most (if not all) Kato  wide-body N scale locos only use 2 latches (on diagonally opposite corners), even if some have tabs on all 4 sides of the shell.

The P42 is the only loco I know of that has four latches.

Not really. While the transparent window pieces have 4 latching locations, the metal chassis only has 2 protruding tabs (left front and right rear).

[spookshow]

A little dab of white glue will keep those hoses from going missing. It's a dumb design though.

-Mark

[MetroRedLine]

A little dab of white glue will keep those hoses from going missing. It's a dumb design though.

-Mark

I was about to do exactly that.

My tweezers were more interested in launch velocity though.