I recently purchased a couple of the Walthers Proto GP30s with Tsunami sound and I need to remove the shells.I thought "no problem, just remove the coupler boxes and the shell would slide off." Well that didn't work. I removed a couple of very small screws farther up in the loco at the couplers but that didn't help either. Can anyone advise me on this?
They should tell You how to remove the shell in the instructions that came with them. Usually those are snap fit into the chassis. Usually from the sides or front, You should not have to remove the coupler's on that one. Taking a shell off for the first time is always hard because of the paint drying on the tabs and slots, making it feel like it is glued on. I'm sure they will explain in the instructions, all the ones I have did.
Good Luck!
Frank
BTW: To The Forums....Sorry couldn't be of more help.
If that is the case, put the loco upside down into a foam cradle and insert tooth picks between the shell and frame. I have done that in the Past. I use a foam cradle from Bowser.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
I recently purchased a Walthers Proto GP20 and had the same issue when I had to remove the shell. On the GP 20 and probably the GP 30 the shell can be removed by removing the fuel tank, two small screws on the bottom, and locating the screws found on each side of the frame that were covered by the fuel tank. You also have to remove the couplers as you already did to remove the shell. The screws you removed near the couplers hold the weight to the chassis. Good luck on your repair.
OK, I'm gonna answer my own question. Yes, the couplers must be removed to remove the shell. The small screws that are exposed at the couplers stay. The two screws at the fuel tank have to be removed, then the shell slips right off, just like it should, no squeezing or prying. Oh, and I also found out that sideframes don't interchange between Life-like P2K and Walthers Proto.
Johnsonian OK, I'm gonna answer my own question. Yes, the couplers must be removed to remove the shell. The small screws that are exposed at the couplers stay. The two screws at the fuel tank have to be removed, then the shell slips right off, just like it should, no squeezing or prying. Oh, and I also found out that sideframes don't interchange between Life-like P2K and Walthers Proto.
Yes, Walthers changed their 4 axle truck design on their GP locos (and all 4 axles too I believe) from the older LifeLike/Walthers athearn cloned type of truck, so the sideframes do not just pop off and interchange with the older runs. Its a shame, I liked the athearn cloned design better, but I think those were 12:1 ratios where people complained about wanting uniform 14:1 ratios throughout their lineup, which is the new design. Darned Consisters!!
And the two screws near the coupler boxes that stay probably secure the weights to the frame.
- Douglas
So I called Walthers to order two pair of Blomberg sideframes and they're $25/pr!!! Wow, but really that's appropriately ridiculous considering that list price on these locos is nearly $300!! It's no wonder no one knows much about these new Walthers Proto jobs. It's apparently difficult to find someone who's bought one! I was patient and found mine for $146 and $180, which is still a lot but much better than the typical $225 that people are asking for them.
JohnsonianOh, and I also found out that sideframes don't interchange between Life-like P2K and Walthers Proto.
Hi, I am glad I read this. I saw some heavily discounted sound-equipped GP30s and I was going to buy two for a quick and sure upgrade to a pair of old Life-Like P2K L&N GP30s, which would have involved swapping the truck sides, fuels tanks, etc to put the light grey ones onto the new chassis. Clearly not an option with your info.
Is the fuel tank of the new GP30 glued on or held by a screw? Walthers seem to be inconsistent with this, e.g. the low-nose GP20s have the tanks glued on and so firmly they are impossible to remove without breaking something, i.e. you cannot grip the body tight enough to pull the tank off. But the high-nose GP20s have the tank secured by a screw so I have had no trouble getting their shells off when I have needed to.
In my view glueing the tanks on is hopeless. Walthers should expect people to need to remove the shells for maintenance or to fit decoders. And shell removal is NOT adequately described in Walthers instructions. There is an exploded diagram but you have to guess exactly which screw secures what, and whether a screw will release something you don't want to release. IMHO loco diagrams should be accompanied by clear text instructions on how to safely remove body shells and conduct routine maintenance.
Just my thoughts,
Bill.
The fuel tanks are not glued, they use a real sticky double sided tape. You just take a flat headed screwdriver and pry under one edge of the fuel tank.
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
Actually, they have made the Proto unit trucks similar to the recent trainline. These are sort of Kato clones. I find the gears in the trucks tend to crack. Not sure why. I had the problem on two dash 8 and a recent Proto E7. I have tested a few, but have not sought them out because of this and some other quality issues that I have experienced.
Larry
www.llxlocomotives.com
So many trains, so little time,
modelmaker51The fuel tanks are not glued, they use a real sticky double sided tape. You just take a flat headed screwdriver and pry under one edge of the fuel tank.
Yes, double-sided sticky tape. I had to remove the fuel tank of a Penn Central low-nose GP20 (P2K 31504) because I wanted to put the QSI sound chassis under their DC SPSF GP20. I used the method you describe but had to exert so much leverage that the plastic fuel tank now has two deep canyons in it. Now I know where the screw-heads are on a GP20 next time I may just drill through the tank to get at the screws.
Best Regards,