Instructions for our S and O Scale Core Kits

A SPRAY GLUE IS USED TO HOLD PARTS IN PLACE DURING THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS AND SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM ANY SURFACES THAT ARE TO HAVE GLUE APPLIED. USE ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL ON A SOFT RAG. ROOF SPINE, RIBS AND ENDS: LOCATE THE LONGEST OF THE SQUARE ACRYLIC BRACES. THIS IS THE SPINE FOR THE ROOF. LOCATE ALL OF THE RIBS. ON MOST OF THE PARTS THE EDGES WILL BE ANGLED TO ONE SIDE. GLUE THE RIBS ONTO THE SPINE WITH ALL EDGES ANGLED THE SAME DIRECTION. MAKE SURE THEY ARE ALL SEATED FULLY ONTO THE SPINE. MAKE SURE THE GLUE IS DRY BEFORE PROCEEDING TO THE NEXT STEP. LOCATE THE FOUR PIECES OF THE CAR ENDS. TWO WILL BE THE OUTER; TWO THE INNER WITH THE CUT-OUT ABOVE THE DOOR. THE INNER ENDS ARE NARROWER ON THE SIDES SO THAT THE CLEAR SIDE CAN BE GLUED TO THEM, SO CAREFULLY GLUE AND POSITION THE INNER END BACK-TO-BACK TO THE OUTER SO THAT THE ANGLES LEAVE THE SPACE FOR THE CLEAR SIDES ON THE EDGES AND THE CURVE OF THE ROOF IS FLUSH ON BOTH (THE DOOR OPENING WILL HELP GETTING THE CORRECT POSITION AS THEY SHOULD BE PERFECTLY LINED UP). GETTING THESE POSITIONED PROPERLY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE FINAL BUILDING OF THE CORE KIT. WHEN THE GLUE HAS DRIED ON ALL OF THE PARTS, GLUE THE CAR ENDS TO THE ENDS OF THE SPINE BY FULLY SEATING THEM IN THE NOTCH ABOVE THE DOOR. ANY MISALIGNMENT HERE WILL NOT HAVE GOOD RESULTS. CLEAR SIDES: THE CLEAR SIDES WILL HAVE A PROTECTIVE COVERING ON BOTH SIDES. THE INSIDE OF BOTH CLEAR SIDES WILL HAVE GROOVES CUT INTO THE SKIRTS (IF YOUR CAR HAD SKIRTS) TO AID IN CURVING THEM UNDER THE CAR. WITH THE GROOVES UP AND CLOSEST TO YOU, CAREFULLY CURVE THE SKIRTS WITH YOUR FINGERTIPS BY USING A PINCHING ACTION. YOU MAY WANT USE A ROUND BARRELED PIN AS AN AID IN THIS PROCESS TO PRESS THE SKIRT AROUND. IF NEEDED, YOU CAN USE A PAIR OF PLIERS WITH THE END OF THE JAW GRIPPING SLIGHTLY LESS THAN HALF OF THE SKIRT AND BENDING UP. BE CAREFUL WITH WHATEVER METHOD YOU USE AS THE PLASTIC IS FAIRLY STRONG, BUT WILL TEND TO BREAK ALONG ANY OF THE GROOVES. THE INSIDE OF THE CLEAR SIDES WILL HAVE AREAS FOR BRACES THAT ARE CUT THROUGH INTO THE SIDES TO ACT AS PLACEMENT GUIDES: THREE ON EACH SIDE FOR THE FLOOR BRACES, ONE ON EACH END FOR THE END BRACE AND A LONG CUT ABOVE THE SKIRTS THAT THE FLOOR WILL SLIP INTO. THE WINDOW AREAS WILL ALSO BE CUT INTO THE BACK OF THE CLEAR SIDES, BUT WON'T BE CUT OUT COMPLETELY TO ALLOW FOR TWO DIFFERENT WAYS OF BUILDING THE KITS: THE FIRST IS FOR THOSE THAT WANT TO PAINT AND LETTER THE WHITE SIDES BEFORE ATTACHING THEM TO THE CAR...THE WINDOW AREAS WOULD NOT BE REMOVED, AND ALL PROTECTIVE COATING WOULD REMAIN ON THE CLEAR SIDES UNTIL THE ENDS AND ROOF ARE PAINTED. THE SECOND WOULD BE FOR THOSE THAT WANT TO PUT THE ENTIRE KIT TOGETHER...THEY WOULD CUT THE WINDOW AREAS THE REST OF THE WAY THROUGH ALONG THE CUT LINES AND REMOVE ALL OF THE PROTECTIVE COVERING. IF YOU WANT TO USE THE FIRST METHOD, MAKE SURE TO PEEL THE PROTECTIVE COVERING BACK FROM THE CLEAR SIDE EDGE WHERE IT WILL BE GLUED TO THE ENDS. WE USED THE TIP OF AN EXACTO KNIFE TO SCORE ALL OF THESE AREAS AND THE SIDES OF THE BRACES THAT ARE POLISHED, AND ONLY THESE AREAS, TO AID IN THE GLUING PROCESS. GLUE THE FLOOR SUPPORTS (L SHAPED SMALL WHITE PIECES) ONTO THE SCORED AREAS ON BOTH CLEAR SIDES SO THAT THE FLAT AREA IS CLOSEST TO THE BOTTOM OF THE CAR. THERE IS A SCORE LINE JUST ABOVE THE BOTTOM OF THE SIDE THAT THE FLOOR WILL FIT INTO AND RUNS ACROSS THE BOTTOM OF THE FLOOR BRACE AREAS, SO MAKE SURE WHEN YOU GLUE THE BRACES DOWN THAT THEY ARE PERFECTLY EVEN AND IMMEDIATELY ABOVE THE FLOOR SCORE LINE. GLUEING THE CLEAR SIDES TO THE ENDS: IF YOU ARE PUTTING THE COMPLETE KIT TOGETHER BEFORE PAINTING, PLACE THE CLEAR SIDES WITH THE CUTS FACING YOU ON A FLAT SURFACE AND FINISH CUTTING THE WINDOW AREAS OFF OF THE CLEAR SIDES BEFORE PROCEEDING. WE FOUND IT EASIEST TO PRE-FIT THE EDGE OF ONE OF THE CLEAR SIDES ONTO THE END, MAKING SURE IT SNUGS UP TO THE NOTCH NEAR THE START OF THE CURVE IN THE ROOF AREA (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT). PLACE A PIECE OF MASKING TAPE OVER THE END AND THE CLEAR SIDE AND THEN APPLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF GLUE TO THE AREA THAT THE SIDE FITS INTO. WHEN YOU HAVE DONE THIS ON BOTH ENDS OF A CLEAR SIDE, TURN THE WHOLE KIT OVER SO THAT THE CLEAR SIDE IS FLAT ON YOUR WORK SURFACE. DOUBLE CHECK THAT THE END BRACES WILL NOT EXTEND UP INTO A WINDOW (IF SO, YOU WILL HAVE TO CUT IT DOWN BY THAT AMOUNT) AND THEN APPLY GLUE TO TWO ADJACENT SIDES AND PRESS FIT THE BRACE JUST ABOVE THE FLOOR LINE AND GLUED TO THE CLEAR SIDE AND THE END. PUTTING THE ROOF ON THE KIT: PREFIT THE ROOF ONTO THE KIT AND NOTE WHERE IT SHOULD BE PLACED TO GET IT EVENLY OVER BOTH ENDS. THE ROOF HAS AN EXTENDED AREA THAT WILL GO OVER THE CLEAR SIDES SO THAT THE BACK OF THE EXTENDED AREA WILL BE GLUED TO THE FRONT OF THE CLEAR SIDE. IF YOUR CAR HAD A VESTIBULE, YOU WILL HAVE TO CUT A NOTCH OUT OF THE EXTENDED AREA SO AS NOT TO BE VISIBLE THROUGH THE VESTIBULE WINDOW ON BOTH SIDES OF THE KIT. THERE IS A FAINTLY VISIBLE EDGE TO THE ROOF, SO WHILE MAKING THE NOTCH, MAKE SURE NOT TO CUT THROUGH OR ABOVE THAT EDGE. PLACING THE WHITE SIDE WHERE IT IS GOING TO BE WILL AID IN THIS PROCESS. THERE ARE SEVERAL CAR TYPES THAT HAVE WINDOWS VERY CLOSE TO THE ROOF LINE. IF SO, YOU WILL ALSO HAVE TO NOTCH THE EXTENDED AREA WHERE IT WOULD SHOW THROUGH THE HIGH WINDOWS. ONCE YOU ARE HAPPY WITH THE ROOF PLACEMENT, ATTACH IT TO THE ROOF SPINE AND ENDS. TO AVOID ANY GLUEING ERRORS, WE USED A STRIP OF DOUBLE-SIDED TAPE DOWN THE INSIDE MIDDLE OF THE ROOF. THEN GLUE THE EXTENDED ROOF AREA TO THE CLEAR SIDES. LET THIS DRY COMPLETELY. THE SKIRTS CAN BE CURVED UNDER THE CAR EITHER WITH A PINCHING AND BENDING ACTION, OR CAREFULLY GRABBING THE SKIRT AT ITS APPROXIMATE MID-POINT (VERTICALLY) WITH A PAIR OF FLAT NOSE PLIERS AND BENDING. BUDD WRAPPER INSTRUCTIONS (FOR CK02 BUDD CORES ONLY): COMPLETELY FINISH THE CORE KIT BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH THESE INSTRUCTIONS. MAKE SURE TO REMOVE THE CLEAR WINDOW SECTIONS IF YOU ARE PAINTING YOUR MODEL AS A UNIT. IF YOU ARE PAINTING THE WRAPPER BEFORE HAND AND ADDING THE FINISHED WRAPPER TO THE CORE KIT, REMEMBER TO REMOVE THE PROTECTIVE COVERING FROM THE WINDOW AREAS (INSIDE AND OUT) BEFORE PROCEEDING. MAKE SURE YOUR CORE KIT ROOF AND SIDES ARE PERFECTLY SMOOTH. ANY DIRT, BUMPS, PIECES OF PLASTIC WILL SHOW THROUGH ON THE FINISHED MODEL. MARK THE CENTER OF BOTH ENDS OF THE CORE. AN EASY WAY OF DOING THIS IS TO MARK THE CENTER OF THE DOOR FRAME AND USE A FLAT METAL RULER TO MAKE A PENCIL MARK UP TO THE ROOF. WITH THE WRAPPER FLAT ON A WORK SURFACE, MARK THE CENTER AT BOTH ENDS SO THAT YOU CAN LINE UP THE MARKS YOU MADE FOR THE CENTER OF THE CORE ENDS WITH THE CENTER MARKS ON THE ROOF WRAPPER. THIS IS VERY CRITICAL TO GETTING THE WRAPPER POSITIONED CORRECTLY...ANY MISALIGNMENT WILL RESULT IN THE SIDES OF THE CAR NOT MATCHING THE CLEAR SKIRTS. PRE-FIT THE WAY THE WRAPPER WILL BE GLUED AND MAKE SURE THE CLEAR SKIRTS DON'T SHOW ON EITHER SIDE. YOU WILL LINE UP THE MARKS ON THE CAR ENDS WITH THE MARKS ON THE WRAPPER WHEN YOU START GLUEING THE WRAP ON THE BODY. WE USED SUPER GLUE GEL TO TACK THE ROOF IN PLACE DIRECTLY TO THE CENTER OF THE CORE ROOF. YOU CAN USE WHATEVER GLUE YOU NORMALLY GET THE BEST RESULTS WITH, BUT “TESTORS” MODEL CEMENT WILL MELT STYRENE, SO DON'T USE IT. WE USED A LIQUID GLUE TO GET THE ROOF APPLIED IN INCREMENTS, SLOWLY GLUEING AND GRADUALLY WRAPPING ALL THE WAY DOWN THE SIDES OF THE CAR ONE SIDE AT A TIME. AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD IS TO USE 3M VHB DOUBLE-SIDED TAPE FOR THE ROOF AREA. ONCE THIS IS COMPLETE, YOU WILL WANT TO ADD YOUR DIAPHRAGMS AND FLUTING (IF THE CAR HAD FLUTING, ADD IT PER THE INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED). THERE WILL BE 2 WIDENED LINES IN THE FLUTING OF THE ROOF WHERE THE PURLINES (LOOK LIKE RAILS) ARE TO BE GLUED. GLUE THEM INTO THE WIDENED GROOVES AND TRIM OFF ANY EXCESS. YOU WILL THEN PAINT AND FINISH THE CAR AS DESIRED. THE FINAL STEP WILL BE TO GLUE IN THE WINDOW GLAZING. FINISHING YOUR KIT: THE FLOOR CAN BE ATTACHED WITH #2 X ¼ SCREWS BY DRILLING HOLES THROUGH THE FLOOR AND THE FLOOR BRACES SIMULTANEOUSLY. MAKE SURE TO PRESS THE SIDES TOGETHER DURING THE DRILLING PROCESS. THE WHITE SIDES WILL BE GLUED ON AT THIS POINT IF YOU ARE FOLLOWING OPTION ONE. BE VERY CAREFUL AS TO THE TYPE OF GLUE USED FOR THIS PROCESS, AS SOME TYPES WE HAVE TRIED LEFT MELTED AREAS RAISED FROM THE SURFACE IN PLACES WHERE WE USED EXCESS GLUE. SUPER GLUE GEL USED SPARINGLY SEEMS TO WORK WELL, OR YOU CAN USE A QUALITY TYPE OF THIN DOUBLE-SIDED TAPE. MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE SIDE OF THE WHITE SIDE WITH THE DETAIL LINES CUT-IN UP AND ARE PUTTING THE VESTIBLUE AT THE CORRECT END OF THE CAR. THE PARTS INCLUDE DOORS FOR THE ENDS OF THE CAR. IF THE CAR HAS A VESTIBULE, GLUE ONE OF THE DOORS TO THE VESTIBULE WALL PIECE (THIS CAN BE POSITIONED ON THE FLOOR ABOUT 7/8” FROM THE END OF THE FLOOR) AND THE OTHER TO THE OPPOSITE END OF THE CAR, BOTH DOORS GO ON THE BACK SIDE. IF YOUR CAR DOES NOT HAVE A VESTIBULE, BOTH DOORS WILL GO ON THE CAR ENDS AND THE VESTIBULE WALL WILL NOT BE USED. THE WINDOWLESS DOORS ARE FOR HEAD-END CARS. ALSO INCLUDED ARE RECTANGLES THAT GO AROUND THE DOOR OPENINGS ON EACH END OF THE CAR THAT THE DIAPHRAGM ATTACHES TO. THESE WILL FRAME THE DOOR OPENING. (DIAPHRAGM FRAMES IN THE PHOTO) ADDED AFTER THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN ARE 6 RECTANGLES WITH HOLES IN THE CENTER TO BE USED FOR THE TRUCK BOLSTERS (3 FOR EACH END). A GUIDE LINE IS CUT INTO THE FLOOR FOR PLACEMENT. THESE ARE TO BE LAYERED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER TO GET THE DESIRED TRUCK HEIGHT. ON PULLMAN-STANDARD AND ACF CARS, CHECK THE ROOF TO MAKE SURE IT IS PERFECTLY SMOOTH. SOMETIMES, TINY BUBBLES WILL APPEAR IN THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS. IF SO, USE SOME VERY FINE GRIT SAND PAPER TO SMOOTH THEM OUT. ON CARS USING A WRAPPER THIS WON'T BE NECESSARY UNLESS IT LOOKS LIKE ONE IS PROTRUDING ENOUGH TO MAKE A BUMP. AFTER PAINTING, GLUE THE WINDOW AREAS INTO THE OPENINGS ON THE BACK OF THE CLEAR SIDES. WE SUGGEST THAT SUPER GLUE NOT BE USED FOR THIS PROCESS AS IT WILL CRAZE THE WINDOWS. USE A SILICONE-BASED OR OTHER GLUE THAT YOU ARE SURE WON'T MELT THE STYRENE SIDES.