GreenMax economy kits

[kvp]

After looking through the net and trying to find descriptions about the assembly of these kits, i feel that i still need some advice on how to assemble greenmax economy coach kits in a way that leaves them servicable.

 

For the motorised cars (actually only trams) i've built, it's simple as you can just drop the glued and painted shells on the motors and remove them in case something needs to be fixed.

 

For the coaches, it's a bigger problem, as the floor and the roof doesn't really want to stay with the walls without any glue, but if i glue both, then i will have no way to take it apart in case i want to fix something. (like a dislodged window glass or something similar) So what do you think is the best way to assemble these coaches? With a fixed roof and a removable frame or a fixed frame and a removable roof? (i've seen both from large manufacturers in N and Z scale)

[cteno4]

Some small rare earth magnets in each corner of the walls cemented to a small cross piece of styrene glued in the end sof the shell and the magnets cemented on the top corner of the floor? 4 of the 1x2mm discs are pretty strong to hold things in place! Could do a third cross piece in the center as well.

 

Or a small styrene wall around the edge of the floor that goes up to the bottom of the Windows to make something to hold in the shell like a motor unit would?

 

Jeff

[Welshbloke]

Personally I'd go for fixing the roof to the sides. That joint is more visible and therefore has to be spot on.

[HantuBlauLOL]

have you tried UHU glue yet? its strong and still removable without damaging anything except little paint..

[ToniBabelony]

The usual method I've seen here is to fix the roof and have the bottom removable. It's probably the best method, as you can maintain the bogies, wheels and power unit easily, as well as add interior details later if you want to. I think this is because it's in line with regular finished rolling stock and the roof mostly is an integral part of the body in the sense of livery/paint. Next to that, of all the building descriptions I've seen on Economy Kits, they never mention glueing the bottom to the body.

[kvp]

Adding something that holds in the bottom plate by friction is possible, but getting it right is not easy. Especially that the sides are bulging without any cross bracing. Fixing the roof as that seam is more visible is logical, but it still leaves me with the problem of keeping the bottom plate at its place and the relatively thin sides straight.

 

Yes, i know uhu glue, especially the white variant that dries clear and water tight, but i don't think it's too removable if i have to strip and repaint the car every time i take it apart. (but i do plan to use it to hold the window foils in place after cutting them to size)

 

Actually i would really like to know how did other people assemble these kits? (like best practices, etc.) I was unable to find any blogs or galleries showing the building process or the completed cars in motion. (i tried google search with keywords from google translate, but without much success)

 

Similar cars i've seen over the years used screws (either through the middle or through the bogies) to hold the whole shell in place against the bottom frame, but that looks very ugly as they go through the passenger compartement.

 

What is strange is that the roof has reinforced inside rails, but they won't hold the roof in place, while the bottom has nothing, but a thin plate and can't even keep itself in position as it's a bit shorter than the length of the car. (the width seems to be ok) The instructions (after google translate) seem to say nothing about gluing the roof or the bottom. I would really like to find a more detailed text about the construction or at least some photos showing the assembly.

 

ps: If this single test car works, i might get a bunch more, but i would like to get it right and into a reliably runable shape.

[ToniBabelony]

Greenmax themselves have some instruction sheets on their website: http://www.greenmax.co.jp/Kit/GMkits00.shtml These seem to come from their old catalogues. They even have a more advanced method on their blog for lightly modding Economy Kits: http://www.gm-store.co.jp/blog/yokohama/archives/105 Nothing is mentioned about fixing the bottom to the body again here.

[kvp]

Thanks for the link! I'm sure there is a way to keep these parts together other than gluing everything:

There don't seem to be anything to hold the floor plate in place except the glue tab looking ridges on the side walls.

 

The text and picture from the instructions:

 

最後に床板には別売りの台車を、屋根上にはパンタグラフを取り付けます。 いずれも接着剤は必要ありません。 パチンはめるだけで完了です。 ダミーカプラ-を使う先頭車輛の場合は、台車のカプラー部分をカットする必要があるので、あらかじめ切り取っておきましょう。 動力ユニットを取り付ける場合は、メンテナンス(故障時の修理や洗浄)が出きるようにボディに接着しないようにしましょう。 動力車輛以外の床板も、ボディとの接着は少量でよいでしょう。

I don't really get it how this is going to stay together without glue... 

[ToniBabelony]

I don't really get it how this is going to stay together without glue... 

 

You're free to glue it, but gravity and friction do some fine work keeping the parts together. The plate slides into the body, and the strips in the walls hold the bottom plate at the right height and in the right place.

[cteno4]

Of course there is always duct tape! Or Velcro? ;-p

 

Jeff

[HantuBlauLOL]

or.. double tape?

[kvp]

There is almost nothing to fix the bottom plate to, except two tiny ridges on the bottom of the side walls, that keep it flush with the sides. (on the photo, i'm not holding it strongly enough to keep it flush)

and this is pretty much all, so friction alone won't hold it and there is nothing to mount it to. I'm thinking about adding styrene cross braces that Jeff mentioned and using screws or something similar to hold the plate to the sides. One in the center won't be enough, the bottom is flimsier than those old arnold cars where a single through screw holds the roof and the bottom together around the sides.

Edited November 17, 2015 by kvp

[nah00]

I built two sets of Mani-44s for my Euro Liner (luckily they were pre-painted) and had the same dilemma about what to do with the floor. The bottoms *kind of* snapped in but after a while of running the body would shift. I ended up making all the windows we secure with clear glue and gluing the 4 corners. Even with a decent amount of CA the cars still feel somewhat fragile but luckily don't have much wobble. Also that @#$% weight doesn't fit in slots on these, had to cut out the end of one to keep it from bending the car.