Diaphragms On End Cars Of The Kato 285-Series

[Philphil]

Hello all, recently I picked up a pair of Kato 285-series sunrise express sets and though they haven't arrived yet, I'm already planning on making some modifications. The biggest and most visual will be the addition of a diaphragm and open doors on the end cars of the -0 and -3000 series sets. 

I know the Kato Shop Osaka used to sell a set of these cars with the diaphragm already installed, but I just can't justify paying that much for it, and it seems like an easy thing to do myself.

My questions are what would be the best way to cut the doors out of the front of the cars? Would anyone know the proper diaphragm parts to order, like the ones shown in these pictures?

Anything else/any more info that would help with this project would be greatly appreciated! 

Thank you all for viewing and your assistance!

 

~Phillip

 

[kvp]

The trick is to use two spare shells for each car as the cut widths would either destroy the doors or the rest of the shell. This means you'll need 4 spare shells to make 4 doors.

[velotrain]

Not to dampen your enthusiasm, but your questions raise the possibility that this may not in fact be an easy thing to do for yourself.

 

You might tally up the cost of parts and labor involved in doing it yourself, including the potential of not being happy with the results, and that could help justify the ready-made version.

[cteno4]

Cutting thru a thicker moulded styrene like this can be tough to do cleanly. Will be hard to cut cleanly so you retain both door area and the opening cleanly. Also easy to scratch up the paint in process that may then be hard to touchup well. It's not impossible at all, but tricky and something you need to have some skill and practice at. It's a more advanced project, would not put it easy.

 

i would definitely try to buy a couple of cheap cars of some kind with roughly similar box end and practice trying to do cuts like this before going at the cars. See if there are any old junker bonnet style locos at your local train show to experiment on.

 

Using a razor or rotary saw would work well but may cut too much probably to have the doors usable. And may also tear up the decals on the front there.

 

i would check to see if you can get the end car shells as spare parts (I doubt it though) as one slip could ruin the model for you.

 

theres a reason the custom one with doors is expensive!

 

jeff