For the Hornby 2nd Series Pullman cars made in China (using British tooling ?) ...
(The set of four coaches that I have populated come from the ‘Western Pullman’ set released in 2004/2005, and are probably the simplest to dismantle, paint the interior and then add passengers) Remove both bogies from the underside of the chassis by using a small and thin screwdriver; being careful to not damage the chassis when prising the concealed holding lugs away from their retaining holes, and set aside.
If a different coupling system is needed, then these bogies can be adapted now or later on.
Whilst doing this work.... always ensure that the delicate underside plastic moulded trusses are adequately protected, or ‘repair work’ will be needed....! To remove the body from the chassis, there are four retaining tabs, and each one of these can be found at the bottom of the end passenger doors. Carefully release each one in turn, and the bodyshell will come away from the chassis.
The interior tables and seating is moulded entirely in white plastic. Before painting the interior, clean all surfaces with methylated spirit using a cotton wool bud and leave to dry for about 5minutes, before painting.
Usually, the floor and seating (remembering that 1st and 3rd classes have different colours...!) Will need painting, but these colours will depend on which era is being modelled..... that’s if you are wishing to be ‘accurate’...! For these coaches, I decided to paint the partition walls in a light brown matt paint to highlight the white tables and create greater realism.
Once the painting is complete, set aside to dry thoroughly for at least 12 hours, so that all of the paint is hardened.
Now is the time to ‘populate’ the coach, and, even though there are several manufacturers producing good figurines, I tend to use the unpainted ‘Preiser’ range of seated passengers (that will have been previously painted by myself), as that is the cheapest option plus I can decide on the appropriate colours to suit the appropriate period of travel. All figures have to be cut and trimmed to fit onto the seats, due to the way that the interior has been moulded.
Depending on what figures I have available, I tend to do a ‘dry run’ in finding suitable positions for them, so as to create a reasonable realistic scene. Then I use a small amount of ‘Super Glue Gel’ to adhere them in their places. As these coaches were used on main line routes, I try to achieve a well populated coach of passengers, so that the finished coach looks about right....! That’s also the reason why each one of these that I work on is unique...!
Now is the time to reassemble the coach.
Firstly, place the interior onto the floor of the chassis then place the bodyshell above this (making sure that it is the right way round...!). Gently press down, so that the end body clips ‘click’ into place.
The bogies can now be re-
If you have got this far, then you have succeeded....!
Well done!