Model Railway Forum

I've bought a few Dapol diesel locos and the instructions claim that you can just lift the bodies off. So far only one has been that easy. Most of them if you grab the body and pull the 'bogie carrier' if that's what it's called comes off and the motor and electronics remain hidden.

The only reliable (but risky) way I've found to get the body off is to lever it off with a watchmaker's screwdriver. Is this typical? I know it's not something we have to do a lot but it seems a poor design as the risk of damage is high. Is there a trick to it that I've missed?

Cut four pieces of 0.5mm plasticard about 6mm wide and 20mm long.
Slide a scalpel blade in between the body and the frame by the cab doors to open up enough gap to slide a piece of the plasticard in. This stops the lugs on the body engaging with the frame.
Repeat with the other corners and the body should just slide off.