How to assemble the Reims Gueux Pit Centre Module #005 We recommend quick drying super glue for our models. Just a few drops on the joining edges, press and hold them for a few seconds and the connection is done. This way the model can be built in about 1/2 hour. Of course if you are going to paint model, you can do this as you go along, however the pit interior is easy to access should you want to paint it after you have completed the build. One word of warning. If you have bought multiple kits, do not be tempted to open all the bags and tip everything out. Some parts look very similar across the kits (between centre and end modules) so unless you like a challenge resist the temptation! The model is double skinned in most places, so we assemble the inner first then add on the outer detail. We highly recommend that you read the guide all the way through. This is particularly important if you have purchased the end modules as some parts have a symmetrical counterpart. Now let us begin. Get out the base, rear wall and the centre wall. The base is one of the larger pieces in the kit and has "Magnetic Racing" etched on the underside. Place this part text down on the build surface. Note the rear wall has brick decoration and this unusually points to the inside as it is visible from the front when the kit is completed. Also note down the centre of the rear wall there are two guide lines to help you get the centre wall vertical. Do a dry assemble first to check you have the parts correctly orientated, then separate them and apply glue. By assembling all the 3 parts at once it is easier to get all the parts perpendicular to each other, however if you prefer, assemble the centre wall to the floor using a right angle or another part from the kit to get it vertical, You can then attach the rear wall. Now we glue on the pit front. Note there is surface detail on this part above the front opening and this needs to face outwards. Again do a dry assembly first to see where you need to apply glue and then assemble it to the main model. Notice that the lugs on this part are long and protrude through the face of the front wall. This is correct. Just ensure the front face is pushed back and presses tightly against the front upright and is fully engaged with the floor.
The end pieces go on next. Both parts for the centre modules are identical. Glue these in place ensuring the vertical edges are perfectly aligned. Once again dry assemble the parts first to see which edges contact each other and where to apply the glue. Turn the model around and glue on the inner roof. Note there are two slots which we will use later and these go to the front of the building. The part is symmetrical so can go any way up. We now have the main structure completed. The outer skin and details are next.
The vertical roof section goes on next. Note the brick detail points outwards. It locks into the roof using the two slots mentioned earlier. Continue by adding on the rear outer skin. Glue the brick detail outwards.
We now add on the outer roof skin. Note that the slots are to the rear of the building and the etched detail is on the outside. Ensure the ends of the roof are flush with the main model. The front of the building is supported by two gussets and these glue into the front two vertical slots. The detail etched on the roof also helps us here to get them square. The gusset tops protrude a little over the top edge. We will use this feature next to help us attach the top piece.
Let the glue cure fully before attaching the top lip otherwise you risk pushing the gussets we just attached out of their slots. The back edge is flush with the upright and we can use the protruding gussets to help us. Also ensure that the ends are flush otherwise the next section of the pits won't butt up correctly. This part protrudes slightly over the front as it does on the original building. At the front of the building we attach the lower bricks. The orientation is not important as it is exactly 4 bricks tall. Again ensure the ends are flush with the main model and use the build surface to get the lower edge perfectly aligned. Notice that we apply glue onto the top of the protruding lugs and that there is a gap between the inner and outer panel. This is correct.
The finishing touch at the front is the two top cappings. Glue these on. They fit around the upright walls as shown. Again the detail etching is in the top. If you are not going to have rear stairs on this section we now recommend you glue on the rear hand rail. This goes into the slots at the rear of the roof. Ensure that this is glued upright otherwise it wont match any adjoining sections of rail. Use a right angle or another square piece in the kit to help you. If you are unsure, leave this piece until you have all the other modules complete. If you are going to add stairs at the rear, leave this piece unglued, complete the stair assembly, glue it where you want then glue in the hand rail last of all. The reason for this is that you need to cut a horizontal section from this piece to give the pedestrians access to the roof at the top of the stairs.
This completes the build of the pits centre section. How to assemble the Stairs The rear stairs are entirely optional to the build. If you want your pits to go flush against a back wall, leave them off. Each pits module contains one set of stairs, but having one on each module is probably an overkill, so maybe one at each end is sufficient or one in the middle. But of course its your track, so feel free to add as many or as little as you want. When assembling the stairs it can be handy to lip the two uprights over the top of the pit building back edge, but either way you need to assemble these square. First get out the hand rails and inner stair supports. we need to make a symmetrical pair. Glue these two parts together using the detail etched on the hand rail to guide you, then look for an opposite hand rail. The stair support which we glue to the hand rail in the above image is not handed, so you can use either. You should now have the following pairs.
Now take two stair treads. These are attached to a sprue and are easily cut off. We provide a few extras for you. There is an etched detail on the sprue to show you where to cut. There are several methods to complete the stairs, one being to glue one side to the main pit model using a square edge against the build surface, but it is possible to assemble the stairs on their own which we recommend. First place one side on the build surface and attach two stair treads one at the top and one at the bottom. Use a right angled edge, or another piece of the kit to ensure they are glued vertically. You can use just one drop of super glue for each of these, so if you get it wrong, it is possible to carefully peel the tread back off. You can then clean it up with a knife and try again with one of the spares we provide. The kit is quite accurate though, so if you push the tread home in the corner it should be fairly close to vertical. We now use the pits to help us glue on the second rail. By lipping the top edge on the back of the pits. Just apply two drops of glue to the stair treads and push everything together. We can use the rear of the pits and the build surface to align the stairs. If you are a little unsure here, do not use super glue, but a slower drying glue such as PVA. You can use blue tack, small pieces of masking tape to hold everything it in place and check it is all square and have plenty of time to adjust if necessary. When happy that everything is correct, walk away for half an hour or so and let the glue on the treads dry. You can then go back using super glue to attach the remaining stair treads.
The stairs will be very fragile at first, but we next glue in the other stair treads so the construction becomes much stronger. Complete as many stair sets as you want to have at the rear of the pits. Its now time to get out all your pit buildings and lay them out as they are going to fit on your track. Decide where you want the stairs to go. It's not a good idea to mount the stairs so they obstruct the rear doors of the pits. Also position them so they are aligned with the uprights of the hand rail.
Hopefully you haven't glued in the hand rail as we suggested earlier, as we now need to mark and remove any cross pieces at the top of each stair. Mark and cut them carefully with a sharp knife before gluing the hand rails and stairs into place.