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Hi everyone, I am a brand new member to the site, but have been following for some time. I'm hoping to get some advice on repairing (taking out) broken plastic details pieces on a USAT GP38. I recently purchased a used GP38 in SP livery that is good cosmetic and operation condition, but there are multiple broken plastic pieces. Some with a little bit of the plastic sticking out and some that were a clean break, flush with the body but plastic still stuck inside. I was wondering some advice on the best way to remove these pieces so I can install the new detail pieces. I'm with some small pliers that I can get out the ones that are sticking out slightly, but how the heck can I remove the flush broken pieces. I attached some pieces. Thank you guys so much in advanced and looking forward to talking to ya'll. Mike

Three years ago I bought a used Santa Fe F-3 Diesel 70-2013-1 made in 2005 or 2007. Since I've owned it, many plastic parts have developed hairline fractures and then broken off. Most of them I could repair by gluing. At first, it was the small parts like stairs. Then those plastic pillars that screws screw into began falling off. Then the cowcatcher. It got to the point where I could only screw in half of the screws that hold the body shell to the frame. Today though was worse. I had to remove the body shell to get to a broken protosound unit that I was going to send to Ray for testing. As I gently removed the body shell, the frame cracked completely in two and the front truck fell off! This engine has never been mistreated while I owned it. I always keep it inside while not in use. It's almost as if the plastic has some sort of plastic cancer. Who knows what the previous owner did to it, if anything. Here's my question. Do you guys think this is from some sort of mistreatment (outside storage damage from sun or temperature), old age, or is this just the nature of the plastic used? If it is caused from old age, then I'd imagine that everybody who has an old MTH locomotive would see the same plastic rot on their old locomotives. Have any of you seen this on your old (circa 2005 or 2007) MTH locos? Thanks! John