Acela Power Car Instructions

Read these important assembly instructions before starting!

Also make sure you've read the General Instructions first.

Step 1 Cut out the base of the power car, part 2, leaving a small margin around the part. (This will be cut off later).

Step 2 Find a piece of cardboard slightly larger than the part you just cut out. It should be thick, smooth and stiff, so avoid corrugated cardboard. The cardboard will stiffen the base of the model and ensure that it is straight and square. Glue the part from step 1 to the cardboard.

Step 3 When part 2 is dry, cut out around the edge of the part using a knife (X-Acto or similar), removing the margin you left earlier.

Step 4 Score all folds on part 1, the power car body, at the places indicated by the arrows. Do this before cutting out the part.

Step 5 Cut out the body and mark all folds (fold over, press down, then fold back flat). Make sure to make small cuts near the front as indicated by the scissors symbol, going up along the dark gray line as far as the horizontal belt line just below the small Acela logo. These small cuts are necessary to allow the sides of the nose to bend inwards.

Step 6 Score all folds on part 4, the nose, at the places indicated by the arrows. Once again, do this before cutting out the part.

Step 7 Cut out the nose. Take your time, this is the hardest part to deal with because it is small and oddly shaped. Mark all the folds, working slowly and gently because this is a fragile part.

Step 8 Spread evenly a small amount of glue on flap K, and attach part 4, the nose, to part 1, the main body.

Step 9 Glue flaps J, pressing with your fingers from the inside of the model.

Step 10 Glue flaps C, as before. Now the nose should be taking shape. Don't glue flaps L quite yet.

Step 11 Apply a thin, even coat of glue to the reverse side of flap A on part 1 (NOT the printed side!!) and glue flap A on top of Part 2 (the base) such that the green and blue marks line up. This alignment is important to ensure that your model is straight and square, so take your time to get it right. In fact, it's best to try it first without glue.

Figure 1 Cross-section of the model, showing the fit of flaps A and B. Step 12 Repeat the last step with flap B, again using the blue and green alignment marks for reference. Step 13 Score all folds on part 5, the front bogie, at the places indicated by arrows. Also score the two red lines on this part. As usual, do this before you cut out the part. Step 14 Cut out part 5. Also cut on both dotted lines up to the red line. Mark all folds. The light gray panel will become a vertical bulkhead inside the front of the power car's body. Step 15 Spread glue evenly on the reverse side of the wheels, so that the wheels become folded and glued back-to-back as shown in the cross-section at right in figure 2 below. Figure 2 Front bogie, showing assembled part 5, with cross-section at right. Step 16 Once the glue has dried, carefully cut out around the contour of the wheels, shown as blue lines in figure 2 above. Step 17 Cut out a small piece of cardboard to the size of the white area marked "Glue Cardboard Here". Glue this piece of cardboard to that spot. Step 18 Glue flap H to form the rear end of the bogie. Part 5 should look like figure 2 above when you are done assembling it. Step 19 Next, we are going to attach part 5 to the main body of the model. Apply glue to the printed side of flap M, and press it carefully into the inside of your model so that it aligns onto flap K which we glued earlier. The gray vertical wall on part 5 should coincide with the boundary between the body and the nose of the model. Step 20 Use a tool (your fingers will be too big) to apply a small amount of glue to flaps N and press them onto the inside of your model such that the gray wall of part 5 is vertical. Step 21 Glue the rear of part 5 onto the bottom of the model and check for proper alignment. This completes the installation of the front bogie. Step 22 On to the nose. The front part of the nose should bend down as shown in figure 3 below. Apply glue to flaps L, one or two at a time, and press them into place by using a tool (a dull table knife is good) inserted from below and inside the model to apply pressure while the glue sets. Finish by gluing the dark-gray bottom section to the sides of the nose as shown below. Figure 3 Nose assembly. Step 23 Score all folds on part 3, the car end and bogie, at the places indicated by arrows. Also score the red line on this part. As usual, do this before you cut out the part. Step 24 Cut out part 3. Also cut on the black lines up to the ends of the red line, so that the car end can fold on the red line. Mark all folds. Step 25 Spread glue evenly on the reverse side of the wheels, so that the wheels become folded and glued back-to-back as for the front bogie in Step 15. Step 26 Once the glue has dried, carefully cut out around the contour of the wheels, as in Step 16. Step 27 Cut out a small piece of cardboard to the size of the white area marked "Glue Cardboard Here". Glue this piece of cardboard to that spot, as in Step 17. Step 28 Glue flaps H to form the ends of the bogie box. Part 3 should look like figure 4 below when you are done assembling it. Figure 4 Rear bogie and car end assembly. Step 29 Glue flap E to the inside of the roof of part 1, so that the car end becomes attached to the car body. Step 30 Glue flaps F to the car sides one by one, followed by flaps G. As you do this verify the exact alignment of the flaps: the belt line (widest point) of the power car body should align with the horizontal gray lines on the car end, as shown in figure 5 below. Figure 5 fit of rear bogie into power car body. Step 31 Glue part 3 onto the bottom of the car as shown by the red arrow in figure 5 above. Make sure everything is aligned straight and square. Step 32 (Optional) cut out a piece of solid cardboard about 2 mm thick (3/32", glue together several layers if necessary) in the shape of a rectangle, with the same dimensions as the red marks on the underside of your model. Color the edges of this cardboard rectangle black, and glue it so it lines up with the marks. In the real Acela Express this is the main transformer which hangs down through the underframe. This completes the assembly of your Acela power car. TGVweb > TGV Models > Build Your Own > Instructions Back to Top