Well I didn't have anyone tell me any different so I just took a wag and thought it would work and it did. So this is how I fixed my problem with the Atlas 2 part shell on my Dash 8-40BW. These are the loops that are on the top half of the shell that you are supposed to squeeze in ward to release the shell from the frame. There are 6 of them. Good luck doing that with one hand. I glue the two shell halves together to make a permanent one piece shell. Then I clipped the loops at an angle so I could still use then to line up the shell and frame. I put it back together using just the couple boxes and screws to hold the shell on like Athearn does and it worked perfectly. I found at the long nose end the box was just a bit loose so I slipped a box cover from a Kadee box in there to take up the slack. Works perfect, np slack and now I have a one piece shell ready for weathering. I hope this helps anyone else that is facing the same problem. Thanks David.
