I picked up a few hopper cars (Bowser 100T types) from a hobby shop's "consignment" shelf.  While I definitely need the car type for my operations, the problem with these cars is that a previous owner used some kind of chemical to glue in the otherwise press-fit weight retainers.  (Probably Testor's cement.  Heck, I used to use that stuff for everything myself!  SPARINGLY, in my case; not so much with these hoppers...)

Anyways, does anybody have any tips for flattening these things out?  I've tried using hot water, with minimal success.  Am I doing something wrong?  Did the cement just do enough of a number that it's pretty much irrepairable?

Or, would I be better off trying to get some replacement parts from Bowser?  FWIW, these (as well as some others that I picked up used and already assembled) are also missing the inside braces.  Anybody have any luck getting parts like these from Bowser?

TIA,
\ Fuzzy /
-••----••-
DM Rail Group: South Fork • St. Louis Northern • Paris Coal Railway • Milwaukee Franklin & Norway