I only have experience with

I would love to see them

I would love to see what you've accomplished!

How do I go about doing this most effectively?

  I start by cutting off as much as possible with an exacto blade( get a narrow chisel blade for those areas where a regular blade wont fit)  be sure to not cut too deep and make a gouge in the car body. Once I've cut most of the detail off I switch to a single edged razor blade and scrape the rest off flush. Practice scraping with the razor blade held almost perpendicular to the car body, scrape with a back and forth movement and at different directions to avoid digging little ditches or holes in the plastic. Just use your finger tips when scraping and keep your hand solid on the surface. A few minutes of practice will figure it out. .DaveB

Try This

I like using curved scalpel-type blades.  They lack hard edges adjacent to the part of the blade that touches the surface, so you're less likely to gouge it.  X-Acto # 10, 12, 22 and 25 are examples (I prefer the 10 and 22).  If you can get some, actual medical scalpels are great for this kind of work.  Some have very small blades that can reach into tight areas.

Rob, I never used the curved

IrishRover, as soon as I get

The first three are Accurails

The first three are Accurails and the last one an old Athearn. I did these back in the days when there was hardly anything out there in models prototypical for CNR,

 r

Micro-Mark Tool

Micro-Mark sells a tool made just for this purpose. It works pretty well, if used carefully, and the right way around. It removes grab irons etc without gouging the surface.

Brent

Calgary

Brent do tell. What is the

Brent, that sounds

Brent, that sounds interesting, what pray tell do they call this tool? I might have to obtain one as well as it will likely be very useful for removing details on other things as well.

Rob in Texas

Look Here

http://www.micromark.com/4mm-plastic-modelers-chisel,7584.html

B

micro mark product numbers

Micro Mark sells two tools for the job.

They are called Plastic Modeler's Chisels.

The 4mm one is part #80893 and the 2mm one is part number 82709.

Each lists for $20.55, but they are on sale for $17.45 now.

Haven't tried one yet, but they are on my list to buy.

Chisel Tools

That's the one in the link. I have the larger 4 mm one but now they have the smaller 2mm version which would be better fro taking off molded on grab irons. Just make sure you use it the right way around, it seems counter intuitive, but you use it with the ground side down, that way if you slip it goes up and away from the surface rather than digging into it.

Brent

I use these

I use this type of nail clippers for getting off hunks or clobs.

D.A.

Sprue Cutters

I had some success using Sprue Cutters. I trim off most of the mass first with xacto no 11 blades then finish with the Sprue cutters.

Grind/file down the corners of the xacto blade so it is harder to gouge the surface.

I use the B&B Hobby Supplies Sprue Cutters available through Intermountain. These are amongst my favorite tools in my tool box,

http://www.intermountain-railway.com/bandb.htm

OKGraeme

I thought this sounded familiar

Here is the same basic question posed in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Check these out - they may have additional help:

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/removing-molded-plastic-details-from-box-cars-12187140

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/another-tool-question-12188766

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/need-advice-on-removing-stock-grab-irons-12190493

The Micro-Mark chisel tool is one of the recommendations.

Micro Mark chisel is best in my book

Micro-Mark Chisel

This is my weapon of choice for initial carving, the 4mm Micro-Mark #80893:

I highly recommend both the 4mm and 2mm for carving off cast details.

...

I use #5 blades for a number of things.

micro mark tool