They think it's all over - well, it's not yet!
I'm on to the backhead, and have been for a few days.
Top row, left to right: Backhead casting, regulator handle (referred to as throttle arm in the parts list) with "throttle gland", two sight glasses (neither had a full set of handles due to being miscast so locations had to be marked out and drilled and suitable size wire soldered in place to replace those that were missing), four oil boxes - there's no fixing spigot on these and neither are they marked up for drilling points for the pipework - see below, firebox door assembly, again with no positive locating spigot. Bottom row: Steam fountain and operating wheels, large gauge with casting underneath referred to as "Valve Fitting" - is this a reducing valve? - another "Valve Fitting" which I know from the drawings I have is the ejector with operating wheel, small gauge and underneath that the right hand side interior cab side gauge (not referred to in the instructions at all but obvious from drawings and photos of the cab interior).
In normal fashion all these needed drilling out to accept pipework. The back head needed holes drilling to accept the mounting spigots, present on everything except the oil boxes and firebox door assembly. All positions for the spigot mountings present on the castings are marked which should have made the job straightforward except that the one for top of the right hand site glass was not marked so had to be marked out and drilled. The very top hole in the mounting plate on the backhead casting, shown drilled here, is for the whistle operating rod/arm/string. I know not which and there is nothing obvious on photos or drawings. Frankly if no-one can suggest what this should be I'll ignore it - it'll be lost in the gloom at the top of the cab anyway and you'll not tell anyone, will you? Let's just keep that between ourselves. The oil boxes are a prominent feature of these back heads and there's no location at all identified for these.
This is the provided info. It's helpful insofar as it shows where the castings go, even though the casting on the right hand side is upside down, but there's no pipework. I really don't know whether it's reasonable to expect the backhead photo or a drawing to show the pipework layout but it is one area where info is usually rather limited and it would be helpful to show a suggested layout. The precise location of the firebox door assembly isn't marked on the backhead either.
This rather grotty section of a photo of the backhead shows the oil boxes. It appears from drawings that these are pretty much as existed on the locos in service - ie they are not an addition in preservation, nor do they appear to have been relocated. The holes to take the pipework have had to be marked out and drilled on each one, then those pipework connections made (see later) which took me most of yesterday afternoon.
So, having drilled out the mountings for the pipework I then cut (using the old rolling the tube under a Stanley knife trick) some 1.0 mm x 0.5 mm brass tube in to short sections to represent the mountings which will be enhanced (I hope) with the 16BA nuts to bodge something which I hope won't look a million miles from the real thing....... but then again, who'll see all this in the deep dark recesses of the cab anyway? Are we all mad?
Finally there are two really nice 6-way oilbox castings with no advice about where they go and nothing obvious in the photos. These may well not be fittings for the cab anyway. Suggestions about the probable location on a postcard to me at the home for deranged model builders, please.
So..... more to do but actually quite close to the end point. Pick ups have been fitted to the chassis which is currently stripped but will be reassembled for final testing. All in all a very satisfying build and a beautifully thought through kit. My small whinges about the instructions and particularly the back head have to be considered in the light of so much that is really positive and everything really does fit. I'd have struggled a bit without some reasonable previous kit building experience but don't let that put you off. Dave Sharp is the most helpful chap to talk to if you end up in a blind alley and I didn't have to call him at all about constructional issues on the loco as application of a damp towel to my fevered brow resolved anything about which I was initially doubtful.
I rate this (along with the Q1) very highly.
Brian