Progress has been steady due to my temporary promotion to head cook and bottle washer but this afternoon I was able to fit the loco body after first making sure that the chassis and tender ran without issue. I still need to test run with the body in place and fit a few final details but she's certainly looking pretty.
Paint job by Warren Haywood
The photos are not in the best setting but I am not geared up to take photos of something so big in my light tent.
Still to fit are front buffer and coupling, backhead, cab doors, and glaze the cinder guards.
As an aside I was recently discussing cab dials with Chris Simpson and I thought that I would share my solution to the issue. I didn't send the backhead to Warren as I had already painted it and so I had largely forgotten about the dials themselves until test fitting the backhead after paint. They were still just brass turnings. So I carefully put in a spot of Vallejo grey primer into each face and let that dry for a couple of days then I added a top coat of Vallejo Arctic White. The discussion with Chris had been around printed ones but my struggle was really getting them cut out and although I am sure that I could have probably turned a too, to do it I elected to use a 0.5mm propelling pencil and draw in the graduations and hands of the dials and I am quite pleased with how they came out and will use the method again.
