Not quite over the 120 days this time, but by 'eck I'm dragging this project out! It's still been a while since the last update though... I was hoping to have the first bogie finished by now, but I stumbled across a problem when it came to fit the brake gear that I hadn't taken into consideration.
The kit parts are nicely lost-wax cast brass, and sit very close to the wheels, which looks great and wouldn't be a problem with the resin 'lump' bogie supplied in the kit. However, it will cause problems with the etched construction of my modified version. I looked at various options, but have decided that making resin copies of the kit parts is the easiest option. If I do this again, I'll have to devise an insulated mount.
I've also now devised and fitted pickups to the first bogie. These consist of a piece of phosphor bronze strip, folded in half, with a contact pad of brass soldered to the end, to prevent pitting of the steel wheels. These mount on top of an L shaped piece of brass, soldered to the front face of the copperclad board, which is glued to the resin bogie cross member. The photos below probably show it better than I can describe it!
The pickup assembly in situ:
The assembly itself:
I was a bit worried that they'd look obviously out of place when viewed from the front, but I think they're OK, especially as all the hoses etc will be in the way at the front, and the fuel tanks at the rear:
It's looking quite crowded now, with the brake gear still to fit! The second bogie is also coming along nicely, and should be as complete as the first soon, especially if I get enough time over the weekend.
I do sometime wonder whether I might have been better off designing and manufacturing my own, complete, replacement units, but it's too late for that now!