Weekly update on the DA Princess Royal, it's all about putting the flesh on the bones now. I made a new bogie pivot stay, the kit one is half way up the frames so the fixing screw pokes down between the inside crossheads
Like the real thing it has a depressed centre so the bogie will need modifying as well, in fact, very little of the kit bogie will remain I suspect. The depressed part is important from low side views as it's a big light blocker and gives the area a sense of mass. I've also added a cosmetic 3D bogie pivot casting, you can see the ribs and such like through the holes in the frames so worth adding as a little detail.
I also added the reversing lever weigh shaft internal bearings and will be adding the cranks for the transfer rods to the inside lifting links nearer the front. To the rear a 3D rear boiler support stay, there's a bit to go on top that actually supports the boiler but I'll add that once the boiler and footplate are fitted.
Underneath, four of the six axle boxes, horn guides and springs are fitted, not the rear horn guides are different and are near copies from the Royal Scot class. The intermediate axle has two chassis bracing tie rods each side and those fit in the little mickey mouse ear tabs, the tie rods are 2 mm OD and the hole 1mm OD so I'll turn some up and drop them in; a dab of solder on the end of the shafts will bond with the frames and make the whole lot rigid.
Beware the valve guide blocks and front castings, they're just too long, the top two are turned down to the correct length, the bottom two are from the kit, this impacts the visuals and motion as the valve die/slide block is in the wrong place, it also makes the casting foul the slide bars so you need a bit of jiggery pokery to get it all to fit. You'll also need to open the hole out in the cylinder rear face (upward and outward) so that the casting then fits in the correct place.