I tackled the boiler today. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but by being methodical and careful, things went well.
The client agreed that, what with one thing and another, some level of compromise with this build is inevitable. The potential variance in lengths of parallel and coned section from original to rebuilding was felt to be interesting, but not really worth the time and effort of worrying about.
So, plan A was put into effect. The firebox was formed up first, inside out so that unhelpful etched detail was lost. As usual, I annealed the parts, and with the help of the kit formers made the curves in the right places. Soldering them in place tried my patience - I could, as many modellers, do with at least one more pair of hands, preferably in heat-proof material!
I've come across a couple of flaws in the sheet brass in this kit. It takes the form of a delamination. Most of it has been hidden inside fabrications, but with the firebox inside out the flaw was on show. I was careful not to make it worse, and subsequently flooded it with solder and cleaned it up. The coned section followed in quick order. Time to consider the front parallel section and smokebox.
I used the kit part as a basic template, aided by my scaling from the photo in the previous post. I chose nickel silver sheet over brass, mainly because I had some suitable thickness sheet, and I felt it would respond better to my attempts at soldering the brass formers in place. Locations for the chimney and handrail knobs were marked out and dimpled with a 0.7mm bit as a marker. I think a proper hole would have left a weak area that may have influenced the subsequent rolling, so preferred to drill things out later.
Two formers are provided in the kit. One is the front face of the smokebox, the other is a segment for the rear end. I created a new one for the back end of the full round section. This proved a good move. It took me a while to roll the shape. I rather think I need some proper training in the use of my rolling bars.
Incredibly, my scratchbuild effort fitted almost perfectly. A little filing at the tank fronts, and the saddle sheets will need more forming, but I am pretty pleased. Having noted the prototype shows little surface level difference between the cladding and the smokebox wrapper, I opted to score a demarcation around the barrel to help me with painting later. With hindsight, I ought perhaps have scored a little deeper!
Anyway, I will sort out the smokebox saddle, and drill out the various holes, and then I think I'll call that a successful day.