Bit of progress on the Met 'E'.... actually quite a lot!

The first thing I did was to build up the coal bunker with 0.5mm plastic sheet. I then added the tops to the wheel splashers using paper.

Now the next thing to do was to paint the model.... two coats of Humbrol #73 provided the crimson lake livery whilst the tank tops and smokebox were painted up in Humbrol #33. The boiler was then given a wash with mekpak to smooth out the lingering roughness to the filler I'd applied earlier.

Now came a bit of a conundrum. The drawing I was working off showed the loco in as-built condition, with condensing pipes from the smokebox into the tanks. However, photographs taken as early as 1908 suggest that the condensing apparatus was removed within a decade of construction.... so what replaced it? The preserved example has nothing above the tanks, and photographic evidence suggests that this was the case from the 1950s onward.

However, photographs of the 1920s/ 30s show a toolbox and an air cylinder (Westinghouse equipment perhaps?) on the sidetankon the driver's side. So I decided to finish my model in this condition. Firstly I fitted a steampipe down the stoker's side, fabricated from 30A fusewire, then used bits from the spares box to fit the toolbox and air cylinder- the toolbox being a whitemetal lump from an old kit and the cylinder from an old Ratio carriage kit.

Painted up again after some more filling and filing, and onto final finishing. Lining and numbering came from Radley Models- highly recommended for modellers of the Metropolitan and London Underground. Finally, a coat of stain varnish and some crushed coal to finish off.

Onto the next project!