So the fiddly bits! I really enjoy making things like these, proving to myself what is possible with Plasticard and my limited skill set.

So to begin with a little set of concrete stairs. Pretty easy to make, just quite small.

I start with the sides, remembering to take off the the thickness of the plasticard for the tread and riser so that I don't end up with a staircase 1mm further forward or higher than I intended

These are to give you an idea off the size of this little thing, and some of the mess I work in!

So all the risers are added first

Then the treads. Note that some of these are not quite flush with the risers, but this is easy to correct with a file if you can keep hold of the stairs!

Then a little trial placement on their new home...

Then for the long set of wooden stairs. These are made from 20thou plasticard, and are still pretty small! Careful marking out first, with a technical pencil and square.

Then more careful cutting

Then I glued the bottom set of stairs in place and the two stringers. I had to be really careful to ensure that the stringers were straight as its easy to get a slight bend in the plastic when its as thin as this

The little box that the glue pot is in is something I threw together out of a few scraps of plasticard because I am so good at knocking the glue over. And there is nothing worse than knocking glue over a model you've spent hours on, and its so easy to do! It effectively makes the base of the bottle larger, so it takes a lot more to knock it over, and I haven't managed to since I made it! Thoroughly recommend throwing one together with a few odd bits you have lying around!

Then I added all the treads to the staircase, starting at the bottom and working my way up. Nothing too difficult, just spots of glue and the use of some tweezers. No risers this time, it being an outdoor wooden staircase

Then it was onto the balustrades, these were to be nice and simple, three square posts on each side, with a single simple handrail. The posts I cut from 40thou plasticard, cheaper than buying a square section and with such short pieces, you can't tell if its not exactly perfect.

I added all the posts quite quickly, and got the handrail on before the posts were completely set, so I could still adjust their alignment slightly. This helped to make sure the tops of them would line up just right with the angle of the handrail. First one...

Then the other...

A few pictures not on my workbench. You can see the pad stones for the beams quite clearly in these photos as Ive put the beams to one side so I dont damage them.

I then used some odd scraps of 40thou to put the bank of earth in against the wagon ramp. It got a little fiddely around the stairs, but as it will all get painted over and then covered with muck, you wont be able to see the joins later on.

Ok, so now even smaller bits! Can you guess what these are?

Here is me filing out the insides of one of them to make the hole a little larger, 2mm diameter was my aim.

Well they're very rudimentary bearings. And they go with this little assembly of pieces.

And then they very carefully all went together like this. Lots of work with tweezers!

Well, if you haven't guessed yet, here it is in place. Its the drop down platform for the Coal Hole. This was used so that the shed staff could get the coal which was put in barrows of some description into the bunkers and tenders of engines easily, much easier to tip it straight down than have to throw it in! It was hard to get any photos of these, so its my best educated guess. But just encase someone provides me with or I come across more information, I've made the whole thing a push fit into the slot in the wall, so it can be replaced if it turns out I was way off target! That should also make it far easier to paint too.

And yes it does lower, I don't intend to hook it up to a servo or anything though, I think that's going a little too far for me right now... One day, maybe...

Anyway, thats all for now! Comments and thoughts are always welcome, see you next time!