Sunday 27th March

The BA die for the buffer shanks hasn't been delivered yet. I really want to get on to the finishing and painting during this short Easter break. So plan B on the buffers, drill the shank and retain it with a wire pin.

Buffer housing castings fixed with epoxy after scrupulous cleaning and degreasing. Don't want them to come off in the cleaning tank. A little epoxy squeezes out around the joint, but no bother, it can be scraped off when set. The housings are fitted with the short rib to the top. The reason for the short rib, I think, was so that the gap between the end of the rib and the collar on the end of the casting could be used by the shunter as a fulcrum for a coupling pole. The pole wouldn't slide off the housing when Sammy Shunter leaned on it to flip a link off the hook.

Springs, buffers, preload, pins. Something's going to get shot across the room if I'm not careful. After a bit of fiddling around the buffers are all fitted and working.

The wheels and axle boxes go in for the last time, hopefully. Spring retainer pins in and secured with a tiny touch of solder on the inside bracket. And last of all the axle box retainers are soldered in place with a little solder paint and the RSU. And with that, the build is complete (unless anything falls off in the cleaning bath!).



2 hours. Total 93.5 hours.

​And in conclusion?

As first real attempt at 7mm it's been an eye opener. On reflection it wasn't the easiest place to start. On further reflection it was probably a challenging place to start. But I'm a real 1/108 enthusiast so I couldn't resist this kit. 93.5 hours of work at the bench, that's a lot for one wagon. To a degree it was experimental, there was a lot that was unfamiliar and I took some diversions of my own. When I build another one (and I certainly will) it won't take as long - I'd guess maybe 50 hours now I know how it works. And if I build two at a time, probably less than that - batch building always saves time. There is some detail that you could omit if you wanted to build faster, but that's hardly the point - if you don't want the detail and the character then buy a Parkside or an RTR Lionheart.

There are a lot of parts, and some of the assembly work on the fine detail I found hard going, close to the limits of my ability. I think you'd want some familiarity with working with etched brass before tackling this kit, and you need to be least proficient and tidy with the soldering iron. But if you have that experience then I don't think you'd find it a difficult kit to build. The quality of the design is first class and the fit of the parts is exemplary. There are a couple of things that I'd class as a brave experiment, the (not quite) working leaf springs for example. Minor points - the cast white metal parts were so-so; serviceable but I've seen better (and the kit deserves better), the springs provided are really too stiff, and I've no idea why steel pins are supplied instead of brass.

​The instructions are comprehensive and clear, with only a couple of minor errors (unless I misinterpreted them - always possible). I found it useful to have a few good prototype photos to hand to confirm some details.

​The kit stays true to the prototype construction to a high degree. Very few compromises are made to simplify the model. As a result I learned a great deal about how the prototype was made.

​Overall I've thoroughly enjoyed the build and the finished model in the brass certainly captures the character of the prototype. If I can do the painting and weathering justice then I'll have a real showpiece. I guess I'm a convert to 7mm and S7 then!