GWR Bird class continued
Progress continues on the Bird class, proving if nothing else that I need to refine my riveting techniques, but I hope the overall effect will be satisfactory once the frames are painted
and less attention-grabbing, as they are in plain brass.
The major work on the body is now done, with the cutaway parts of the boiler and firebox reinstated with plastic card and filler, and as seen by the safety valve, I've begun to
put back some of the detail.
Minor gaps around the base of the lost-wax safety valve were filled in using Mr Surfacer, a very useful product perhaps more widely used in the aeromodelling community than
railway modelling, but well worth investigating. Unlike normal plastic filler, it's more like a thick paint that you can apply quite precisely with a brush. It's excellent for dealing
with minor seams in wing roots and so on, but also handy for these kind of job. It's very hard on brushes but I've found if they're cleaned thoroughly immediately after use,
they do survive!
The etched cab sheets are from Branchlines and fit neatly over the original mouldings, but they don't correct the error in those, in that the sheets don't extend far enough back. I
didn't bother fixing this issue as it's never bothered me particularly with the City.
With the boiler off, it's clear that there's a lot of room for weight over the drivers:
In fact it's even better (or worse!) than it appears as the body will still need to be packed up a mm or so to allow ample bogie swing. In any case, virtually the whole of the firebox and rear part of the boiler can be stuffed with weight without any risk of the loco being nose-heavy.
Once the boiler is fitted permanently, the smokebox saddle can be filled and smoothed over to eliminate the join, and various other bits will be tidied up. I think it'll be a bit easier to get the weights in before I do that, though.
This is a jolly fun project and while there will be a fair few compromises that would be too much for the purists (wrong boiler, wrong footplate step position, cab side sheets, ride height etc) I will be more than happy to have another outside-framed 4-4-0, and which will be something just that little bit different compared to a City.
Plates were purchased at RailEx - and yes, it's Bullfinch!
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