The lifting brackets are made up from 2 parts, a backing plate which needs to be 'riveted' and folded 90' and the bit with the hole in. A little fiddly perhaps but quite satisfying once soldered. I will leave these off until the bufferbeams have been painted and striped, then superglue them on.

The top steps were added next. These fit into grooves etched int the frames and are laminated from 2 layers, the top layer having the anti slip checker plate etched in. I held both layers together in self gripping tweezers and ran solder around the edges before soldering to the frames. The RH step is fitted in this photo and the LH step can just be seen on top of the rubbing stick.

The lower steps are again laminated but this time are on a stretcher bar and fit under the frames. Once soldered in place the middle bar can be cut out, necessary on the front to access the body attchment screws. Again in the photo the RH steps are in place and the LH ones can be seen waiting to be fitted.

Both sets of steps fitted in this photo. The bottom steps are a single layer and are rather fragile looking so I shall fit these later on to prevent damage.

Also seen in this photo are the bases for the cab and bonnet, bolted to the footplate with 8 14BA screws and nuts. The bodywork is seperate from the frames and is soldered to these bases. The footplate is greased to prevent the bases getting soldered in place then the nuts are soldered in place.

So far everything has gone together nicely. Cab next.