At the end of the last instalment, I'd managed to get a rolling chassis without too much difficulty.

The fun started when I tried to use a Markits single slide bar crosshead assembly. It just wouldn't fit. I couldn't adopt the usual dodge of widening the cylinders as their outside face is flush with the loco body. So another plan was hatched using the original Hornby slide bar and crosshead. I had to fit by trial and error, using epoxy to fix the cylinders and the slide bar assembly in place. But after a few false starts all was well.

I then turned my attention to the body, which was detailed with parts from the Albert Goodall range, now courtesy of RT Models. Various pipes and fittings have been added from a mixture of lost wax cast brass and white metal and representation of other pipework and linkages added from brass wire and scrap etch. There are still a few tweaks to complete some of these.

The body required a little repair, as removal of the original plastic name crests had resulted in a few holes and minor damage. 

As I'm modelling Watersmeet fairly late on it its life, the original tender body has been replaced with a cut down version and the cab side details removed. The body will need a respray and later box style lining to the cab side. The Irwell Press book is invaluable here for all the little details.

Reuniting the body with the chassis, I can see the front end is sitting a little high, but that shouldn't be too difficult to correct.

I do envy those who have managed to convert the original model to the wider finer gauges. I must have had a duff one (or been unable to do the conversion properly. Who knows...

But we're on the home stretch now!