The next, somewhat elastic, deadline for getting this 'ere 37 finished is now Guildex in Telford. I'm hoping that, even if it's not actually painted, it will be mechanically operational, which took a step closer today with the arrival of this, from the etchers:

I'm pleased with the way it's come out - pretty much everything has come out as planned, with the exception of the writing on the axlebox stirrups. I knew I was pushing my luck with it, as it was on the small side, but it isn't legible, as I'd hoped it might have been. On the plus side, you can see that something's there, so all is not lost:

This weekend will now mostly be spent beavering away in the workshop, to try and get everything ready for assembling the bogies. I just hope that there's no major flaws in the design!

There is a real sense of satisfaction when the shiny bit of metal, made from your artwork, comes through the door

In terms of major bodywork, the loco is mostly complete. I've got to trim some of the bufferbeams away to mount the ETH gear, but the other major job was to fill in one cut-out on the side of the loco, and make another.

This is one of those reasons that prototype photos are essential if you're trying to accurately recreate a particular loco - especially with 37's as they are a minefield of detail differences.

Whilst studying photos of 415, I noticed that the semi-circular cut-out present on the model isn't there. There is a recess behind the cut-out, to thin the skirt in the visble section, so this was filled with two bits of 0.25 x 3.2mm, cut to fit (2.9mm IIRC), superglued in place. Once dry, I filled the hole with Holts Knifing Putty - which I've discovered is better than most model fillers, and cheaper too!

The new aperture is based on dimensions scaled from a side-on photo of 415, found on the web. I marked the hole out, and started it off by drilling 1.5mm holes towards the corners. These were then joined, carefully, with a sharp scalpel. The hole was finished to size with small files.

I made a list of all the things that needed doing the other day - I won't be putting it here, as it's too long! Suffice to say that there is plenty to keep me occupied for a while

I've got a weekend to myself, so I'm hoping to achieve a lot this weekend - updates as and when