Engine casing (formed)
Entry posted by Kenton
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A quick thank you to those who seem to pop back to this blog everyday and are following despite all the yeas and nays in favour of and against these blogs. A special thanks to Michael Edge for putting up with all the criticism of his kit, yet still continuing to post useful hints.
I have to add that this kit really does not take this length of time to build. I never build one kit at a time and especially when stopping to photograph and describe every step, there is even more delay. The only time schedule I have for this kit is Easter 2010 and I am well ahead of that at the moment.
Having said that all is going well and your continued interest helps to spur me onwards and to keep the blog moving.
The engine casing was formed in much the same way as the cab roof by rolling the top of the bonnet (middle plain section of the etch) using a 25mm tube on a mouse mat and then bending the sharper corners over a 1.5mm rod. The instructions suggest annealing the metal - I think this just not really needed in 4mm and with this part especially as there are half-etched lines to assist in a smooth bend. As with the cab roof a slight over bend helps the following steps. Because the sides are now complete this process results in no distorting along its length. The result should sit perfectly true on a flat surface.
Remove the casing former [24], the fuel tank front [25] and the casing front [30] from the fret and tidy the edges. The former has 4 register holes that, in theory at least, will align to the cab front. Forget them, I tried but then remembered that we had to file off the bottom of the cab front to get it to fit over the half-etch in the baseplate. With this realism, it also dawned on me that the cab could be ever so slightly out of vertical and therefore not to use it as a datum line to attach the engine casing or the baseplate might not remain flat.
Use the former to check the bends on the engine casing but do not solder in place yet. With the baseplate on a flat surface the engine casing was positioned around it and up against the cab front. With the slight over bend it should grip the edges of the baseplate. Note the deliberate etched indent along the edge fits over the base of the exhauster box making a precise fit. The casing was then soldered to the baseplate. I found that there was just sufficient space to reach in with my 25W Antex iron through the front of the casing and through the open fuel tank area. But it was not easy and I can see why, with a bigger iron, the method given in the instructions would be better followed. The casing was not soldered to the cab front at this time.
Next the fuel tank [26] was removed from the fret and the tags tidied. We are warned in the instructions that one of the handrail holes is missing, so this needs to be drilled out as 0.4mm. This error and that of the recess on the cab front are only minor and may well be corrected on future production runs. The fuel tank was then also bent to shape using the 25mm tube and 1.5mm rod as for the cab roof and engine casing.
The fuel tank front [25] was then soldered in place on the baseplate and to the back of the engine casing. This was possible through the front of the casing and from underneath.
There remained some flex in the structure at this point as the cab was still not connected to the engine casing. However, that was about to change and to ensure that the baseplate remained flat on the footplate the whole assembly, baseplate, footplate and frames were bolted back together.
The casing former was then soldered in place on the front of the cab and also soldered to the back edges of the engine casing.
This locked the cab and engine casing into a rigid structure and so the superstructure can again be unbolted from the footplate.
The formed fuel tank wrapper was then squeezed into place over the formers. This would have been easier if I had not already fitted the horns, but it was still possible. The fuel tank wrapper was then soldered in place on the formers and its bottom edge on the edge of the engine casing. This was best done from inside but it can get a bit messy as there is little room to manoeuvre the soldering iron. But to be honest I don't care what it looks like inside.
The exhauster casing [27] was then folded up and fitted to the baseplate, followed by the top [28] and the end overlays [29] with the louvres at the top.
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