I just stumbled over Dave Parkins' MMP 1/108 kit while I was searching for something else. I confess to being a wagon enthusiast. The 1/108 and its brothers and sisters are one of then signature items of my chosen period. A super detailed 7mm 1/108 in brass - how could l not buy one instantly? It was love at first sight. And here's the story...

I started on 14th Feb when I probably should have been paying attention elsewhere.

Tools for the job, accumulated over the years. Even though there's a hoard of them the stuff listed here is what tends to do 95% of everything.

• Files - 2 little and one big.
• 40W soldering iron.
• 25W soldering iron.
• Paste flux (my Dad's old tin of Fluxite from probably the bronze age), phosphoric acid flux.
• RSU - an old Exactoscale unit - isn't essential but makes some things much easier.
• Solder, not fussy, using some RS 60/40 tin/lead thin solder wire - rarely find the need for exotic stuff or temperature step solders.
• Triangular scraper, faster and cleaner way of removing excess solder - if you've never used one I thoroughly recommend trying one.
• Stanley knife and small square of lead sheet for cutting parts from the fret.
• Scalpel with 10A blade, for poking things and holding things in position during soldering. Actually there's a low rent, grubby scalpel for poking and soldering, and a clean, sharp one for cutting things. The blades get handed down one to the other as they lose their edge.
• Small vice - actually my late Dad's vice. Somewhat beaten up and the jaws aren't exactly square, but it works, and there's sentimental value.
• Small toolmakers clamp. Usually gets held in the vice above to act as a mini vice. Very good at holding the tiniest things. Precise and very hard jaws.
• Small square nosed pliers
• Tweezers - my late grandmother gave me these when she thought I needed to take up stamp collecting, about 45 years ago. Straight into the modelling box and never touched a penny black.
• Glass fibre scratch brushes, small, medium, large.
• Odd scraps of wet & dry paper.
• IPA for cleaning parts before soldering.
• Avonside hold & fold 5.5 inch version - again not essential but makes some etched brass work so much easier and faster.
• Engineers square
• GW Models rivet press - seemed like an extravagance when bought years ago (when we could scarcely afford it!). Great piece of kit.
  

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The first thing that struck me was the quality and detail of the etches. Beautifully laid out and presented, there's almost a Zen garden thing going on with a tidily arranged fret. Seems a shame to start cutting things out.

The instructions look comprehensive, cover several sides of A4 and there are decent diagrams. Dave Parkins emphasises the need to read and follow carefully. They assume a certain common sense and an ability to work things out - bad luck if you have neither. A familiarity with the anatomy of the 1/108 helps as well. As we'll see there are some tiny traps for the unwary to fall into.

I started with the chassis, because that's what comes first in the 'structions.

Parts 1,3,2a,2b remove the etch cusp for accurate fit.
Can miss the rivets on 2a, 2b if you wish, only seen from beneath!
Folding easily done with Avonside hold and fold tool. Get the folds square, necessary to make the chassis assemble accurately. Take the time to get parts to fit perfectly.
Soldering this lot. Don't tin the parts before soldering together. Solder in the half etch location grooves will prevent the parts fitting properly. Everything clean, 40W iron, phosphoric acid flux. Solder 3 to 1, then 2.
Get 2a, 2b the right way round. Look carefully at the instructions. Takes some mental dexterity this, because the diagram is drawn with the chassis right way up, yet you'll be assembling it upside down on the bench. Beware! This determines which end the brakes are relative to the end door. Important for 1/108. Probably unfixable later in the build.

First lesson : 7mm work takes more heat and uses more solder than 4mm work. Hardly ever use the 40W iron on 4mm work, but seems about right on this.
Solebars 3, file a tiny bit off the ends to fit neatly into the buffer beams. Make sure 3 fits in all the half etched guides. Tin the face of the sole bar and the back of the overlay so you can sweat them together in situ.

Solebar overlays. Tricky things overlays. Take a tiny amount off each end of the overlay to reduce the tendency of the overlay to expand against the buffer beams and buckle up when heated. Put the lower edge of the overlay in first, over the rivets in the lower flange of the solebar. Gently push the top into place. With two tinned surfaces in contact the best way of soldering the overlay in place is by RSU. Make sure all the slots are aligned and start with the RSU in the centre of the sole bar and work towards the ends. RSU on low setting, don't overheat the assembly and unsolder earlier joints.

Basic chassis done. Not bad for one evening's work. Scrub it up in hot water with a drop of Fairy. 4 hours.