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I've left the cartazzi assembly for now but will be taking up Dave Holt'suggestion to add the spare sides to increase the bearing surface and also negate the need for washers. So pressing on with the tender inner frames, here is one side completed with the keeps in place and the other ready for the axle slots to be widened. And both sides completed. And with the frame spacers soldered in place. I think I mentioned before that the etchings are very thin and need extra care to avoid distortion. With the tender frames, it creates a problem at the front end as the spacer has a cut out for the draw bar. The gap means that there is a lack of support at the top of the spacer which has a tendency to bend with handling. I will probably add the brake gear cross shaft temporarily to avoid further flexing. Here's one axle added to check the free vertical movement in the slots. They have all been fettled and operate smoothly. Cheers, Peter

Morning Dave, Yes that's a good idea. I was keeping the narrow one as a fall back in case things went pear shaped, but as you say I can add them to the sides and dispense with the washers. The vertical slot was widened with a 3/16 chainsaw file. I normally use it to "ream" the holes in 3/16 brass bushes. They do the job better than the 3/16 parallel reamer which I have. I thought about getting a 7/32 reamer but they are very expensive, and then I read somewhere on here that the chainsaw file was good for this application. I got a pack of 3 on ebay for a few quid. So one slot down and seven to go! Cheers, Peter

Bob, Thanks for the photo of 60051. Feel free to post a few more. From what I've read about Finney kits, it's seems that due to their complexity, to avoid cock ups, it's best to follow the sequence of events as laid out in the instructions. With that in mind, I've gone off on a tangent. I wanted to settle how I was going to resolve the issue of the axle for the cartazzi slider. Having given it some thought and checked the diameter of the holes for the bushes for the Finney type axles, I decided it was possible to use the wheels that came with the kit. Here's what I settled on. There are three sets of frame spacers sizes provided in the kit, large for scale 7, medium for finescale, and a third narrower set. I'm using the middle size ones and the bogie and cartazzi set up have corresponding size spacers. First the axle bush holes in the slider were "reamed" slightly to accept the 3/16 axles without brass bushes. Then the slider sides from the scale 7 size were separated from the base and filed to fit inside the sides of the medium one I'm using. These were soldered in place to give more of a bearing surface for the axle, and the the top of the slider solder to the slots in the top of the unit to complete. Here is the medium slider base, top and the large base with the sides separated. And lined up with a spare axle for soldering. And soldered. The double thickness sides should provide enough bearing surface for the axle. It's not possible to fit a 3/16 brass bearing as there is not enough metal in the slider sides to enlarge the hole to fit them. Here it is with the wheels in. That solved, I'm now going to build the tender. I made a start on the inner frames and here's where I got to before I ran out of time. The upper one is just snipped from the fret and the lower one has been de-cusped, had the lower part of the slots folded over and the front slot enlarged to take a 3/16 axle. The right angled tabs at the bottom of the slots will be folded over to make the axle keeps, once all the slots are enlarged. So far so good and I'm now happy that I can use all the wheel sets that came with the kit. Cheers, Peter

Hi Bob, Thanks for the info. I've got all the relevant reference works but I'll bear in mind what you say when doing the research. Rob, Yes I got lucky as I just stumbled across it when I was looking for drawing instruments which I collect. No idea how, but I then quickly checked the cost of the wheels, the F7 Duchess and V2 (to get an idea of what a new one might cost), and based on that decided that assuming all was OK, is was worth a punt. Fortunately apart from a slight issue with smaller wheels, all is in order. Looking forward to destroying those beautiful etchings! Cheers, Peter

Hi Tony, I certainly never expected to buy any of the Finney Pacifics (including the V2). I was thinkng I might stretch to the GWR large prairie when it's re-introduced by F7, but I just happened to end up in the right place on eBay at the right time. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can make of a high end kit. Jeff, Thanks but I am aware that some had disc and some spoked tender wheels. Need to do the research before deciding. As to changing the axles, that's not possible as the 5/32 axles and wheels are a push fitting. Slaters might swap the trailing wheel set for a nominal fee, or if not I don't mind buying one set if necessary, the others I can use. If I knew somebody with a lathe I could ask them to turn down one of the 3/16 axles for me. Bob, I agree the kit is superb. I'm in two minds whether to build it or frame the lot and hang it on the wall. It would certainly be more of a work of art than anything Tracy Emmin could do! Cheers, Peter

Having recently completed the building of my Gladiator Duchess and with my L1 from the same stable going through the paint shop, my thoughts turned to what to get next. I was leaning towards the Scorpio Std 3 2-6-2 when purely by chance, I came across this unbuilt Martin Finney A3 plus non corridor tender and a full set of Slaters wheels for a very good price on ebay. Long story short, the Std 3 will have to wait. Having said the price was very good, it was still a considerable outlay and therefore a bit of a gamble, although the seller stated that as far as was know it was complete. I have checked all the etchings , castings and other bits and bobs and all is there. There is a slight problem with the Slaters wheels which I was aware of before purchasing, but I'll come to that. Here are the loco etchings. There was some minor damage to a few of the smaller more delicate parts which I have easily straightened and which will cause no issues in construction. And the castings etc. plus the wheels. No problem with the driving wheels, but the leading and trailing wheels are the standard type with 3/16 axles instead of the special Finney variety with 5/32 axles. I am confidant I can use the leading wheels without problem by opening out the holes in the bogie frame to accept larger bushes. I am not sure if that is the case with the trailing wheels as I do not think there is enough metal on the cartazzi slider arrangement to take 3/16 bushes, but we will see. Now the tender etches. There is an extra loose part in this photo which is a duplicate of the coal hole and front panel. This was taped over the corresponding part on the fret but is slightly different in terms of having some extra tabs. I believe this may have been added to correct an error in the original artwork but as yet my scanning of the instructions has not spotted any reference to it. As with the leading and trailing wheels, the tender wheels are the 3/16 axle standard Slaters type. They are also spoked wheels not disc. However, I believe I can use these also by widening the slots in the inner tender frame to except the larger diameter axles, and converting them to discs should just be a matter of making some disc inserts. My initial impression of the kit was WOW!! I never expected to ever purchase a Finney pacific kit due to the high cost which puts them outside my budget, or at least what I am willing to spend on a locomotive kit. In this case, with the inclusion of the wheels (even if I replace the leading and trailing wheels), the cost of the loco and tender works out at less than the cost of the Gladiator Duchess, so I am very lucky to have spotted it. However, some of the etchings are very thin and quite fragile, so extra care will be needed to avoid damage. I was also surprised to see that the couplings are supplied as etchings, and the brake rigging and crossbeams are very thin and will need replacing or beefing up, but we'll see. Luckily I had already amassed all the relevant works of reference mentioned in the instruction and I have found and bookmarked three builds on here, which is always useful. I need to get my head around all the information and decide which prototype to model. However, my preference is for single chimney variant running in BR Green in the 1950s. Happy days! Cheers, Peter

Hi Mick, The 20 looks good. The tiny beads are called Liquid Beadz and I got them from Hobbycraft @ 10 years ago. I have looked a few times since and they don't stock them any more. I just did a quick google search and found them on the below link. https://www.stencilsearch.com/ideas/techniques/liquid-beadz/ Further searching may turn up a stockist. The tiny beads were in a water based gel-like clear adhesive for some sort of crafting application. I put them in a jam jar and rinsed them under a running tap until all the glue was washed away. Then I carefully poured away the water from the jar and ran the beads onto a few layers of kitchen tissue and left them to dry. I've used them on my RB Merchant Navy and the L1 and they look really good. Cheers, Peter

Hi Brian, Very nice work. Glad you were able to tweek the valve rod. I agree with Jeff, the return cranks should be behind the wheel centre not ahead of it. I assume the position of the Speedo crank is only temporary as you have not connected the drive, as the crank should be in line with the centre of the wheel. Cheers, Peter

So back to the interesting stuff. I got some airbrushing and weather done on the L1, and also added the glazing bar the sight screens on the left hand side. Here's where it's at now. It looks a bit more like a loco that works for a living now, rather than posing about outside the paint shop all shiny and new. And on Mick's railway before the glazing was added and the valve gear toned down. Cheers, Peter

Hi Mick, Yes it's all your fault. If you hadn't shown me how to solder, I'd still be super detailing 4mm rtr with super glue or building white metal kits with epoxy! Mind you, the quality of rtr 4mm has come a long way since then. The 3 and 4F bring back memories. Both on West Coast chassis kits as I recall, but isn't the Jinty on a Connesieur one now? The Jinty is made from plastic card and aluminium sheet, and the boiler is plastic tube that a guy at work in the maintenance dept turnded down on the lathe to the right diameter. Happy days. The Lima 4F still looks good on it's own but of course is underscale and looks small next to the kit built ones you have. Anyway, next up will be the Finney A3, or I might leave it in the box and scratch build one of these instead. Hahaha. Cheers, Peter

Many thanks Dave, Rob and Tony. Much appreciate the kind words. The masking tape makes lining the panels so much easier. The hardest part is the boiler bands and cylinder wrappers, putting them on "free hand" with nothing to butt them up against. One of the lines on the right hand cylinder took about twenty minutes to get right. Drove me mad, so I can well understand why you send yours away Tony. Cheers, Peter

Well Jim, it does look more elegant than one would, but I guess I am just tight! Cheers, Peter

Hi Jim, Nice work. Is there any particular reason why you use 4 bolts to retain the cylinders instead of one bolt in the centre? Cheers, Peter

Hi David, It's me again. Now that you've pointed me to your blog you'll be hearing lot from me. Incredible work in this scale! I'd love to see what you would do with a 7mm kit. Please increase the resolution of your photos so we can all see more of your excellent work. Cheers, Peter

Hats off to Fox transfers. I ordered the sheet of corner pieces on Monday night and they arrived today, so I have been able to complete the lining and lettering. I have also chemically blackened and fitted the buffers and couplings. Here's the front end. And the rear. Left side. After painting the injector feed pipes copper, I painted the injectors with Liquid Leaf Brass this morning. It dries very quickly so I was then able to tone them down later today with a dirty black wash. Right side. And a few more gratuitous shots from different angles. The gloss black shows every spec of dust. I'll need to ensure I brush/blow it away before lacquering. Then it's onto the weathering, add the glazing and then it's done and dusted, apart from the smoke box number plate and works plate. I must get them ordered. It's been a really enjoyable build as has the Duchess from the same supplier. I can shortly move on to painting the Duchess and once that's done I can start my next build, a Martin Finney A3. I have recently picked up a complete untouched loco and tender, including wheels from eBay at a very good price. (Sorry David, I couldn't resist it, so the Princess Royal will have to wait). Cheers, Peter

Hi Dave, Thanks for pointing me to your blog in the last PM. The Caprotti 5 is a stunning piece of work. Considering our conversation in the PMs, the level of detail is incredible. I simply could not achieve that in 4mm. Fantastic! It's very rare I look at blogs on here, but it's clear (if yours is anything to go by), that I'm missing some excellent stuff. Cheers, Peter

Perfect Rob. Many thanks, Peter

Hi, Mick has pointed out that I have spelt the word gauge wrong in the heading. Anybody know if and how I can correct it? I don't want to look like the dummy that I am! Cheers, Peter

Nice work Mick. Get your finger out. You need to finish it before Rob Pulham finishes his 06(8F)! Cheers, Peter

So the left side is now completed and the right side is well on it's. I just need the corner sheet from Fox and I can then complete the lining. Here is the completed left side. I have also painted the feed pipes copper on the injectors and will dirty them down with a black wash later. Here's how I made the double bend next to the cab look out on the bunker. As mentioned before there is a tight radius bend cut in half diagonally and a wide radius bend trimmed at each end to slot in. Here they are cut and laid in place. And after applying. And with the gaps filled and the tape removed. And after touching up the joints and adding the numbers. It will need further touching up tomorrow after the paint is dry. Here's a shot of the completed left hand side. Cheers, Peter

One further point I overlooked to mention is that the handrail under the cab windows is set too low down. I only noticed today when studying the photos in Yeadons. Too late to correct it now, but just a heads up to anybody who has one lurking in the cupboard, and something for David Hill to add to his list for when he is able to update the instructions. Cheers, Peter

I have made further progress with the decorating and have now completed one side of the loco bar the numbering. Here's the tanks marked out with masking tape and the corner transfers added. After that it's a matter of filling in the gaps with the straight lines. I have only been doing about 1.5 inch length at the most and have found it's much easier to apply them. Once laid down on the model I use a wide flat brush and cocktail stick to move into position. I use dividers to measure the lengths required to fill the final gap, and mark the required length on the transfer as it is easier and quicker than measuring with a ruler. Here's the lining on the tanks and bunker competed. Some touching up the joints with paint using a triple 0 sable brush is required, particularly the series of curves on the bunker by the rear of the cab look out. This took a standard "right angle" corner piece cut in half a 45 degrees at the top and side, plus a cut down large radius bend to in-fill the gap. This is the other side ready to start adding the lining transfers. I don't have enough of the right angle bends so have ordered another sheet from Fox. After adding the logo to the completed left side, I couldn't resist putting the chassis in for a preview. Here's a shot of the cylinders. And some further views of the left side. Here it is with the prototype photo from Yeadon's Register. 67742 was the only one to have the large 28" logo applied, albeit only for 2-3 months, but to my eye this is much more pleasing on the large flat tanks than the 15.5 inch one fitted later and to the rest of the class. Definitely getting there now. Cheers, Peter

Hi Brian, Here's how the pipes go through the running plate on Canadian Pacific. And my rendition on my Acorn RB Merchant Navy. Hope these help. Is there any way to raise the fixing brackets to level the valve rod? It would be a shame to leave it like that on such a fantastic build. To me that grates even more than the thin delivery pipes, which I did not spot until you mentioned it. Dave, What ever you spot that is wrong on my MN, it's way too late for my to correct, although I could invest in the Finney 7 overlays to improve the wheels. Cheers, Peter

Hi Brian, Lovely piece of work. Good to see that you build propper engines sometimes! The Finney overlays for the wheels look very nice. Just an observation though. The valve rod on the right side is sloping, so is the hanging link bracket set too low or has it come adrift? Cheers, Peter

I have finally got back at the "bench" after the Christmas interlude and have now got the brushwork on the L1 completed and made a start on the lining (Fox). Here's the back plate after toning down the bright brass and copper with a thin wash of Black 85. And a cruel close up of the safety valves and whistle. Here's a shot with the back plate place in the cab. Again I've given the floorboards a thin wash of black but I think it needs a bit more. And the lining so far. I've done the boiler bands and made a start on the running plate valances. The corners where I have mitered the joints will need filling in with paint. Here are a trio of "pug" also going through the paint shop. They have had a coat of satin lacquer which has come out a bit dull, but should be OK after weathering. Slaters Caladonian pug built and painted by me with some brush painting and the numbering by my brother Mick (they are all his). Sevenscale L&Y pug completely built by Mick with only the spraying done by me. And the Agenoria Avonside (Trojan) started by me but completed by Mick. Spraying by me and brush work by Mick. Finally a J&M 4F which has been in the pipeline for some time. Mick inherited it from a friend built and painted, but it ran badly and was very poorly painted. His friend had just started kit building and was very inexperienced. I stripped the paint and completely dismantled it and rebuilt it from scratch. Again the spraying and weathering is by me and the brush work and numbering is by Mick. I've made a start on the weathering using powders but I think I've gone too far on the tender and may clean some of. The under frames and buffers also need some work with the airbrush and powders. He already had a 4F which I built for him from the Connoisseur kit. This has the tender with the tool lockers on the front but the JM came with the earlier version so is a bit different. J & M Connoisseur Cheers, Peter