Boris

Oh I will do, complete with photographic evidence! What fascinates me is the number of detail variations accross the class, mind you, there were an awful lot of them built.

Hi Andy, Thanks for the encouragement, looking at the photos this morning, they make it look awful, but in the flesh I'm quite proud of it! I reckon a set of oval ones at one end and standard ones at the other would probably be worth the wind up value for the rivet counters alone! Boris

Update time again. The rear buffer beam has been fitted out and attention had now been turned to the underside of the loco running plate. At the nose end, this entails a pair of air tanks with associated piping and drain taps for getting moisture out the system, and what is probably the radiator drain point. Even though the loco is vacuum only; the loco brakes themselves are air worked, hence the reservoir tanks. The tanks are easy to identify, being one of the biggest castings in the kits, and the only issue with everything else was identifying some of the pipes in amongst all the castings, all in all not too much bother. The cab end buffer beam was next, with an overlay and a fine flange requiring folding, vac bags added and them again the plumbing. The main loco brake cylinders are under the cab and the whole system is modelled along with the power shaft etc. We also have the fuel fill points at this end along with associated valves and fittings, its a bit of a maze to put together but well worth it. Then we move onto the top of the loco. The basic bonnet is only 4 pieces, front back and 2 sides, located by means of slots and tabs, easy enough to make up, with the sides aligning with grooves in the cab bulkhead. One thing I didn't know is that 08 sides taper slightly bottom to top, its very subtle, but they do, but this is easily achieved using the slots in the bulkhead as a guide. The front is easy enough to solder on, the etch grooves are so you can easily paint your hazard stripes by hand. Its had a couple of washes, but is due another one, as well as having run out of refills for my fibreglass pencil! I know the bonnet top is wonky, but it is not fastened on yet, just placed for a photo op!

Hey Hey We're the Monkees You really shouldn't need me to tell you who is responsible for this one!

Thanks for spotting that, I suppose I had to do something daft sooner or later, they are now on the top side of the bracket. I would imagine that Oleos are easier to acquire these days than spares for what are effectively steam age buffers. I'm getting a bit tempted to put some different buffers on this now, oval buffers on one end seems quite appealing, failing that MMP do some fantastic Oleo castings, choices choices!

Crikey, I'd forgotten about that one, I have a photo somewhere in the depths of the attic of that, didn't twig on until the film had been developed, looking back I think the Oleos were the ones with the quite large buffer faces on them. I've always wondered if some of the oval buffers are ex steam loco as they seem to share common fittings? Mind you, no wonder 08 buffers had a shorter than average shelf life, I remember one 08 in Newcastle when there used to be a pilot in the early 90s and the drivers seemed to delight in flying into the bays at speed (l/e) and jamming the brakes on at the last moment, especially one particularly icy day!

Thanks for your interest, I'm plodding on with it as time allows, but its a good kit to build. So far only a couple of things that require a coat of thinking about rather than being downright awkward too! I reckon so, any other colour won't fit in with the rest of my stock. What fascinates me is the number of livery variations, even just of BR blue. Yellow bufferbeams are common, but I have found red ones, with a red solebar (or the faring where the solebar would be) linking them, rail blue and a couple in black (black not dirt). Even a couple with yellow buffer beams and red buffer shanks, there is the remote possibility that a couple of these are off a 9F, apparently they do share the same buffers.

Not worked on this for a while because of work and other distractions, but I have now assembled both sets of cab steps, supplied as one piece, the folding requires a little bit of thought before you commit, but it all fits together nicely, nickel silver treads are then added to each step, these are fiddly but worth it. Returning to the front for a while I am now at point of fitting out the front buffer beam. This is started with a large overlay, complemented by several smaller ones, lamp irons are added and then so are pipes. I'm about at this stage now, fitting pipes etc as time permits. I would also strongly suggest that you clean as you go, otherwise you will have a bit of a job getting all the green stuff off the detail parts later. The square on the centre lamp iron is an etching supplied to model the target numbers given to these locos in large dock/yard complexes - it may or may not stay, I just did it for fun!

They are preformed: http://www.7mmlocomotives.co.uk/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=412 If you flick through the rest you can find what you get in the box and step by step how they go together.