Progress! The smokebox and boiler were rolled and added to the firebox, then the washouts added. I decided to add boiler bands to hide the joins. These days I usually let the painter add tape, but this beast will be scrapped before painting.
Fitting it to the footplate shows the gap where the saddle should be.
If my name were Mickoo I would now sit down at the PC with a cuppa, and seemingly fleeting moments later would send a file to the printer which would then produce a perfectly proportioned saddle. Unfortunately I don't have those skills so I bodged it using a saddle from a rebuilt patriot, some large files and scrap etch.
Something nearer to a Mickoo production will be prepared for the production run. Probably a casting but it could be etches. What would you vote for?
Just for completeness I've also taken the slitting wheel to the centre part of the footplate. There will need to be sacrificial bridges on the production design to help this.
So next onto the frames. These are the standard set of O4 frames that we pack with the kits. They are redrawn from the original David Andrews design but unfortunately the instructions still relate to the original. Something I hadn't picked up before. So this will give me the chance to produce a new set that will be applicable to the O4, O4/7 and the O4/8. I'm also minded to see if there is interest for an O4/5 and O4/6.
