7/8n2 critter progress

[TonyWalsham]

It has been a rather slow process but I have found some time to do a bit more to my 7/8n2 critter.

I had to redo the coupler cut bars.
The first version used some beautiful 1:20.3 Trackside Details castings with fabricated brass rods. These looked great and worked just fine but they proved to be quite fragile.

For the upgrade I made my own bearing plates from strip brass rolled and soldered at the end to form a tube which had a U pin inserted through the plate as a means of adding extra fastening to the pilot front.

I hope these will last longer.

I have also added fascia boards all round the top of the cab under the roof. These were made of 1/4" x 1/8" stripwood cut to length and joined side by side for depth. They were stained walnut and then glued to the brass frame. I used the heads of dressmmaker pins to simulate bolts.

To improve the lot of the loco engineer I thought an enlightened approach to his comfort would be to add curtains to the roof.
These were made of scrap pillow material cut to size. Top and bottom were glued between two very thin strips of wood and rolled up. To prevent the edges fraying I applied a very thin coat of silicone adhesive and tied them in place with embroidery cotton. I fabricated small inverted V hooks so they could hang on the pinheads and be removable.


I guess the next task will be to paint the roof and supports.
Painting is something I am not very good at now I don't have an airbrush and compressor any more.

[toenailridgesl]

Looking excellent, Tony. I remember looking at the beginnings of this model when I visited last March. Coming together nicely.

[Ray Dunakin]

Very nice!

[Anonymous]

You do very good work Tony. I expect I'll steel a lot of your ideas for my own building.

Matthew [bow]