Sirdar in 009: chimney and cab...

Well that's the basic structure complete on my Sirdar - showing just how quickly you can work in styrene...

First up a thank you to Paul for the turned brass chimney which is perhaps a touch too tall, but is so lovely that I had to use it! The sand dome and steam dome were added from plastic styrene tube section.

The cab front weather sheet was cut out freehand from 30 thou styrene sheet. This is fitted about 0.5mm forwards of prototype to clear the motor flywheel. The roof is a section of spare roof from a Meridian models Talyllyn railway coach.

However, since these photos were taken, I wasn't happy with the height of the cab so I removed the roof and weatherboard and reduced it's height by about 1.5mm - it now matches the drawing perfectly. What's next? Detailing! I need to add the cab roof rear supports (for strength), and then use styrene micro-strip to add the beading to the tanks, and strapping on the roof. The sand dome needs a lid, and actuator. The steam dome needs the safety valves, the side tanks need water fillers, the boiler needs clack valves and the smokebox needs lubricators. The smokebox door needs strapping, hinges and dart. The chassis needs a brake mechanism and footsteps, and the buffer beams need couplings. Once all that's fitted, I will add some resin 'Archers' rivet transfers before priming. More soon...