Heywood tank in 006.5: etches and primed...

My etches for the Heywood tank came back from Steve at Narrow Planet this week, I always am excited to get new etches back to see if my designs work...

Suffice to say it didn't take long to dig out the tools and make a start on these! The etch I'd designed included two half etched spectacle plates - these glue back to back and fit to the back of the boiler. In the end I've tacked this in place to the motor covering plate with superglue - I can't see how else this could be held in place, and as this is basically a hi tech scratchbuild I'm happy with the comprimise.

The valve gear was what I was really worried about. There is no clearance for this really, and it's super tiny. In the end I added plain coupling rods, and a connecting rod that includes the cross head and slide. The slide bar is a seperate etch. These proved easier to fit then I feared, but are delicate and possible a tiny bit to short really - I might re-etch them and add 0.5mm to the length, and reduce the amount of allowable movement in the connecting rod (which has a slot, like the coupling rod) as that could jump out. I've got it running nicely now though so this one might be left until/ if it causes problems.

This thing really is cute - and tiny - and when you pose it next to the Dapol figure it strikes you - this is pretty close to scale, it's the right length, width, wheelbase... the comprimise is the gauge (6.5 vs 5mm) and the chassis protruding into the cab area. Next up I need to design an etch for the footplate seat, I might also add a slightly redesigned coupling rod too - along with name and works plates. I also intend to do some custom transfers through Precision Decals. More soon...