Avonside in 006.5: test parts arrive...

World record service, my Shapeways parts arrived earlier this week for my Avonside 006.5 project...

Here they are straight out of the bag, and you can see the tanks and cab just balanced on the chassis to test the fit before I cleaned them up in white spirit. They are designed to fit around a Busch Deutz chassis, and fit very nicely with just some very small tweaks to the chassis required.

Here it is after I glued the parts together (the tanks, upper cab, firebox and boiler/smokebox assembly are all separate) posed with the Heywood 'Katie' and the small Hunslet 'Eleanor'...

A lovely size and I think it's going to look great with a rake of Sand Hutton wagons...

The side profile shows just how cute this engine is - I've already drawn up the etch for the cab and some buffer beams, so hopefully I can make some more progress towards the end of the month...

This final shot shows how the Busch motor block is disguised as the firebox - I think it's passable! I hope others do to, as this will be the first steam engine in the 6point5 Narrow Planet range, out in the autumn! Watch this space for more soon...