Under Cover

Are you ever doing some modelling and you get to the point where you think, "Ooh, I never thought about that!"? Well I had just such a revelation at the start of the week.

The D49 chassis is up and running very nicely and all the motion is in place. It's at this stage that I notice the piston rods protruding from the front of the cylinder blocks. "When should they have come off?" I think. "It's going to be a bugger shortening them in situ!" Indeed it is...

I can't find any reference in the instructions as to when I should have shortened them and this makes me feel a little better. Ideally I would have done it before securing the crossheads and slidebars. As it is, I now have to cut them flush with the face of the cylinder without marking the said face too much. Tricky...

The piercing saw proves ideal, but work is slow and careful. Fortunately the piston covers will mask any markings on the cylinder front and the same cover is also half etched where the piston protrudes, so it doesn't have to be dead flush.

Meanwhile the bogie has been assembled and I hope to fit the wheels later tonight or tomorrow. Onward, ever onward...

On a green note, I replaced the bulb in my modelling anglepose lamp with one of these newfangled low energy ones. At 11W it obviously uses lots less electricity, but also the light seems somehow "cleaner" than a 60W standard bulb; I am finding it a lot easier to distinguish fine detail on my work. Additionally the heat thrown off is substantially less; certainly useful once we get into spring/summer.