Coal Tank front steps

Coal Tank front steps
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker

Yet another moment when I wonder about the sanity of the designer of this steam engine. The front steps dangle from an impossibly slender strip. Even in 7mm scale this is less than 2mm wide.

The parts are nicely etched of course. I decided against popping a rivet in the upright as I doubted this can be done without mangling the metal, or at least I don't believe I could do it. What I can do is beef this part up so the model can be handled without fear of damage. In the rear of each step the widest bit of wire I could hide has been soldered on. This worked better than expected and has really strengthened the part.

At the back the steps are much more conventional. Despite this I was so pleased with the hidden wire I did it again here. It's not unknown for these to deform although as there isn't a slot to locate the centre step, this traditional weak spot isn't present.

By the time I got to attaching these parts, the mass of metal in the model had grown so large that the best way of fixing parts is with a gas torch rather than traditional iron. In with the heat, melt the solder, fix the part and then back out again letting things cool down. No burnt fingers this way !