The bogie is supposed to be an easy bit of the Armstrong model locomotive kit to build. With the wheels in place you locate the sideframes into the slots in the side of the centre casting. Then stick a casting with guard irons on the front.
Of course that is fine in OO. With EM wheels a bit of extra clearance is needed to keep the rims away from the whitemetal.
First I used the common trick of reducing the thickness of the sideframe castings with a big file. Whitemetal is always moulded on the chunky side so losing a mil isn’t a problem.
Next the parts are located quite as tightly as the manufacturer intended. Another mil is gained each side this way. I did remember to check that they didn’t stick out of the sides of the locomotive when finished !
Low melt solder is wonderful for this sort of job. You get to tack the parts in place to make sure everything fits and then ladle more metal in once happy. Purists will point out that the top of the springs aren’t quite in line with the bottom but you can only tell if the loco is running over your head, and then that’s the least of your worries.
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