Boiler bits

Steam tram interior detail begins with a bit of metal forming.

All the parts show - firebox, boiler and smokebox arrive flat and require bending before being soldered to the ends. Putting the bends in the brass can be horribly complicated. If you are keen then you'll put the metal in some special rollers and gradually work the curve into it.

Not everyone owns metal rollers as they aren't cheap. Largely by accident, I own two sets.

I bent the metal around a Maglite torch. Well, it was handy.

Once bent roughly to shape, I tack soldered the wrapper around the end, helped by the inclusion of marked centre lines by the designer. When happy, the joint is seamed - a curiously satisfying process I find. Fiddling the parts into alignment can be frustrating but once you are happy and the solder is running, this is what kit building is all about.