Andrew Barclay master in 2mm scale...

It's just too wet, damp, soggy and 'orrible to go dragging the band saw outside to do woodwork, so I thought I'd have a bit of wee metal bashing in the form of the new Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 in 2mm scale for N-Drive.

I'd already made the footplate for this model t'other day, so next was the distinctive saddle tank.
At this scale there is sometimes a need for compromise.  And so it proved with this one.  The motor would not go inside a scale boiler, so the motor becomes the boiler for its length with the hope we can make a convincing forward section of boiler, including the smokebox and its saddle shape, beyond the motor.  The rounded-bottomed saddle tank then becomes the "wrapper" of the motor.

This is done by bending, in the jaws of the vice, one side, then tother, then squeezing the ends of the nickel silver sides, now at 45 degrees to each other, together, making the radius on top of the tank appear automatically (I love metal, try that in styrene!).  Then the length is adjusted accordingly to the drawings with a file.  The bottom edges of the sides are also trimmed to the right depth.  Always start with more and trim it down when you're done.  You can't add to it, but you can always take away.

Once happy with the tank, the cab needs to be done, which is just 4 sides of 1mm nickel silver.  We'll probably go for photo-etch for the roof.

Although detail on front and back of the cab are very different, the size and outside shape are the same, so I cut two pieces and trued them up together in the vice.  Some would solder them together, but I find that once a bit of burr has developed on both pieces, they hold themselves together, which saves a lot of cleaning up of solder on four faces.  Think about it...two inner faces, all tinned and two outer faces marred by solder off the soldering iron tip.

Of course the cab front piece has to be notched over the worm gear and be given clearance from the nickel silver sides of the N-Drive Productions chassis, since this will be a white metal kit and liable to shorts if not careful.

Some may think 1mm material too thin, but we have had good results so far from castings of that thickness on the other w/m kits of the Hayward "Effie" in O9, the Lilliput in OO9 , the Quarry Hunslet in OO9 and the Wisbech and Upwell tram loco in 2mm scale.