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NS 6200 class

Finishing touches and final assembly of NS6228

At the closure of any project there is always a host of chores that seem to keep you thinking "almost done" forever. Accept it and do the jobs. You won't be finished until they are all done.

 

A last minute design change was sparked when I did a test assembly and light accidentally fell into the drivers cab.

I hadn't expected the absence of a boiler backhead to be very conspicuous in the dark cab but I was wrong. The silvery weight was shinily present. I could do two things. Paint the weight or provide a backhead. I chose the latter. I had to order two hook couplers anyway so I included a boiler backhead in the order.
A week later this shining beauty arrived.
As the motor and the drive are in the way I needed to cut it ...
... and throw the lower part away :-(
After some filing
I gave it a quick base coat and test fitted it.
Black coat ...
... followed by a dark gray wash to get some depth in the backhead. I also scraped away the paint where the parts needed to stay brass. Then I gave it a dull clear coat.

Getting the backhead in place in a fully assembled superstructure proved to be a challenge.

After several attempts on getting the thing in the correct place and remain there until the glue had set, I found a simple solution.

I positioned strips of scrap brass on the rear and carefully lined them out to be exactly 0.5 mm from the edge. I fixed them in place by adding a drop of thin CA.

The brass strips would now take care of the positioning of the backhead in the boiler.
Like this. Once in place two drops of CA fixed the backhead temporarily in place.
Then epoxy was mixed and added to make the bond permanent.
Next I turned to the couplers. They are functional hook couplers. They can be drawn out by trailing cars to allow for sharp curves. The spring draws the hook back in.
There is a square hole in the buffer beam. I needed to open it up a little.
The spring was added and it was secured by a piece of wire that runs through a hole in the back of the stem, barely visible at the left end of the spring.
Test fitting is essential.
Another chore down!
After all working on the superstructure some touching up of the paint work was necessary. Not much though.
Coal was mixed with  Ballast Magic of Deluxe Materials
and poured into the coal bunker. It is then sprayed with water and it set in place.
 

 

At last: Final Assembly

  

Final assembly consists of only three steps.

The superstructure moves easily over the chassis, starting from the back.
The secret screw under the safety dome is screwed tight

and then the screw under the leading axle.

 

The project is done.

See my gallery of photos of the finished loco