Thankfully the holidays are over, and I can reclaim some of my "work space" (such as the kitchen table). Hard to have half-constructed train projects lying around in the middle of decorations (though the Metroliners did make a visit to the Christmas Village rather than "putting them away").
Still have some small bits of filling to be done, but the main joints are smoothed out. Was hoping that by printing rivets I'd be able to avoid decalling them on, but unfortunately I'll have to replace some that my sanding inadvertently removed. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, as if I put them on too early, they'll just get lost under coats of primer.
Fishbelly beams have been attached to the bottom of the tender shell, and a custom designed rear step added. There were small handles near the end of either side, which looked great, but they were just too fragile. I'll drill and replace with thin brass. It was worth a shot. There's also more detail to be added to the rear, but that'll wait until most of the major sanding is done.
Next, I'm going to use a piece of cardboard to mock the tender bottom so I can check things like truck heights and clearances, then figure out how to piece together the frame to work. I've also printed the pieces I'll need to correct the length and side curvature of the coal bunker top. They'll be laminated to the existing parts with JB-Quik, and then sanded to mate correctly. Once that's done, it's detail time...
