Yea I know, how many “first looks” can there be?
In this update, most of the “recognizably steam-locomotive-ish” parts came in. Here’s the spread–and it may not look like it, but there are nearly 60 parts in this picture.
Unlike the prototype boiler I showed you in the earlier update, the final boiler in the kit will include the jacket’s thickness. The picture of the backhead shows some cutouts for the valves and hardware.
Details like intricate moldings around the domes and headlight panel beveling are exact to the engine plan, and of course the real engine. Note that although I designed the eagle for the top of the sand dome, it turned out to be too small (thin) for the machine to reproduce. So, the elusive eagle got away again!
Check out the bolt heads on the smokebox front, and the riveting detail on the smokestack! For the kit, I redesigned the stack’s wall to be thicker than the real engine’s (the real stack is made of sheet metal) to give the part some structural integrity. As a result, the stack’s opening at the top looks a bit narrower than the real engine would.
Here are some of the very small parts, the lifting shaft and one of the links and its block. And checkout with webbing on the inside of the pilot wheel.
And finally, here’s the boiler with the domes and the stack dry fitted. It’s looking like a train!
Keep up the good work! Once again I’m excited! Can wait for the full kit to be ready for purchase.