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NS class 5000

Final assembly

The final assembly is a bit more than just simply screwing the seven main parts together. Some detailing work has been postponed until after painting and should be addressed now.

Tending the final details

The tender

  
Buffer and coupler were added to the frame of the tender
Handrails were added on the tender deck. The protruding ends of the handrail left of the tank lid are left deliberately as prototype photos show them clearly and consequently.

Then the tender is assembled which completes it.

The locomotive
The leading truck is assembled. Beware not to let any of the glue get to the axle.

The smokebox darts are provided with a thin coat of Humbrol Metal Cote 27003 and after drying rubbed with a cloth to make the metal shiny.

Most Dutch locomotives had their hinges in bare metal but most Austerities simply had them painted black, with a few notable exceptions.

The handrail knob holes are enlarged to 0.8 mm and the knobs test fitted.

A test is done to see if the handrails easily passes through

Once satisfied I blackened the knobs and the handrail. I did paint the knobs once on another model but the paint proved to get damaged easily, exposing the underlying brass. Moreover the blackened knobs have a nice dark grey sheen that stands out nicely from the boiler's black. This even more applies to the handrails which retains a nice metallic sheen once rubbed with a cloth.

If the knobs or the handrails get scratched during assembly, exposing the underlying colour, that is easily corrected by rubbing them with a cotton ear swab dipped in blackening fluid. Far easier than correcting damaged paint.
The knobs are placed back in their holes after blackening and the wire is added and cut to length in situ.

Oh, and Murphy is never far away. When I started working on the running board, I first added the buffers. I found the rear of the sprung buffer interfered with the extra support of the ladder I added to give the ladder extra strength. I cut it away and immediately the ladder released itself.

I then voluntarily removed the other ladder as well.
After that I first turned to adding the sprung coupler hook.
I made two new supports of 0.75 mm brass
I glued the ladders on their tips ...
... and added the supporting triangles. The buffer no longer interferes.
A quick paint job hid the damage from sight: base coat, black and clear coat simply with the brush in less than an hour.
Painting the sliding windows of the drivers cab. The back side is fully masked. The front side is masked leaving only a small strip and the sides exposed. A quick brush added the paint. After drying the other two sides were painted. The windows were glued in place with an unceremonial blob of MicroScale Kristal Klear. It appears white on the following photos but it will dry transparent over time.
The motor is provided with a styrene ring of 0.75 mm thick. It will keep the motor and gearbox in place once it has pivoted into the boiler during assembly. It will also prevent the flywheel to touch the inside of the boiler.

This leaves these large components for the final assembly sequence

Final Assembly

Start of things: the completed chassis

Because the motor can't fit though the running board, first the running board cum driver's cab is lowered and secured by a bolt at the rear.

The motor is bolted and the electrical wire are soldered (not done yet). The loco is checked if it runs in the correct direction. The motor and gearbox are flipped up to receive the boiler.

The boiler is carefully moved over the motor in a diagonal fashion and then lowered at the front end and secured with a bolt.
It is carefully checked and tested if the flywheel clears the boiler, both in forward as in backward running direction.

To small bolts secure the boiler at the rear end.

The leading truck is installed.

Smokebox door and cab roof complete the assembly
 

One last photo shows the position of the motor and gearbox in the boiler. They are next to invisible form the outside.