NS 6200 class

Pre assembly NS6200

It is prudent to assemble the model completely before the painting job is done. Any assembly problems must be ironed out so you won't damage the delicate paint when at some point the assembly process turns nasty.
	The screw couplings were tested. Especially the depth of the inward protruding part was tested to fit in the frame. It didn't of course, thus proving my cause for pre-assembly. I did some extra milling to rectify the problem

While working on the frame I had completely overlooked adapting the cylinders. The German origin of the cylinders is all too obvious. They clearly needed some "Dutching up".

With pain in my heart I filed away all the rivet detail and sanded the sides flat.

	I added styrene discs as cylinder covers.
	The motor cover proved to be in the way when mounting the superstructure.
	So some persuasive action was taken. The rear part is hidden in the coal bunker anyway. I also had to do some minor milling on the weight in the loco to make the superstructure slide more easily over the undercarriage.
The end result of the pre-assembly. Another good reason for a pre-assembly is my memory. I disassembled this loco in the first months of 2010. Thankfully I had stuffed the parts away in an orderly fashion so I had some understanding of the assembly process, but I also had to revert to photos I had taken during the disassembly. By pre-assembling the loco I gained the necessary experience to ensure a swift and untroubled re-assembly

Looking contentedly at this photo I noticed something odd. The hand grip above the steps on the rear left end of the coal bunker was very high. I checked the model. I had forgotten to solder it!! This was corrected immediately.