Friday, January 07, 2011

Squeezing the mechanicals in

Shunerinside

The instructions might say to drive this model on the front axle, but I'm building it and I say the power should be on the middle one. That jackshaft is going to be enough of a pain without making things difficult by running it via an unpowered set of wheels.

So, as you can see from my slightly crudely assembled photo (I'm sure Photoshop has a funky overlay thing but I couldn't be bothered to work it out properly in PaintShop Pro, although if anyone has any suggestions) the gearbox fits pretty well.

The only modification required was to lengthen the hole in the footplate by a few mm towards the cab. That job means spending more time digging out the piercing saw and fitting a blade than actual cutting. After this the body components dropped straight on.

Another benefit of driving the rear is leaving plenty of space in the bonnet for a DCC chip which this model will eventually sport. I'm not sure how big these things are but I reckon one will go at the front. I should even be able to fill the top with lead to get the haulage capabilites up.

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