It came when a set of redesigned etches for the modern FR bogie arrived from Narrow Planet.
The first stage of completing these is to make a master for a resin cast of the running gear and suspension.
I'd already gone through this process with the first test piece, and although it only took me a single evening to make the pieces out of styrene and fix them into place on one of the brass bogie sides I was not overly enthusiastic about the prospect of having to repeat it.
And that's when I had my brilliant idea.
The styrene bits are were superglued onto the brass, but because of the properties of the bond between those materials it is often possible to slice them apart leaving them relatively unscathed.
I wondered whether it would be possible to get the axle box and suspension bits off the original master so I could simply glue them back in position on the new etch.
And it worked!
So now I have a new master to make a revised mould from.
The difference with this new etch is that everything above the axle boxes has been moved up by 1.5mm which will make it easier to use the bogies as a direct replacement for the old Parkside Dundas ones we currently use.
It also looks much more like the real thing, but since when has that been a major consideration?
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