Another A1 Models diesel - part 5 bonnet.

Here's the bonnet etch;

I decided that the single large side grills were a bit too long, so I used strips of etch offcut to divide them into two smaller grills;

I did notice that one of the dividing strips was slightly off after I took the photo, but soldered joints can be re-set thankfully. I find that hiding the join when letting material in like this to be quite difficult, hopefully it won't look too bad once painted (half inch brush twenty year old pot of 'umbrol...).

I also scribed some panel lines onto the bonnet sides, using a scrawker;

The bonnet top panel had panel lines etched onto it already.

The very nicely etched grills are shown on the instructions as fitting on the outside of the bonnet. I decided that they'd look neater fitted from the inside;

I scribed a couple of lines inside the bonnet to help me get the grills level and central over the openings.

When folded up I found that the sides were about half a millimetre too deep, so once the bonnet assembly had been soldered up I filed the bottom of the sides down to suit the front panel.

Almost complete;

I'm unsure whether to add an exhaust or not, I quite like the clean lines and I'm reluctant to add anything else except of course couplings.

Although a works plate on the front might be a worthwhile addition, Narrow Planet list a 'Bagulay-Drewry' plate which would suit. Or perhaps a made up company?

With chassis and roof;

Somehow I think that it would have looked better with slightly larger wheels and a shorter wheelbase. But I'm not changing anything now.

All soldering done with my Antex XS25 and 145 degree solder, except the dividing bars on the bonnet sides where 188 degree solder was used.

Cab interior next.

Paul.