STEP BY STEP

Remove the parts carefully with a sharp craft knife, ensuring that you make the cut as close as possible to where they meet the plastic support. File the edges smooth with a small needle file to avoid gaps in the final model.

Some of the pieces will have raised sections from the moulding injection. The plastic is quite soft so it’s only a few minutes’ work to smooth these down with a needle file. They will be disguised on the finished model.

I prefer to paint the panels before I glue them together as it makes them easier to hold and easier to paint the insides. They needed two coats each with at least four hours between coats; 12 hours is ideal.

Two long strips of acetate are provided with the model for the windows. Trim them down to the correct length and place along the inside of the window frames. Any overhanging acetate can be disguised with interior paint.

Glue each end to a side, supporting both pieces during the initial bonding. Glue both halves together to create the coach ‘box’, and leave it under pressure while the glue sets (I used a heavy book and a wall to do this).

The bogies come pre-formed but will need painting black. The axles clip into the bogies easily. Ensure that the small recess where they are located is free from paint or they will jam on the model.

You can push the bogie along a table to check that the wheels rotate freely. Screw the bogies to the underside of the floor. Don’t worry about the nut being visible in the coach as it will be covered by the seats.

Glue the floor to the underside of the ridge that runs under the windows in the coach and then glue the seats to the upper side of the ridge. The seats are located in between the doors all the way along the coach.

Fix the roof in place. It should sit on the top of the four sides of the coach with a very slight overhang at each end, although this should be extremely minimal. Once that has been glued, touch up any areas that need it.

The kit comes with a choice of fixings; either oil lamps or gas lamps. Remove and file your choice, glue the two halves together and then glue them to the roof – one above the endmost door on each side and one in the middle.

The smaller vacuum pipe should be fixed 9mm from the right-hand side and the steam pipe should be glued 6mm from the left-hand side. Support them while they bond as the surface area on which they’re affixed is small.

I used HMRS Pressfix transfers for the coach decals. Cut them out and press firmly in place. Use wet kitchen roll to dampen the tissue and tweezers to pull it away, leaving the decal in place. Dry the area after applying each transfer.