The contents of one slate wagon kit...
These kits have plain bearings so the pin points on the axles have to be filed off. I hold the wheels in a back to back gauge. Using a back to back gauge is a good idea generally as wheel sets often come with different spacings.
The burrs are filed off the back of the wheels and then they are tested in the chassis casting.
The wheels are captured in place by the axle box castings. When the chassis will roll across a sheet of glass every thing is glued in place. I add a dab of glue to the axles to make sure the wheels can't come loose.
The etch for the body is removed and and tabs filed off..
I use bending bars, metal rulers and knife blades to fold up the etch. There are some tricky folds along the bottom edge of the ends. Its rather like etched brass origami! My bending bars were obtained cheaply from ebay, and whilst not as fancy as some available, they do the job.
The top edges are an easier fold.
And there you have it, the wagon body. There are still end pillar wrappers to fold and fix in place.
Two finished chassis showing just how small these wagons are even in 5.5 mm scale.
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