There is always a point with a project, I find, where whatever I am working on goes from being 'a lump of stuff' to 'a recogniseable x/y/z'.

I think I reached this point with the B5 last night when I added the chimney and dome.

I firstly went through another bout of 'fill, sand and smooth' on the boiler to eradicate the angular appearance, then I added a few layers of 0.5mm plastic sheet to the smokebox to bring it up to full length. I thought I had drawn it to size, then the print turned up and it was 1mm short.... I've also found that the cab roof is wrong, so will be replaced in due course.

The chimney and dome are brass castings from the Alan Gibson range, intended for their J11 kit. But they also suit the B5- not surprising really, considering the two designs were by the same man at the same time and built in the same workshops.

This morning I've ordered some 14mm wheelsets from Scale Link for the bogie, which have narrower treads and a generally finer appearance than their Hornby counterparts.

Still much to do but we're getting there.