I always knew in my gut that I wasn’t going to be able to live with them so a couple of days after my last post I ripped the battered sides off and cut some more from 10 thou nickel sheet.

Ironically the side that went on okay came off in pretty good shape too.

This was the basic sides cut out ready for detailing before fitting.

I managed to salvage the handrails and handrail knobs from the damaged sides and it was a simple enough job to fit them to the new sides. Initially I was planning on adding the side then fitting the beading but in the end I also opted to fit them first while the sides were manoeuvrable.

I also remembered that to make the MOK rear sheet match the new scratch built sides, I would need to remove the half etched upper beading and replace it. Being half etched it was soon removed with a few strokes of a file. I fitted a length of 0.7mm half round beading along to the rear and left each side a bit long to blend in when the sides were fitted.

I didn’t take any photos of the sides before I fitted them but this is the creased side after being replaced.

The other side had to be replaced to match.

The rear beading and other details such as the fire iron tunnel and tank vents were also fitted.

I have also made start on adding the other details to the front.

While much muttering had ensued, in hindsight I am glad it happened in a way because I feel the new sides look much better than the half etched MOK ones did on this tender.