Progress with the Balconies

The next challenge was to fit the balcony railings to the ends of the coach in a sturdy manner, so they don't fall off when handled. I also wanted to be able to leave the roofs off until the coaches are painted and glazed, so ideally the railings should be affixed to the body and chassis only. The solution I came up with is shown in the photo below: the

 

The bottom of the corner posts fits into "feet" on the steps, which should appear to be extensions of the end frame of the chassis. The tops of the wire corner posts bend through 90 degrees under the roof, they then bend downward into a piece of plastic fixed into the inside of the coach body. The photo below shows the recesses cut into the underside of the roofs to clear the wire.

 

I'm pleased with how the look with the roof on, and they certainly seem well attached - even at this stage, without glue. I'm still to deal with the spikes, they will be removed and replaced with a plastic strip representing a wooden handrail.

 

Also visible above is my "prototype" step. The original steps were too fragile and long gone, so I need something more sturdy, this "solid" plasticard step (which doesn't show up well in the pictures) is certainly solid, the issue is ensuring sufficient bogie clearance. With some trimming of the end of the bogie and careful position of the points the coach is easily able to negotiate 12" radius Peco points, so it looks like this should work.