While poring over photos of the Wee Ben and the Tatlow drawing, I realised that the horizontal brake shaft under the front of the tender was supported by brackets rivetted to the bottom front edge of the tender frames. This meant that I had to extend the model’s frames forward to the level of the outside steps and include this supporting bracket somehow. So I cut a shape from metal the same guage as the frames which included the downward protruding bracket and soldered it onto the front of the frames;  a tricky business, as the front steps were in the way. If I’d realised about this bracket at the begining of construction I could have made a better job of it; you can see the join quite clearly but it’ll tidy up and is masked by the steps to some extent. The rivets on the outside of the bracket are part of an overlay which gives added thickness to this bracket, which seems to be rivetted onto the outside of the frames. The brake shaft was then made from tube with rod soldered into the ends so I could spring the brakeshaft into place between the brackets; this arrangement is because it has to remove from its locating holes when the chassis and superstructure are taken apart. The brakeshaft is supported by two long central brackets to which it will be soldered, these are slotted at the base to allow the drawbar retention spring to move. This assembly was built on a separate base then dropped in position to be attached to the chassis later. The brake cylinder and its supports, for ease of construction, were similarly built on their own separate base. I think these details will help when I come to fit the various brake linkages and will give a satisfying completeness to the tender underside. Progress is slow at the moment as I’ve either used up or discarded all the bits on the etches I have, so it’s a scratchbuilding job from now on.