Dopey here realised the reason why there didn't seem to be any covering parts for the smokebox saddle sides was because she'd soldered them all the way round the smokebox. After some careful flamethrowing, the outer wrapper was released. At the same time the front splashers were also taken off in order to gain access for reforming the wrapper.
For some reason, I felt in a tender mood today. Information - for me at least - seems scarce on the tenders, so I spent a while fitting the parts I could reasonably identify. So, buffer beam gussets, lifting rings and the filler box were attached on top, rail guards down below. Some beading for the front sides was also attached. Then I set to working out the best orientation of the various coal plates.
Depending on era, plates were added to tenders to increase capacity. The era I'm aiming for is the late 1950s, near the end of the J6 service life, so most changes had reasonably been made by then. No scoop, so no vent pipes, but the plates didn't seem to match any of the photos. The kit design is as the photo above: plate to the rear (exact location to be determined), plate to the front, with stepped side tanks upon which sit the lockers. Photos seem to show the front plate was usually nearer in line with the front of the raves, the lockers sitting higher and rotated by ninety degrees and generally under a couple of hundredweights of nutty slack! Hmm.
I posed the question to the client. Go with the kit, or try to work out the actual layout and do some scratch building. The answer came back that I was free to do what I felt best.
Well, my inclination is to make what I see, even though the easiest option is to just build the kit as designed. I am pondering on this.
And so, back to the boiler. I didn't want to fix the boiler in place just yet, as there's still a deal of mucking about that will be easier with the unit on the bench. However, to fit the overlay properly, the boiler needed to be in place. My solution was temporary low melt solder tacks at the firebox and cab end. That's enough to hold things while I fiddle about at the front.
I tinned the wrapper and the smokebox at strategic locations along the edges. Clamping it top centre, I tacked the wrapper in place, finishing things off with some RSU work to help the solder flow under the wrapper. This is the state of play: the lower sides are not fixed in place - still monkeying to do, remember - but I'm happy the wrapper is back in place.