While ordering some bits from Roundhouse the other day, I thought I would give No.6 a treat and also included a brass safety valve bonnet for the loco in the order.
Now I like most of my engines (with the exception of the very special No.1), to look slightly grubby and workmanlike. The safety valve bonnet adds a bit too much bling at the moment, but over time the brass will dull down with use and blend in; no brass polish allowed near this loco!

I recently purchased a pair of natty replacement brass cab step overlays from Locoworks for my modified Roundhouse Millie. These are simply fixed in place with epoxy adhesive. They are a great improvement on the original pressed steel steps and add some more rivet detail to the loco.

I was less than impressed with the finish I got from the Precision Paint. This despite the fact that I used a good quality brush and I had stirred the paint thoroughly for a good five minutes with a spatula. "Why didn't you spray it?" I hear you ask. I try to avoid spray painting wherever possible as the spray paint gets everywhere, even when using a homemade spray booth (cardboard box). Spraying is usually carried out in the garage or rarely outdoors if it is a calm day, this is a rare occurrence as I live beside the sea and it is almost always windy. Anyway, I prefer to paint with a brush in the comfort of my own home whenever possible. I remember repainting a Mamod loco by hand with Precision Paint about 30 years ago and got good results by rubbing down with wet and dry paper between coats.

I rubbed the offending paint finish down with wet wet & dry paper until the surface was smooth again. I then applied two coats of Humbrol 33 matt black enamel. When the second coat was dry I applied the company crests to the tank sides and finally I applied two coats of Humbrol satin varnish from an aerosol spray can. I sprayed the varnish outdoors as it was a very warm and unusually calm day! The resulting finish is not perfect but it is perfectly acceptable for a hard working loco which is not intended to be a showcase model.
Works plates were fixed to the tank sides before joining them to the cab front. The side tanks and cab front were then attached to the chassis using the existing fixing lugs and 6BA screws.

The loco is not modelled on any particular prototype but with its slab sided tanks and flat smokebox sides, it bears a passing resemblance to something built by Thomas Green and Son of Leeds. For that reason I used a set of Thomas Green works plates that I had originally intended for a model of their tram engine, works number 169 that was built for the Dublin and Lucan Tramway in 1892.  I decided a while ago not to build the tram engine and I could not let the plates go to waste. The Dublin and Lucan sold the tram loco to a contractor in 1896 and it was used on a railway building project in Donegal, either the CDR Letterkenny line or possibly the L&LSR Buncrana to Carndonagh extension. So with a bit of a leap of the imagination one of the contractor's  locos could have been sold on to the TBLR on completion of the contract.

All TBLR steam locos have a crew of two. The driver is a Brandbright 'Roger' correctly scaled at 1:20. Roger has had his ponytail cut off and more radically his left hand was also amputated to avoid obstructing the gas filler valve. He came off better than the fireman, a slightly underscale Bachmann G scale figure, as well as having the end of his shovel removed he was amputated at the waist and glued to the top of the gas tank with silicone adhesive. Roger was also stuck in place before the cab rear (with number plates applied) and roof were fixed in place followed by the rear buffer beam.

Finally a pair of re-railing jacks and a cast toolbox (from Roundhouse) were glued to the front running plate left and right hand sides respectively. These hide the fixing screws on the front of the side tanks.

No.6 (as she is now known) really looks at home on the railway now and is a powerful and reliaable runner. The sound produced by the chuff pipe is very realistic when the loco is working hard.

The buffer beams and coupling mounts were given several coats of Royal Mail red on the outward facing sides. The rear of the buffer beams were painted black. Couplings and vacuum pipes were fixed in place and the beams were then fitted back on the loco. The rear one is only temporarily in place as it will need to be removed again to allow fitting of the cab.
The smokebox and chimney was then given two coats of matt black paint before being re-fitted to the boiler front. The loco was then given a steam test to check that all joints were steam tight and to audition the effect from the chuff pipe (which is very impressive).
It was then time to turn my attention to the new cab and the original tank sides. The paint scheme is dull black for this loco so I ordered the Roundhouse replacement cab in black. This is however in a gloss finish so I gave the paintwork a good rub down with wet and dry paper, wet, to prepare it for  painting. I also did this with the original blue tank sides after giving them a thorough de-greasing.
Next I gave the cab interior two coats of satin cream enamel paint. The cab roof was also rubbed down and has received two coats of matt black. The cab and tank sides have just had a first coat of Precision dull black applied by brush and this will be rubbed down when dry to prepare the surfaces for the next coat of paint.

The buffer beams were cut to the shape of the overlays using a mini drill and cutting disc. The overlays were then bolted to the buffer beams using the coupling fixing bolts. The outer ends of the overlays were glued to the buffer beams with silicone adhesive to prevent them from curving outwards. A fixing hole was drilled in each buffer beam to take the vacuum brake pipes.

The exhaust pipes were cut down and a Summerlands chuff pipe was fitted over the ends of these. 3/16" brass angle was cut to length and epoxied under the cab floor and front running plate to give the impression that the running plate extends for the length of the loco. This should look more convincing when the side tanks are back in place.
The regulator handle was removed from its spindle and after a bit of straightening, it was put back the other way round, with the lever at the back of the mounting bush. This was done to enable the dirver (a Brandbright 'Roger' minus pony tail) to fit in the very cramped cab.

The rivets holding the smokebox together were drilled out and replaced with 8BA bolts and nuts. The top front corners on the side tanks and the gaps between the smokebox sides and frontplate were filled with Milliput. Prepainted Roundhouse cylinder covers were clipped over the cylinders.

I had purchased some cast cab steps to replace the existing 'stirrups' but decided not to use them as they may prove to be a bit fragile. Instead I epoxied short lengths of 3/16" brass angle to the bottom of the 'stirrups' to represent steps.

The exposed brasswork including the top of the chuff pipe. boiler bands, chimney cap and gas valve in the cab were given a coat of self etch black primer.

I originally purchased the Roundhouse Millie with the intention of re-building the loco as a model of the original Tralee and Dingle No4 (the Hunslet with a cab at both ends). However although I am fairly competent at putting a brass kit together, my metal fabrication skills are not great. I have therefore put the building of T&D No.4 to one side at the moment and I have decided to make some cosmetic changes to Millie so that she looks more like something that might have run on an Irish roadside tramway.
This mainly involves fitting the Roundhouse cab and repainting the loco in black together with a few other additions.

Prior to the proposed modifications I had already fitted chopper couplings, a pressure gauge, boiler filling system and gauge glass and a natty 'brake handle' for the gas control valve.

The loco entered the works in late June but progress has been slow so far as there has been some good train running weather of late. I first removed the spectacle plate, cab rear and side tanks. The side tanks have been set aside for cleaning and painting. I cleaned the oil from the driving wheels and I have given these 2 coats of matt black paint. After that I fitted the Roundhouse crossheads and slide bars to the cylinders/connecting rods.

I purchased a pair of Roundhouse 'Billy' buffer overlays with rivet detail. I bought these rather than the Millie overlays as I intend to cut the buffer beams to the same profile as 'Billy' with a cutaway at either end of the beam. As the fixing holes do not line up with those of Mille, I am in the process of drilling new holes for the fixing screws and also for the 10BA bolts that hold the Accucraft chopper couplings in position. The ends of the overlays will also need to be cut as Billy is a lot wider than Millie.