Max Stafford's Kennel

Last week I acquired, via a well-known online junk shop trading post.😉, this rather nice half-built kit of a Stanier ‘Princess Royal’ Pacific.
There’s clearly still a lot of work to do so this one probably won’t be on the bench for a bit. There are numerous small parts required to complete which aren’t much of an issue though I will have to improvise in the case of the smokebox door.
The chassis is to EM and built like a dreadnought and although it is a good, solid thing my feelings are that I should replace the whole of the loco’s underpinnings with a Comet set-up for consistency’s sake. The tender is a whopping great cast monster of a thing but the original builder has furnished it with a rocking rear axle and plunger pick-ups on the outer wheels.
I’m also considering replacing the cab-sides with etched items, providing suitable etchings exist.
Ultimately, I intend to recreate 46203 Princess Margaret Rose circa 1951 in the original BR Express Passenger blue livery.
Not everyone’s cup of tea and guaranteed to earn a raspberry from the direction of Kashmir Cottage I’ll grant you, but it’s not a commonly modelled livery and I like it very much so there! 😊
You might not see this one up on the bench for a bit but this is a wee teaser for the day when it does start to show its face on a regular basis.
I’m looking forward to tackling it in due course but meantime, bench discipline must be maintained with three other locos already underway!