Pack 7 - Stage 34. Pumps and thrust block.

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 34 gives us the pumps and thrust block.

Glue detail 34C to the large pump base.

Now fit the two larger parts to the pump base.  These are screwed from underneath.

These are the four pieces that make up the two main pipes for the pump.

As before, I'm going to change the order of assembly from the instructions as I think it makes it easier to assemble the parts accurately.

Fit the detail 34S to the pump.  It's fitted with a D shaped pin, but make sure that the hole is pointing to the outside of the pump.

Take the connection 34R and glue it to the other side of the pump.  Pay attention to which way round it goes.  Refer to the photo as a picture paints a thousand words.

Now fit this to the engine room floor.  It's screwed from below.

Now you can fit the two pipes, 34M & 34U, making sure that they fit in the holes in the engine room floor as well as the locations in the pump.

Fit the valve 34L in place with superglue.

Glue the two halves of the thrust block together.

The instructions say to assemble the pipes then glue them to the thrust block, but I prefer to assemble them directly onto the thrust block to get the alignment accurate.

And the other side.

Glue the small elbow in place.  Tweezers are your friend here.

Now screw the thrust block assembly to the engine room floor.

Fit the lub oil pump outboard of the thrust block.

Fit detail 34K in front of the lub oil pump.

Fit pipe 34E outboard of the lub oil pump.

Fit the Tee piece outboard of the lub oil pump.

Fit the pressure gauge to the pump to complete the pump/thrust block assembly.

Moving back to the engine, glue the cat walk in place.  I found it easiest to apply glue to the pins on the bottom of the ladders and fit these to the engine plinth.  Then push the cat walk agains the side of the engine and apply glue tot the underside of the tabs.  Capillary action will draw the glue into the joint.

While we're here, check that the shaft that the reversing links pivot on (part 5M) is glued into the engine stands.  If not, it is likely to push out when the engine is being turned by the motor.  (Ask me how I know!  Forum foresight is a wonderful thing!)

Fit the reversing engine.  This is simply glued in place.

Finally, fit the valve control rods.  They are glued into the low pressure cylinder and the pipe that comes round the front of the engine fits in the hole in the manifold.

This completes the stage, and completes the engines and thrust blocks.