Hi Carl

Watch this space. As I have already said I have subscribed to this issue and will be posting pictures as and when. Just hope there are no transfers to apply as with the Jupiter build

Gil

You're OK there Gil, no transfers on this one, it's all allen keys and diddy pozidrive screwdrivers from here on!
I would recommend inlaying the two inscribed round plates though,since I bought the 1st issue again I've got a plain one and the painted one, I'll try and take a pic of them to compare so you can see the difference it makes.

Robin

I completely forgot to put the images up the other day!

This is directly off the shelf they are on and as you can see, they are a bloody dust magnet!,

Both plates have been done with black boot polish, basically pressed in with a cloth, then wiped over with a clean one to remove excess

Decided to have a go at the "Boot Polish" on the base plate to enhance the engraving (Mr T's Suggestion)

Left Hand with Boot Polish Right Hand out of the box


Pictures attached

Issue 2 and 3 arrived today

It seems I have to be patient and collect all of the Stage 1 part of the build before I can start

More to follow

Stage one of the build starts with the construction of the column support/drive shaft
As this build progresses more gears and planets will be added to this column
1) The sun is screwed onto the threaded end of the drive shaft
2) Then slide the 55 tooth driving gear so that it fits snugly against the sun
3) The planet arm that holds Mercury slots into this gear (It is important that the arm is inserted correctly. This is helped by the fact that the arm has a small hold into which the planet is inserted, the other end is solid) the gears for this build are of varying sizes identified by the number of teeth on the drive. It would have been useful if the gears had some sort of marking as to how many teeth are on the drive
4) The next step is to construct the small gear set that drives the planet Venus around the solar system. The instructions are clear enough just be careful that the parts are orientated as shown. There are two gears for this part of the construct 65 and 19 so easy to identify. Do not over tighten the self-tappers used in this part of the construct, make sure the gears still rotate freely
5) The gear arm is attached to the central column. Insert the top hat bush into the top of the unit and push the unit up the column until it reaches the driving gear already installed. The 65 tooth gear should be on top and this meshes with the gear already installed.

So far So good

Looks fantastic, just received our second delivery.

So far So good
1) The next step is to construct the Venus gear set. The parts required are shown in the attached picture. The two gears are 41 and 39 teeth so make sure you get them right or else they will not mesh with the gears already installed. The gears are held in place with the supplied self-tapping screws.
2) When complete remove the base plate and slide the assembled gear set (placing a washer on first) move it up to the parts already in situ ensuring the gears mesh. Lock in place with the supplied grub screw.
3) The Venus planet arm is attached next again locked in place with the supplied grub screw.
4) The Moon gear is next. This is attached to the large engraved gear once you have assembled the parts. I have used Mr T’s idea of enhancing the engraving on this gear with black polish the same as I did on the base. The larger of the gears is on top, both gears are attached with self-tappers to the moon arm (do not over tighten these screws as the two gear wheels need to rotate freely) which is then attached to the underside of the large engraved gear. Once assembled place the washer on the central column and slide the assembly up the shaft and fix in place with the supplied grub screw. The 31 tooth gear should mesh with that already in place on the shaft.
That’s it so far now waiting for the next delivery. You can check all is OK so far by rotating the sun. The planets Venus and Mars should move around the sun

looking good