New Guy here,, I signed up especally to watch this build,, I also have a 48 Thames,, infact when I saw this one I thought someone had stolen it , :>)
you are a bit further along than me,, I'm just about finished with the chassis ,,,

Its looking good,, doing a nice job,, and glad you found a better shop,, lots of crooks and robbers out there,,,,,,,,

I'll post up some pictures of mine on a separate thread,,
Keep up the good work,,