Progress is slow but steady...

So the parts are arriving and assembly has begun. The two time consuming / fiddly bits that I am yet to do and rather actively avoiding are:
i) Soldering the wires to the phone's PCB (I've managed to break a phone in the past on this bit).
ii) Cutting and stitching the leather. Leather is rather hard work and I need to get the fingers just the right size and shape to contain the tactile buttons and wires.

Other parts are coming along. I have created a rather novel way to turn on the phone using a key lock and then a pair of tactile buttons that must be "squeezed" to operate and power up the phone. I still love the idea of using an analogue meter, but they are just too big and cumbersome to be worthwhile.

The boxes have been painted, but I'm not happy with the colours (they look too bright and happy; not the sombre, rusted copper of many other steampunk gadgets).

The vibrate feature needs to be finalised. I like the idea of the vibrator sit against a cat bell, which should make it ring like an old phone (or closely approximate it).

I'll put some preliminary photos up here soon.