Planet Industrials: Wheel nut covers...

Whilst building my own OO gauge model of a Hunslet 0-4-0 DH from the excellent Judith Edge kit,  I chose to use Romford style wheels due to their ease of use and quartering. However, I was less than happy with the visible axle nut...

Originally I planned to just paint it, thinking it would disappear in the general inderframe gloom, but looking at photos of others completed models I wasn't so sure... I then looked at the Markits axle nut covers, which seemed to offer a solution. These would just about fit the small wheels, but had to be locked in place by the crank pin, and I wasn't sure if this was the way I wanted to go. I was also a little worried as I had a feeling the bosses on the Scale-link wheels I was using differed a little from the original Romford design.

So I decided to design something myself... originally I planned to include an outer edge to cover the whole of the centre boss, but I was worried about the easy in which the part could be cut from the etch without leaving a dent, as well as the chance that the axle was a tiny bit longer, or proud of the wheel face, meaning a small gap may be visible around the edge. I figured the better compromise was to just cover the nut itself, with a thin but robust etched part.

The result seen here, worked well on my Hunslet model, and so Steve and I have decided to add them to the Planet Industrials range - they are in production at the moment, and by the time they're back and packaged up I expect release will be in April. Keep your eyes peeled on the Facebook page for more information on their availability... More soon...