Planet Industrials: Clayton 25t in 00...

The Clayton kit I designed way back at the start of 2020 is finally at prototyping stage - things have been delayed due to the current world situation but with a big parcel of etched metal parts back from the supplier it was time to cut these and check for fit against the rest of the kit...

The kit, as shown in a previous post, is a multi-media mix of etched metal and 3D printed parts. The detail parts and bodywork were done on the in house resin based printer - the chassis was done by Shapeways in Fine Detail Plastic (the old Frosted Ultra Detail). I was having trouble maintaining a square and strong chassis frame on the resin printer - so this combines the best of both worlds - managing the cost of the final kit, whilst playing to the strengths of each material. The resin printer is great for smaller details and complex shapes with overhangs, and the bodywork parts look great.

The etched overlays not only provide a smooth surface, but also carry the body detail like window beading and hinges etc - obviously with a modern loco there aren't any rivets, as it's a welded clean assembly. On CAD and paper, and in photos of the prototype it looks quite small, but in the flesh it's width and spacious cab give it a lot more presence. 

I'm currently waiting on some brass bushes - then I can build up the test chassis. There are a few parts that still need to be etched too, including the step side plates, missing on this prototype, and we're thinking of doing the end handrails as etches too...

There are more prototype kits nearing completion - I'll be sharing more on them soon. In the meantime, visit and like the Planet Industrials page on Facebook if you haven't already. More soon...