Planet Industrials: Clayton 25t in primer...

The prototype Clayton 25t model I shared a few months ago has been waiting on a few extra etch parts I wanted to check before pushing forward with finalising the kit design...

These arrived last week, so were cut out and cleaned up. The biggest visual difference is the front and rear handrails. These are etched, so are not round like the prototype, but I think the compromise is worth it for the accuracy of shape and ease of fitting. They just glue into holes in the chassis! The step edges also arrived on the same etch, along with the missing cab front.

Once all these were cleaned up and fitted I blasted the model with a few light coats of primer to see how she looked, and things are looking very promising. These raw photos show there is some work to do in terms of finishing the sides of the Shapeways Frosted Ultra Detail plastic frames, and tidying up some glue marks here and there before painting it white, then BRIGHT YELLOW! Yes, I'm doing it as the prototype at Devonport so it will be nice and shiny, and well looked after... in the meantime, I've a few small changes to make to parts, and I need to decide on how to mount the chassis, but then it's ready for production - originally planned for late 2020, we'll see, if may slip slightly to 2021 as I've got the Hibberd chassis to finalise in the meantime. 

Perfect for your Accurascale nuclear flask wagons, perhaps even as a load on the back of a lorry, if these do well I will look at offering the larger Cross Rail 40t example. In the meantime, the Planet Industrials Facebook page is kept up to date, more soon...