County Donegal railcar No.1
15mm scale introduction and instructions

3D printed and other parts

• Black: chassis with Mini B, 4 wheels, 2 mudguards, brakes
• Grey: Roof
• Colour (or grey): 6 body panels, body inner, bonnet, radiator, 3 seats, 2 decal mounts, 2 brake handles, 8 door handles, wheel gauge
• 3 M3 bolts with nuts
• 2 axles 42 or 55mm long - one with a gear
• Window glazing
• 2 decals

Suggested tools and glues

• Metal ruler
• Pozidrive screwdriver
• Sharp knife
• Tweezers
• Cocktail stick
• Rubber bands
• Sharp scissors
• Blu Tack
• 150mm or larger clamps
• UHU Super Glue Ultra Fast Liquid
• Revell Contacta Liquid Glue with Professional Needle Applicator - Polystyrene cement (used for Airfix kits)
• Deluxe Materials Glue 'n' Glaze

Assembling the railcar

• Locate the wheels, axles and wheel gauge
• The rear wheels have more bolt head details all round them
• The rear axle comes with a gear wheel in place - do not move the gear wheel

• Tap the axles into the wheels with a hammer

• The wheel gauge is set for the correct back to back distance for 32mm and 45mm gauge wheels
• Wiggle the wheels on the axles slightly so the gauge just fits between them

• Locate the chassis, mudguards, brakes and wheels on axles

• You can use any three AAA 1.2V or 1.5V batteries - single use 1.5V alkaline, rechargeable 1.2V NiMH, rechargeable 1.5V li-ion
• Make sure the on/off switch is set to off
• Fit the two outer batteries (the same way round) and then the inner battery (the opposite way round), making sure that the flat negative ends touch the springs and the protruding positive ends are pushed hard against the contacts
• Note there are two different types of battery holder - they are the same physical size but mirror images so yours may be a mirror image of the photo!
• When removing the batteries it is easier to pull the inner one out first

• Check everything works by turning the switch on
• The blue LED (circled) on the Mini B board should do a brief flash - if it does not check the batteries are making contact in the holder as they are a tight fit and may need to be pushed against the positive ends

• Connect your smartphone to the Mini B as described in the Mini B setup guide
• Run the controller from your screen
• You can change the name on the screen (for example to Donegal railcar) and password if you wish as described in the Wi-Fi connection and controller operation guide
• The Mini B has already had it's 'Shutdown on low battery' preset to off since you are not using a lipo
• Once you are happy everything is working correctly, turn the switch off
• Always remember to switch the power off when you have finished running so the batteries do not fully drain

• Identify which mudguard fits each side - the bigger lug is towards the back
• Glue one in place with Revell Contacta

• Glue the other in place
• Ensure they are perpendicular to the chassis

• Glue the brakes in place across the on/off switch with Revell Contacta
• They are angled towards the wheel

• Push the front axle all the way down until it clicks in place
• Push the rear axle all the way down until it clicks in place with the gears meshing
• Check the mudguards and brakes do not foul the wheels
• If you ever need to remove the axles then you can just push them back out

• Power on the Mini B and check everything works as expected - the wheels should rotate freely on just the 5% - 10% setting
• Once you are happy everything is working correctly, turn the switch off
• Always remember to switch the power off when you have finished running so the batteries do not fully drain

• Locate the glazing and note that all the pieces are named and in order - do not remove any until you are ready to start the fitting!
• Use Glue 'n' Glaze or model aircraft canopy cement to fix the glazing - other glues may fog the glazing
• We do not have spare glazing so please take your time and follow the next steps very carefully to avoid damage
• Each piece is connected top and bottom to the sheet - use a sharp knife to remove a piece
• There are two rectangular test pieces that we suggest you experiment on removing the protective plastic from (see next step) before you start on the windows
• Lay the body panels with the outside down
• Systematically remove each piece of glazing and lay it in the appropriate frame - cut the top and bottom connections fully from the sheet so they all fit
• Do the same for the light lens - there are two of these so you have one spare

• Removing the protective plastic on both sides can be tricky - experiment on the test pieces first - take you time
• Use a metal straight edge or the back of a blade held at 45 degrees along the edge of the pane to gently separate the protective plastic from the pane

• Once the protective plastic starts to lift, use a finger nail, cocktail stick and/or tweezers to tease up a corner but DO NOT fully remove it

• Repeat to remove a corner on the other side of the piece - it should look similar to this

• Fully pull off the protective plastic from one side and lay it face down in the appropriate frame - leave the protective plastic on the side facing you
• Repeat the steps for all the remaining windows and light lens - again take your time!
• Check that yours looks like the photo above

• Remove a window and run a THIN line of Glue 'n' Glaze around the inside of its window frame

• Push the window firmly in place - the protective plastic keeps fingerprints off
• Repeat the steps for all the remaining windows and light lens - again take your time!

• Check that yours looks like the photo above

• Leave the glue to dry thoroughly for several hours so the windows are secure - do not be tempted to try to remove the protective plastic early!
• Carefully pull the protective plastic corner up on each window to remove it - they should all be completely clear

• Revell Contacta and UHU Super Glue Ultra Fast Liquid should not fog the glazing when the side panels are fixed in place - if you use any other glue it would be worth putting some on the spare test piece to check it does not cause fogging

• The decal mounts have one very smooth side - the decals should go on this side
• Stick the mounts smooth side up to a piece of scrap with a blob Blu Tack
• Spray the mounts with gloss varnish and leave this to dry thoroughly
• Cut the decal sheet into two square pieces with a decal on each
• Put a decal into a small bowl of water
• Slide it off the sheet and apply to a mount - don't worry about the excess clear part at this stage - just ensure the decal is accurately positioned on the mount
• Repeat for the other decal and mount
• Leave them to dry thoroughly for several hours
• When dry, spray them with gloss varnish - the clear parts outside the mount may curl which is fine
• Leave them to dry thoroughly

• Carefully use a sharp pair of scissors to cut off the excess clear part of the decals round the mounts so they look like the photo - take your time so as not to damage the decals
• You could use a sharp knife, but we have found scissors to give an easier and better cut

• Locate the body inner and three M3 nuts and bolts

• Attach a nut to the end of a screwdriver with Blu Tack

• CAREFULLY apply UHU Super Glue Ultra Fast Liquid round the OUTSIDE edges of the nut - putting a drop of glue onto a cocktail stick and then using this to touch the edges of the nut is the easiest way
• Make sure there is no glue in the nut thread!
• Place the nut in the hole at the front of the body inner

• Screw a bolt from underneath into the nut to pull the nut tightly in place then unscrew the bolt - make sure it does not get stuck to the nut!

• Repeat for the two nuts at the rear of the body inner

• Check the front panel fits cleanly onto the body inner front, rubbing the cut out with wet and dry paper or similar if necessary
• Glue the front panel in place using UHU Super Glue Ultra Fast Liquid
• Make sure the bottom of the panel is flat with the bottom of the body inner (next photo)
• Use clamps to hold the panel tightly in place

• Make sure the bottom of the panel is flat with the bottom of the body inner
• Leave the glue to dry thoroughly for a strong join

• Test fit the other body panels, making sure you know which are on the each side - they are all different

• Using the long side panels as guides (but don't glue them yet), glue the rear panel in place using UHU Super Glue Ultra Fast Liquid
• Make sure the bottom of the panel is flat with the bottom of the body inner (next photo)
• Use clamps to hold the panel tightly in place

• Make sure the bottom of the panel is flat with the bottom of the body inner
• Leave the glue to dry thoroughly for a strong join

• Locate the left body panels - the long one has a door with small window, and the short one just a large window
• These will be a deliberately tight fit between the front and rear panels
• Glue the panels in place using either UHU Super Glue Ultra Fast Liquid (you need to be quick to make sure they are accurately positioned with the bottoms flat before the glue sets) or Revell Contacta (plenty of time to adjust)
• Just glue the panels to the body inner sides - do not worry about the joins between panels at the window frames at this stage
• Make sure the bottom of the panels are flat with the bottom of the body inner (next photo but one)
• Use clamps to hold the panels tightly in place

• Repeat for the right body panels

• Make sure the bottom of the panels are flat with the bottom of the body inner

• Run a thin line of Revell Contacta between each of the panels at the window frames - you can bend them apart slightly to allow the glue to flow between them from the needle applicator
• Take care not to get any glue on the glazing

• Put a couple of rubber bands round all the panels as shown to pull them together, checking they are all aligned
• Put (but do not glue) the roof in pace to help keep everything square while the glue dries

• Glue the bonnet in place against the front panel and floor using UHU Super Glue Ultra Fast Liquid

• Place the body on the chassis making sure the Mini B fits cleanly through the floor

• Screw the M3 bolts through the chassis floor into the body from underneath

• Glue the radiator in place

• Glue the short flat seat in place
• Slot the other two seats in place, the one with the groove in the cushion at the front - they are friction fit
• Glue the brake handle on the column - there are two so you have a spare

• Glue a grab handle and twist handle using Revell Contacta into the holes on the front right door

• Glue a grab handle and twist handle using Revell Contacta into the holes on the middle left door
• Spare sets of handles are included if required
• Glue a decal mount using Revell Contacta centrally under the second window from the rear on the left side

• Glue a decal mount using Revell Contacta centrally under the second window from the rear on the right side

• Driver Jack and accompanying passengers have been specially designed to fit and are available in 15mm scale from the Clavey Models eBay store
• Either glue them in place or use Blue Tak

• Slot the roof in place, but do not glue it in case you need to access the interior

• Power it up and enjoy
• Always remember to switch the power off when you have finished running so the batteries do not fully drain