Llechwedd Slate Quarry The Eclipse
introduction and instructions

• Black: chassis with 2 x 2mm bolts, roof, roof for poles (optional), 4 x wheels with 2mm bolts, rheostat box cover


• Grey: bonnet, bonnet cover, cab front, cab left and right sides, cab back with buffer beam, front buffer beam

• Black parts in separate bag: 2 x wheel coupling rods, 2 x brakes, 2 x cab floor sides, cab floor centre with brake column, brake handle, controller cylinder, controller top, controller handle, rheostat front and back, circuit breaker, cab side box, switch holder


• Grey parts in separate bag: 2 x buffers, 2 x cab side strips, 2 x cab back positioners, 2 x front lights, 2 x rear lights, 4 x light grills, 2 x front light brackets


• Black parts for poles in separate bag (optional): 4 x cab mounts, 4 x spacers, 4 x pole holders, 4 x pole ends

• Loco Remote Mini B
• Combined motor and gearbox
• On/off switch
• DC charge socket with 2.1mm centre positive pin
• White power connector and cable for Mini B
• 2 wire (yellow/orange) motor cable with Dupont connectors
• PP3 type battery connector
• 4 x AAA battery holder with PP3 type connector
• 4 x round windows
• Heat shrink tubing
• 42mm long axle
• Approx 250mm of 1.5mm diameter brass rod - 2 pieces supplied for roof with poles
• 1 x M3 16mm bolt and nut
• 2 x M3 10mm bolts and nuts
• 2 x M2 10mm bolts and nuts - roof with poles only
• 2mm allen key for the bolts on the chassis and wheels

• Ruler
• Needle files
• Hammer
• Drill bits (1.5mm, 1.6mm and 2mm are useful) with mini finger drill
• Sharp knife
• Tweezers
• Metal cutters (for brass rod)
• Small snipe nose pliers
• Wet and dry paper
• Rubber bands
• Polystyrene cement (used for Airfix kits)
• Glue 'n' Glaze for fixing windows
• Cyanoacrylate (super glue) for fixing coupling rod bolts (not shown)
• Small clamps (not shown)
• Pozidriv screwdriver (not shown)
• 2mm allen key (included with kit - not shown)
• Soldering iron, solder and "helping hands" (not shown) if you do not have the prewired kit

Motor and controller wiring

• Cut the yellow plastic lug at the bottom of the motor below the axle off with a sharp knife if it is not already removed

• Use a small pair of pliers to carefully lift the clear plastic motor retainer off its hook and put this aside
• Pop an 8mm piece of heat shrink tubing over the yellow wire then solder the end of this wire to the right motor terminal
• Cut around 25mm off the other orange wire so when soldered it looks like the photo
• Pop an 8mm piece of heat shrink tubing over this wire then solder the end of this wire to the left motor terminal
• Push each heat shrink tubing so they fully cover the soldered motor terminals and gently apply a soldering iron to shrink these in place
• Position the wires as shown then replace the clear plastic motor retainer onto its hook using pliers. The longer yellow wire should go under the clear plastic.

• Locate the switch holder, on/off switch and DC charge socket

• Slide the on/off switch into the holder so one tab is held in the gap on the left side - you may need to wiggle it
• Put 2 dots of superglue on the switch holder where the DC charge socket will touch it
• Push the DC charge socket fully into the hole on the right - you may need to lift the on/off switch side slightly as you do this

• Cut the wires attached to the Mini B white power connector to 70mm
• Cut the wires attached to the PP3 connector to 110mm

• Study this photo very carefully as connecting any of the wires up incorrectly will mean it won't work and could damage the Mini B
• Solder an offcut of red wire between the closest pins on the DC charge socket and on/off switch
• Pop 2 5mm pieces of heat shrink tubing over both red and black wires attached to the PP3 connector and push them all the way to the connector
• Pop an 8mm piece of heat shrink tubing over the red wire attached to the PP3 connector and then solder the end of this wire to the middle on/off switch pin
• Pop an 8mm piece of heat shrink tubing over the red wire attached to the Mini B connector and then solder the end of this wire to the outside on/off switch pin
• Pop an 8mm piece of heat shrink tubing over both black wires and then solder the end of both wires to the outside DC charge socket pin - note the centre DC charge socket pin is not used
• Push the heat shrink tubing on each red wire and the black wires so they fully cover the soldered pins and gently apply a soldering iron to shrink these in place
• Push the 2 pieces of heat shrink tubing on the wires attached to the PP3 connector along a little and gently apply a soldering iron to shrink these in place
• Make sure the wiring matches the photo

• Do not connect the battery holder yet
• Push the on/off switch towards the DC charge socket so that it is off
• Connect the white power plug into the Mini B white socket - it is keyed and should only go one way with the red wire on the outer side
• Connect the 2 wires from the motor to the 2 adjacent pins on the edge of the board with the orange wire plugged onto the inner pin closer to the white socket so that the loco goes in the correct direction - if you get this wrong you can always swap the wires round later
• Insert 4 AAA NiMH batteries and connect the PP3 clip
• Turn the switch on - push it away from the DC charge socket
• You should see a single very brief blue flash from the LED in the middle of the Mini B top board
• Bring up the Loco Remote control interface on your phone using the guides in the links above
• Increase the speed until the axle starts to turn
• A new motor will probably start to rotate when the speed is around 30-40% and to overcome this initial resistance and will need a little running in - once moving you can slow it down to around 10-20% and it will just rotate slowly
• The Mini B has already had it's 'Shutdown on low battery' preset to off since you are not using a lipo
• When you are happy all is working smoothly, turn the power off and disconnect the Mini B, switch and batteries

Assembling The Eclipse

• Locate the bonnet, cab front and sides, cab side strips and the M3 nuts and bolts

• Superglue 2 M3 nuts into the bonnet cab floor
• Screw bolts in tight from below to ensure the nuts are fully seated, making sure you don't accidentally glue the bolts
• Remove the bolts

• Superglue a M3 nut into the bonnet floor at the front
• Screw a bolt in tight from below to ensure the nut is fully seated, making sure you don't accidentally glue the bolt
• Remove the bolt

• Glue the cab front to the back of the bonnet making sure the lugs are fully pushed in place and all edges are glued along the floor

• Glue the left cab side to the cab front and floor making sure the rivets all line up exactly
• Use clamps to hold this in place while the glue dries

• Repeat for the right cab side
• Glue the cab side strips in place so they align with the front strips and the bottom of the cut out curves on the cab sides

• Glue the buffers in place

• Locate the front light (back is curved), rear light (back is flat), 2 grills and front bracket
• There are 2 sets of lights parts in the kit so you have spares

• Glue the front light (back is curved) to the bracket with one connector at the centre top
• Glue a grill to the front light with the pattern at 45 degrees
• Glue the complete front light to the bonnet cover making sure the wider part of the cover is at the front

• Glue the rear light (back is flat) to the cab back as shown with one connector at the centre top
• Glue a grill to the rear light with the pattern at 45 degrees

• Locate the chassis, brakes, brass rod and allen key
• File one end of the rod so it is slightly rounded - you need to do this so it will fit easily in a hole
• Make sure you repeat this filing for subsequent steps each time you need a piece of rod

• There are 2 bolts screwed into the chassis
• Remove these using the allen key and then attach the left and right brakes (they are handed) with the bolts
• Note the bolt goes through the bigger brake hole and the bottom of the brake is slightly further forward than the back - there is a dimple in the frame that aligns with a hole on the inside of the brake - do not glue the brakes

• You will need to make 2 brake rods with ends bent at 90 degrees in opposite directions
• The distance between the centres of the fixing holes is 68.6mm so cut 2 lengths of brass rod 82mm long from the same piece of rod, filing all ends
• Bend a right angle 4mm from one end of the rod and insert in the hole in the bottom of the brake - it should be a tight fit

• Bend the other end so it lines up with the chassis hole - take your time and you may need to unbend and re-bend a little to get it aligned
• Insert the end into the chassis hole (it is not as tight as the brake hole) making absolutely sure the brake does not pivot forwards or backwards as this could foul the wheel
• Repeat for the other brake rod
• Cut the ends of the rods slightly as necessary

• Locate the 2 rectangular cab back positioners
• Glue the cab back to the chassis so that the bottoms are fully aligned and use the positioners either side to ensure it is central - don't glue the positioners by mistake

• Glue the front buffer beam to the chassis - the top of the beam should be flat and aligned with the top of the chassis
• Make sure it is the right way up by checking orientation with the buffer at the back

• Unscrew the bolts holding the brakes to the chassis and remove the brakes and brake rods
• Push the motor through the hole in the chassis with the wires pointing towards the front - it is a deliberately tight fit
• Back it off slightly from being fully pushed in so that the axle will turn without catching the chassis hole

• Locate the wheels, coupling rods, 42mm axle and allen key
• Unscrew the bolts from the wheels

• Push one wheel with a round centre hole onto the axle so that the axle protrudes by 1mm - use a smaller hammer to tap the axle if necessary
• Push the axle through the holes in the chassis making sure it rotates freely
• Push the other wheel onto the axle with the bolt hole at approximately 90 degrees to the one on the other side
• The axle should protrude by 1mm - use a small hammer to tap the axle if necessary, or gentle twist the wheel a little clockwise then anti-clockwise
• The back to back wheel spacing should be set at 28mm which means 1mm of metal axle should be showing outside each wheel

• Push the wheels with rectangular centre holes onto the motor axle
• They will be automatically set at 90 degrees so approximately match the quartering with the other wheels
• Check that the coupling rods will rotate freely on the 2mm bolts, using a 2mm hand drill to clear them if necessary
• The coupling rods are handed - the parts sticking out should point upwards and be closer to the back - double check this
• Very carefully put a drop of superglue into the hole on a motor wheel

• Screw the bolt into this through the coupling rod using the allen key - make sure you back off a half turn from fully in so the coupling rod can move freely and work quickly before the glue sets

• Repeat the process with the wheel on the metal axle
• Turn to the other side and carefully rotate the wheel on the metal axle while holding the one on the other side so it aligns with the one on the motor
• This will take a little gentle wiggling and checking back and forth between the two sides to ensure the wheels are all correctly in quadrature
• Fix the bolt to the motor wheel through the coupling rod as before
• Repeat the process with the wheel on the metal axle

• Screw the brakes and rods back in place making sure they do not foul the wheels

• Look at the hole in the front of the chassis - the Mini B will be held in by the thin walls inside this
• Push the Mini B in place - make sure it goes into the central slot and not either side
• The white battery connector on the Mini B should be at the back

• Plug the motor cables into the pins on the Mini B
• The yellow wire should be towards the front of the chassis

• Feed the Mini B power connector and PP3 connector through the hole at the front of the chassis
• The on/off switch should be towards the front of the chassis

• Push the switch holder up through the floor
• It is a push to click fit - use the end of a pencil to push the middle until it locks in place

• Push the on/off switch towards the DC charge socket so that it is off
• Connect the white power plug into the Mini B white socket - it is keyed and should only go one way with the red wire on the outer side
• Insert 4 AAA NiMH batteries into the holder and connect the PP3 clip
• Push the battery holder into the hole in the chassis with the PP3 connectors on the same side as the Mini B

• Turn the switch on - push it away from the DC charge socket
• Bring up the Loco Remote control interface on your phone as described above
• Bring the speed up gently until the wheels start to turn - initially this may be at 30-40%
• Observe how it runs, stop the motor and holding one of the wheels on a metal axle gently twist the other slightly to get it better aligned
• This is an iterative process to get it running smoothly with no jerks or knocks, including making sure the rods do not hit the axle ends
• Once you are happy with the wheel alignment, turn the power switch off, unclip the PP3 connector and remove the battery holder

• Cut a small piece of brass rod and bend it to fit in the holes in the bonnet

• Locate the cab floor centre with brake column, brake handle, controller cylinder, controller top, controller handle, rheostat front, back and box cover, circuit breaker and cab side box
• Glue the controller top onto the cylinder
• Cut a small piece of brass rod and use this to secure the controller handle to the controller
• Cut a small piece of brass rod and use this to secure the brake handle to the brake column
• Glue the rheostat front and back onto the cover, noting the end with the cut out

• Glue the rheostat onto the front right of the floor of the cab. The tab on the cover is glued to the side. Make sure the cut out covers the bolt hole
• Glue the circuit breaker above the rheostat on the right cab inside
• Glue the cab side box with the lid side up to the front and left cab insides - make sure it lines up with the rivets printed on the outside of the cab as these secure it on the original
• Glue the controller cylinder into the holes in the floor of the cab

• Use the 3 M3 bolts to secure the body to the chassis
• The longer bolt is for the front

• Decide on the best type of coupling for your rolling stock
• Bending a small piece of brass rod and fitting it in the hole underneath works best for me, similar to the original - for you it may be better on top

• Locate the 2 cab floor sides and centre with brake column

• Glue the 2 cab floor sides down into place - the holes have grooves to support them
• Glue the cab floor centre with brake column into place

• Remove the 4 round pieces of glazing from their mount and make sure the edges are smooth
• Check each window fits in the frame holes from the inside of the cab
• We suggest Deluxe Materials Glue 'n' Glaze as the best glue for fixing them in place as it does not leave any smearing or fogging on the windows - polystyrene cement and superglue are very likely to cause fogging

• Use a fingernail and/or tweezers to start to peel the protective backing from both sides of a window but do not fully remove it

• Run a thin line of Glue 'n' Glaze along the inside of a frame hole
• Remove the protective backing from one side of a window and push it in place
• Repeat for the other 3 windows

• When the glue is dry (it goes clear) remove the backing from the inside of the windows

• "Alan" is a custom driver available from the Clavey Models eBay store
• Experiment to find the best position securing him in place with either glue, a pin through the floor or Blu Tack

• If you ordered the optional roof with poles locate the roof, bag of parts, M2 bolts and nuts and the second brass rod
• There are 2 sets of pole parts in the kit so you have spares

• Using an M2 bolt for alignment, glue the cab mounts and spacers on to the roof
• Make sure the bolts are vertical and put the nuts on finger tight to hold the parts while they dry
• When the parts are dry remove the bolts and nuts

• Superglue the M2 nuts into each pole holder, making sure they are in flat and square

• Cut 2 lengths of brass rod 110mm long (or whatever length you want) from the same piece of rod, filing all ends
• Insert the rods into the pole holders and pole ends, twisting to align

• If you want to be able to rotate the poles use a drop of threadlock to secure the bolts that come through the roof to the nuts with a very small amount of play
• Otherwise just screw the bolts tightly to the nuts

• Fit your roof to the cab - note the front of the roof has the 2 bars on the inside
• You can leave it loose so it can be removed or swapped
• If you want to fix it permanently in place, only glue it to the front and sides - do NOT glue it to the back or you will not be able to remove the body
• Insert the battery holder and clip the bonnet cover in place - do NOT glue it

• Power it up and enjoy
• Always remember to switch the power off when you have finished running so the batteries do not fully drain
• You can recharge the batteries either by removing them from the holder or by connecting a charger to the DC charge socket underneath with the switch pushed towards this
• IMPORTANT - when you charge the batteries remove the battery holder from the bonnet and lay it outside and not right next to the loco. The batteries can get very hot while charging and if left in the bonnet could cause it to warp!