They were cut out of a length of 1/8" wall 2" x 1" aluminium rectangular box section. I've drilled the mounting holes for the axle tube screws, and now have to either drill or hand cut the centre holes for the axle tube spigots. This size is bigger than the capacity of my pillar drill (and I don't otherwise have a drill bit of this size) so I would need outside help if I choose to drill them.
The right hand plate has been slotted and also recessed at one point to accomodate the moulded ribs on this side of the gearbox assenbly, and has been carefully hand-trimmed to fit the counter-gear area of the box. There's enough clearance to allow for a couple of coats of paint if I later decide to do the whole thing in black, which is my usual style of finishing things.
The original diagonal strut mounting positions have been reproduced through the plates for added anti-rotation security, and there is a bit of trimming still to do in order to allow the original gearbox half clamping hardware to be accessable, or else the tube mounting hardware will have to be modded to allow for assembly of the tubes after the two gearbox halves have been completely assembled. I'm not sure which is the best way to go with this as yet - I've still got to consider servo mounting and this may affect matters.
The tops of the plates are probably higher than they will end up, but this will depend on my eventual choice of centre-chassis design. The lower front corners will later be radiused, although I intend to fit a 'ramming bar' here to prevent damage to the plastic gearbox itself.
More work to do as time allows...
