Possible solutions/inspirations: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/maridunian-models?li=pb

I have just started a TPM 442 kit i have had for years i was sure i had got transfers for it but could not find them so i order some new ones guess what the new ones arrive I open a draw to put them away to see the missing set looking at me I looked in that draw twice oh well i have spares if i muck the job up 

Blimey I thought it was only me that keeps losing stuff! Tools mostly but I've had stock " go missing", some of which herself pointed out I had sold.......

Sylvia then recalled a conversation with her mother.

"My dear daughter, never forget, my spirit walks with yours, as does the spirit of my mother, and her mother before her. This lineage of women, along with their steadfast male partners who loved without blood ties, are all with you. Generations of our ancestors watch over you, admiring your growth and progress, living and leading as they hoped you would."

Sylvia nodded.

"When you find yourself feeling low, alone, or unloved, remember them. Feel their presence. They are there with you, their boundless light illuminating all that you do. You are the culmination of countless women who have come before you, and like them, you will prepare the way for those who follow."

"Thank you."

"You are part of a beautiful, enduring legacy, my dear Sylvie."

Sylvia glances at the 'Silver Moon' clutch—with its celestial secrets—resting close by, waiting for its purpose to unfold while she muses. 'Will Jeremy be the next Lord Trevelver, the hero chosen to stand by my side? But chosen by who? Did I really ever have a choice? Did Jeremy? Sylvia and Jeremy; Eli and Giles... Or will fate twist our paths, again, leading us to uncharted waters?'

As the firelight flickers, she wonders if, for a female Trevelver, love can ever be a rebellion against inheritance—a defiance of passion over tradition. Perhaps her female ancestors smile from the shadows, knowing that sometimes, even future queens and captains must surrender to the direction of the heart's compass, to a destiny long pre-ordained, that harbour of calmness that no storm can breach.

Sylvia's attention then returns to the present and Eli, sitting quietly opposite her, lost in reverie. Eli is a study in contrasts. Her freckled face, full lips, and bright blue eyes sparkle with curiosity and a hint of mischief. Taller than average at 5 feet 6 inches, she moves with the grace of a dancer.

But it is her figure that truly captivates—a delightful canvas of curves, with measurements of 37-23-34. Her large bosom catches the eye, contrasting beautifully with her delicate, cinched waist, her magnificent bust accentuating her femininity. Eli is both bold and hesitant, fierce yet shy, a symphony of contradictions that leaves an indelible impression.

I've seen this available on Shapeways somewhere, available in N gauge.

Don't have experience with building shunters but if this is a passion project and you're willing to learn there is no reason why you can use both materials.
3d print for the basic body shape and etched brass for the details that still look better as etched parts think very thin details like railings and window frames that either won't print or will be too delicate in 3d printed resin.

You'll need to learn a CAD program to produce the 3D model and you'll need to learn a vector graphic program to produce your etches. You'll get a laundry list of packages if you ask which is the best so just experiment until you find one that suits you. You can start with open source i.e. FreeCAD and Inkscape for no cost but other commercial packages often have a free version that you can use.

I never found a single, tell-all how-to, I've learnt techniques from various sources across the Internet as I went and had some useful experience from kit-building when younger but it's not been a quick process hence why I said passion project at the very beginning if you're just starting out.

So, my advice would be start small and build on what you learn as you go. Maybe build a 3d model of something small, solid and relatively simple like an oil can that sits on the deck of the shunter for your first project or make an etch of the fence or gate in the yard that the shunter works in and build from that. If you start small, the mistakes and errors that inevitably occur won't set you back so much in terms of money and motivation or heck just jump right in, you'll know what works for you.

These little battery shunting tractors are 3D prints drawn up by a friend, printed and decorated by me.    They're not powered, they sit on old Farish loco front bogies (the ones with the undersize wheels) and even then the model had to be stretched a little to accommodate the bogie wheelbase. 



Unpowered is arguably a better choice for these, they can couple to a loco (eg. overhead electric) and look like they're shunting around my loco depot away from the catenary





Of course, no sooner had we produced these then Arnold have announced a working model which I have on pre-order!

If you're going to create a working model make sure there is room to stuff it full of as much "liquid lead" shot as you can if you want it to pull anything

Personally for me I'd 3D print, brass strikes me as immeasurably harder, but I can use CAD software and have an array of printers, and can never remember which end of a soldering iron gets hot so I'm maybe not best placed to comment... 

This topic has been moved to N Gauge Discussion.

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?msg=832500

maybe its me but as a new naive modeller

first it was (and continues to be) steam trams

and now Ruston / Hunslet diesel shunter,

ive bought a Tomytech chasis which is nearly the right size,

brass or 3d for the body (if i can create a design) ?

anyone out there had experience with creating a little shunter from scratch?

Thankw

Mark