The ‘Little grey Ferggie’

[Guest]

[ATTACH]291106[/ATTACH] A gentle introduction to the bench, great little kit.

Not many parts but a lot of fiddly bits and, although well drawn, the instructions have a few errors and can be confusing at times.
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Only four sprues and they are joined in pairs

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And, off to a quick start. No drama really apart from wrong attachment locations for some parts in the instructions and one of the brake rods being broken on the sprue with a bit missing so I replaced it with brass rod. Obviously not everything glued up as some paint detailing will be easier. That is to say that the fan belt needs to be black, as does the steering wheel. However, everything else is grey so not tricky to paint but may benefit from some shading to pop the really nice detail in the parts.

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Quite pleased with progress for today, but still a bit more to do prior to slapping some primer on.

[peterairfix]

I have been toying with getting one of these so I will be watching.

[Guest]

Oh!!! That’s a really interesting project!!
I’m in sure

[flyjoe180]

One of the first vehicles I ever drove was an old Ferguson tractor used to tow and retrieve gliders Watching with interest.

[yak face]

Who doesnt love a grey fergie? It was one of these that was the first ever Airfix model kit way back in 1949. I'll be watching this Graham

[Guest]

Not seen one of these before.
Looking forward to more.

[Gern]

Who doesnt love a grey fergie? It was one of these that was the first ever Airfix model kit way back in 1949. I'll be watching this Graham

You pipped me to it Tony! I was thinking just the same thing about the Ferguson being the first Airfix kit. Didn't they do it as a giveaway promotional toy at some agricultural show?

[PaulTRose]

ive been fancying one of these so look forward to seeing you put it together

[monica]

looking good so far,
we had one of them when i was young
thats showing my age

[yak face]

You pipped me to it Tony! I was thinking just the same thing about the Ferguson being the first Airfix kit. Didn't they do it as a giveaway promotional toy at some agricultural show?

Yes Ferguson asked Airfix to make some as promotional giveaways ,fully assembled , they proved popular enough that they started selling them with Fergusons approval ,then Woolworths asked if they could be sold unassembled as it would make them cheap enough to go in their 2 shilling line and the rest is history.

[Gern]

Yes Ferguson asked Airfix to make some as promotional giveaways ,fully assembled , they proved popular enough that they started selling them with Fergusons approval ,then Woolworths asked if they could be sold unassembled as it would make them cheap enough to go in their 2 shilling line and the rest is history.

Were they the first company to market kits that you had to assemble yourself?

[Guest]

Nice one! Always thought it odd that it took a French company to make a kit of a quintessentially British icon! But I'm glad they did - I used to drive one as a student during a couple of summers, by that time it was old and way out of date, but it still functioned perfectly. This little tractor was revolutionary at the time of its release, and was a (some say THE) turning point in post war agricultural development.

[Pikeman]

Nice kit Graham,I enjoyed weathering my tractor in the rusted state.
What look you going for

[Guest]

Nice kit Graham,I enjoyed weathering my tractor in the rusted state.
What look you going for

Not sure yet, maybe a bit ‘used’

[Guest]

A bit of an update. Essentially the build is done and it is ready for painting prior to final assembly.

There are a few minor issues with this kit but nothing you cannot work out if you take your time.

First up, the only pin marks on show have to be dealt with as the top ones are not hidden by the rear wheels.
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Then it is the famous three point mounting system for attachments. This looks as though it should be movable but I don’t think it is.

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Weirdly, Heller are big fans of solid headlights with decals for the lens. I drilled them out and will make clear lenses for them.

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The Bonnet is made up of four pieces and is designed to tilt like the real thing. Oddly, once assembled, it is not really possible to then spring it onto the pivot pins as it is too rigid. I have also read that it fouls the radiator cap as well so is not an easy thing to sort out and make it tilt as it should. As I cannot fit the radiator until the fan belts are painted, I will have to check this out later.

But for now, a few pics of it with all the little bits on, except steering wheel which I will add at the end. But for now, a few pics of it complete with all its bits on.

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Edit: Yes I know the rear wheels are not on right, the tread is reversed, but they are not fixed on as yet.