Opinion on Scaledown models, how difficult are they?

[Jack390]

Hi all, for Christmas I am contemplating on getting a couple Scaledown models kits, one of them being a bomford hedge cutter. Those who have built them( any Scaledown kit) in the past, how difficult are they to build? Cheers

[SPN]

They are very straightforward to build. I recommend them highly.

Getting the rear axle to be exactly 90 degrees to the line down the middle of the bonnet is probably the most challenging thing (for me anyway).

I've built the MF65, Ford 6x 5000 and these Fordson Major variants

 

[smithy]

I have built a few in the past ,they are ok if you take you time and not expect to build it after tea one night, deciding how far to build before stopping and spraying/hand painting is the problem as for example mudguards might be different colour ,even if same colour its hard to paint the rest with them on ,same with bonnets . you should be ok with hedge cutter as all same colour apart from the rams , like i said take you time check thing fit before applying clue and you will be ok    

[Jack390]

Thanks for that, yes I wanted a nice little project over the winter months so it should suit nicely .

[justy 46]

I've never built one.. But I take it they are no more difficult than an Air Fix or Revell kit.. 

[SPN]

The main difference is that you are working with metal instead of plastic, so a slightly different approach to preparation and how you use the glue. Nigel supplies a type of superglue that goes off slowly so you can make adjustments. Highly recommend that.

Getting the 3 point linkages together can be tricky and is probably the fiddliest bit. I've used wood glue on 3 point linkages a couple of times as it is more forgiving.

Planning the painting is another fiddly bit on multicolour models. The mudguards and footplates on the 6X are one piece, so have to be masked. I made the mistake of painting the grey first. With hindight I should have finished all the blue before going near the grey.

[Jack390]

13 hours ago, SPN said:

The main difference is that you are working with metal instead of plastic, so a slightly different approach to preparation and how you use the glue. Nigel supplies a type of superglue that goes off slowly so you can make adjustments. Highly recommend that.

Getting the 3 point linkages together can be tricky and is probably the fiddliest bit. I've used wood glue on 3 point linkages a couple of times as it is more forgiving.

Planning the painting is another fiddly bit on multicolour models. The mudguards and footplates on the 6X are one piece, so have to be masked. I made the mistake of painting the grey first. With hindight I should have finished all the blue before going near the grey.

Thanks for the information, the kits I’m interested in appear to be straightforward colour wise, with the hedge cutter being one colour. Cambridge rollers I can just paint the rings before assembly . I assume for the hedge cutter it comes supplied with decals?

[smithy]

Yes it will have the decals and some black pipe for the rams 

[Jack390]

Ideal 

[Anderson Agri]

Hi Jack

Just built the bomford trimmer over the last couple of days, it was fairly straight forward a bit fiddly getting the pins in and the rams, the hardest part was the flails but it was my first time building one and i found it alright once i got my head around the instructions

 

[Jack390]

Thanks for the response, are there any certain tools that you’d recommend using for the build or is it just a case of putting it together? 

[Anderson Agri]

18 minutes ago, Jack390 said:

Thanks for the response, are there any certain tools that you’d recommend using for the build or is it just a case of putting it together? 

All I used was a pair of pliers to put the pins in as they are a bit fiddly, and also you are supposed to use a vice to build the flails as they are individual but I put them on the bar and built them that way and glued solid so it wasn't too much of an issue

[Jack390]

1 hour ago, Anderson Agri said:

All I used was a pair of pliers to put the pins in as they are a bit fiddly, and also you are supposed to use a vice to build the flails as they are individual but I put them on the bar and built them that way and glued solid so it wasn't too much of an issue

Thanks for that 👍

[Jack390]

Couple kits bought , will update you all on how it goes 

[Jack390]

 Started the Cambridge rollers, only 63 more rivets to go 😳

[Jack390]

Bit more progress today, have got used to using rivets now 

[Jack390]

Almost painting time now, going to wait for better weather 

[Jack390]

I appear to have not got a rivet long enough for this part , how have others done it before? Have contacted Nigel and he suggests putting one rivet in from each side. Please let me know what you think 

[Tractorman810]

nigel knows his stuff,and one from each side will work,may need to trim them down length wise so the head sit flat each end  , but if you want a single piece just use some brass rod instead, 

[Jack390]

Ok I will take yours and Nigel’s word for it 👍

presumably squeeze either side too? Also would I need to counter sink the holes throughout this build as the rollers I made suggested that I do that, but these don’t? Sorry for all the questions 

[Jack390]

Rollers have been built ✔️ now onto the hedge cutter 

[Jack390]

Hedge trimmer finished 

[Ferret90]

Very nice job there jack

[Jack390]

Thanks Ted