britainswomble Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Having bought one of these last weekend, I thought those of you interested in the later Fordsons, might be interested in a review of the Blue/Grey Super Major.. On the whole it is a really nice looking tractor, but the first thing you notice is that it has the wrong wheels, back and front. The fronts are four slot wheels, which should have been three, although most of them were fitted with pressed steel wheels. The rears are Fordson Major type, and the tyres are a loose fit as they aren't located on a ridge like the Britains ones are. The rear linkage operates and fits well on the older style implements and I suppose because of copyrights, the swinging drawbar casting is a different shape, but still very close to the real thing. The actual drawbar is as per Britains. The steering works well, but the wire drag link is a bit thin making the steering a little sloppy. The casting for the skid unit is very sharp in detail, but if you compare it to an original tractor; it's noticably narrower. I've found that you can't fit the muledozer or a loader to it for this reason. It's just too narrow for the front mounting lugs. The rivetting on the seat and where the two halves are rivetted together is a little untidy, but not that noticable. Paint wise, I'm not too sure if the blue is the correct colour, and the grey seems a little dark. To sum up, its good points are that it is a nice looking model, suitable for carpet farming, as it can be used to pull trailers and mounted equipment. It would look good in a display, even standing next to a genuine tractor. In spite of the criticisms I've made about it; I paid thirty quid for mine from a show and still think it's good value for money, bearing in mind that there were some on E Bay the other day at a starting price of thirty six pounds with four pounds postage. Also you have to bear in mind the prices people are paying for broken Britains Majors; and the fact that even when they are restored; they aren't worth much more than you would have paid in the first place. I'm pleased with my purchase, although it's likely that given time, I will fit Scaledown wheels to it to make it look more like the real thing. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerrabbit Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I purchased one of these Fordsons from the same guy in it's kit form a while back for ?29.99. Building the kit was a little time consuming as the parts needed quite a bit of filing to fit them together. I would not buy another one of these as when completed the rear end of the tractor is a little wider than the front that leaves a very slight gap between the two halves. The axle pins, front and back, are slightly too small in diameter making all the wheels a little sloppy and the rear tyres are a little loose on the rims as well and these axle pins or shafts are too hard to pinch or crimp. The rear lift 'down-arms' are grey hard plastic and cant be fitted over the lugs on the linkage for this reason or the 'rings' are too small, I had to use the proper softer Britain's original ones, these arms should be orange. Another fault With this kit was that there was no steering linkage wire with it so I had to use my 'special', a wire paper clip. There were no transfers or decals supplied either. (Grilles and 'Fordson'). The peg to mount the seat had to be filed down as the seat would not sit low enough to hold the 'top link/cross-shaft arms in place without them falling out. These kits are cast using an original Britain's Major, on the right-hand mudguard 'Made in England is there but 'Britain's' has been ground out. In my opinion, this kit would score about 4 out of 10 for quality and around 6 for price. Not too dificult to build but I don't think That I would build another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractorman810 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 do you recon the kits are worth it then?? compaired to say a scaledown one? i know they are prob more usable with the hitch ect, but i asume they are white metal to, so wouldnt take to much weight on them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britainswomble Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 Here is one in CKD ( completely knocked down ) form ,, but time to build & paint still needed http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Repro-Fordson-DDN-Tractor-with-Rubber-Wheels-Metal-Kit_W0QQitemZ200125261736QQihZ010QQcategoryZ117196QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I would love to get my hands on some genuine Britains Majors to restore and add to my collection, but I'm reluctant to pay forty or fifty pounds for a broken one,, bearing in mind that you would have to pay another twenty plus for the parts to rebuild it. If you could pick up one of these for twenty pounds, it wouldn't be such a bad buy. Spose I could nip down to Brighton to pick up a couple at the right price. Would be a good start for a custom build like I have in mind. Rather than pay silly money for one of these or a battered Britains one; you would do much better to buy a Scaledown one in the first place and have a spot on model with the right wheels and colours. Fink I'll do that when I have some spare wonga. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britainswomble Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 do you recon the kits are worth it then?? compaired to say a scaledown one? i know they are prob more usable with the hitch ect, but i asume they are white metal to, so wouldnt take to much weight on them Mine was already assembled and painted. Whoever built it did a very good job if the quality of the kit castings is that poor. Certainly don't regret buying it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractorman810 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 mm shme they dont do a buy now price, wouldnt mind haveing a tinker with one of those see what i could come up with, see a lot still working arround this way especially arround gunnislake in the market garden places and nurserys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerrabbit Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 mm shme they dont do a buy now price, wouldnt mind haveing a tinker with one of those see what i could come up with, see a lot still working arround this way especially arround gunnislake in the market garden places and nurserys This link will give you all the info you need about it TM810. http://cgi3.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=dinkyclub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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