Heller 1/24 Ferguson tractor

[JeroenS]

My build for this GB will be this little Ferguson tractor by Heller. 

 

 

You can do a lot with this little one. Pristine like on the box art, or all out weathered. What I'd like to do is make it look like the tractor I learned to drive in the early '90's while working on a farm for a school internship. I lived on that farm for 2 months and had a great time. 

 

I have one photo of it (this was waaay before mobile phones with camera's 🙂) which I scanned from an album I have somewhere. 

 

 

It's a Steyr tractor but for me it's similar enough. So, red with the yellow wheels it is. Now, I'm a little short on time in the coming months but if I do have the time and the inspiration I will scratch a trailer for it. Either a flat bed or, if I'm really feeling adventurous, the milk trailer I had to tow to the fields where the cows would be milked right there. 

 

 

In the mornings, it was my job to get the tractor out, hook up the milk trailer and drive the farmer, who would be sitting on a bench at the front of the trailer, to the field where the cows would be at that particular day. They were moved around a bit from field to field when they had eaten all the grass or whatever. 

 

There was a milkshed on wheels in the middle of the field which would be roped off, creating 2 halves. The cows would come to the shed, be milked and move into the other half of the field. Return trip the next day if I remember correctly. 

 

Upon returning from the fields, I was to hook up the hoses like you see in the picture and start the pump which would pump the fresh milk into the large milk tank in the barn. 

 

I did all kinds of other stuff, helped with births of sheep, cows, horses and pigs. A time I still look back on with fond memories. The farm does not exist anymore, there are houses in that spot now. 

 

[busnproplinerfan]

This will be interesting, There's a good song by Ritchie Kavanaugh about a Ferguson.

[Mjwomack]

The originals go for good money amongst the farmers round here! I have a friend trying to buy one and have often thought he should settle for this kit

[Brad]

Welcome along, good choice mate.

[Bengalensis]

This is a very nice kit, I've built two of them.

 

When you get to the front axle; be aware of the track width the Heller setup of the parts give. It will be one of the widest possible settings (on the real thing it can be altered), and chance are that you might want to modify the parts to get a more typical narrower setup.

[Hockeyboy76]

Nice to see you back at the bench dude, here to show us all up. 

[JeroenS]

Whenever I can, I like to make a start on GB kick-off. So this evening I did. I've been itching to build it ever since I bought it, and that's a while ago. 

 

A nice selection of sprues. Absolutely flash free and almost no mold lines. Excellent kit indeed. 

 

 

This is, as was said, a very nice kit to build. I couldn't stop and before I knew it I was on page 2 of the instructions. Luckily I did take some pics every now and then or it would have been a very short post indeed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is how it ended up after this evening's session. 

 

What a great kit. Nice detail, and everything fits very well! Just lovely. I can see how you would want to build a couple of these. 

[TonyOD]

Ooh nice choice.

[PattheCat]

That's what I call a good start.

 

I can't remember precisely (more than 50 years ago ...) but the tractor on which my grandfather took me to the fields as a kid was a green one also, with red or yellow wheels.

There was a seat on the rear left fender and I was sooo afraid to fall under those enormous wheels when I first had a ride on it (imagine this from a small kid's viewing point).

I should fumble around to find a picture or call my uncle as he should still have it in his garage.

 

Thanks for bringing those fond memories back, Jeroen. I'll gladly follow your build.

[JeroenS]

6 hours ago, PattheCat said:

There was a seat on the rear left fender and I was sooo afraid to fall under those enormous wheels when I first had a ride on it (imagine this from a small kid's viewing point).

I think you had every right to be afraid!

[reini]

Back on the bench? Looking like a nice kit and I hope you have time for the trailer. 

[JeroenS]

4 hours ago, reini said:

Back on the bench?

Yes, I missed it! Making up for it now with two tractors in two GB's 🙂

4 hours ago, reini said:

Looking like a nice kit and I hope you have time for the trailer. 

I think I will, the Fergie itself looks like a quick build.

[JeroenS]

This weekend's final update. I didn't have much time today but I had a nice session this evening after dinner. I cut and drilled out the "spark plugs" and used alu and brass tubing and plastic wire to make something a little more interesting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything is glued with thin CA which I wicked into the crevices. The thicker wire is probably just a little too thick but I don't think it will be too visible. I hope this stuff doesn't get in the way of other parts 🤔

[PattheCat]

Nice addition. With wiring the engine suddenly looks way better.

[Thom216]

Some good, stand-put detailing with the wiring. And if anyone notes the thicker cable, tell them the farmer had to fix it with what was on hand!

Edited April 19, 2021 by Thom216

[JeroenS]

I glued the bonnet together, there's 4 parts for it. It's hinged at the front, suggesting you can open it. It took me quite a bit of effort to get the bonnet in position. 

 

 

Maybe you can see there's a little bit of damage to the lower part, around the hole where a pin sits inside, so you can pivot the bonnet. 

 

 

Or so you think. I found it's impossible to open the bonnet. The radiator fits snugly into the spot at the front and the plastic on the inside of the bonnet denies any movement!

 

 

You'd have to do some serious work to the inside of the bonnet if you wish you display it opened. And I'm not going to do that. In fact, I'm going to add one or two more wires and call it quits on the detailing. I'd rather spend some time on a trailer and have a nice little combo ready at the end of the GB. 

[CliffB]

Nice work on the engine Jeroen 

[JeroenS]

Alright, that's enough of that. I added some more wires and such, hiding the ends where they won't be seen. 

 

 

Let's hope a lick of paint will make them look better, and that I can keep them attached in the process. 

[Thom216]

It's good that the bonnet is not going to hide those wires. Shame it can't be opened without a lot of work either.

[JeroenS]

Evening all, tonight the rear axle was fitted, along with a couple of delicate parts. The instructions were not entirely correct in some points but it was easy to figure out the correct positioning. 

 

 

I'll try the front axle tomorrow, after which it will definitely start looking like a tractor. 

[wimbledon99]

Hi Jeroen,

 

Just catching up with your build; it looks great so far and the wiring makes it even better!

 

I've thought about building one of these for my brother-in-law as he has a similar tractor himself so really interested in watching this one to the end

 

Cheers

 

Nigel

 

[reini]

That engine is looking soo good with all those wires  Pretty fast job too - all those extra fiddly bits usually take a lot of time.

[Hockeyboy76]

I see your work hasn’t suffered any by being away from the bench. Great work as usual, did you connect the spark plugs in the correct sequence to the dizzy?

[JeroenS]

15 minutes ago, Hockeyboy76 said:

did you connect the spark plugs in the correct sequence to the dizzy?

Of course, can't you tell? 😉 

[Hewy]

 Lookig good ,Very nicley built jeroen,👍 i built one a few  years ago, i really enjoyed it