Any advice for a new starter?

Good Morning All

I took delivery of all the kits for a 2" last week, and I've now got a shed full of boxes staring at me!

Any words of advice/comfort/warning would be greatly appreciated before I dive in ( starting with an Olympic content checking session).

As an aside, this forum and the support given was one of the factors that made me choose this kit,

I'm sure I'll be posting again shortly- just look for posts labelled 'HELP'

regards

Jerry

Welcome aboard.
I would suggest, as a kit1 4" Scenic, builder you start at kit1 and do not be tempted to do the, hum that looks interesting thing and then have lots of kits part way through.

When it all looks too hard, keep going, read all the posts on here, then read them again, most, if not all the faults, have been posted on here. And when all else fails, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, anyone can do that! Be prepared to pull things apart numerous times and then once more. Chris

i would agree with checking all your kit contents first. if you do find any shortages, (including fasteners) make a list and get it back to us at STW. this will give us time to get things sorted without causing any inconvenience for you.

also, don't be afraid to ask, what ever the question.

Hi,

I picked up all my kits in march / april time and am currently about to start the cylinder kit ( progress been very slow of late due to work commitments ). So far everything has fitted very well and any queries i have had have either been answered by reading previous posts or by the willingness of other people on here to share their knowledge. As well as providing information this forum can provide inspiration aswell. The recent pictures of LilyJack's engine have really spurred me back into action and some of the information on lining in the 4" sections have also been excellent.

I checked the contents of all my kits in one go and can confirm it is a mammoth task. All i had missing was a few fixings which Dean / Isobel sent to me within a couple of days. For me the post sales service has been excellent.

One thing you will need to do is to grow some very tiny fingers and a set of BA nut spinners is essential for the tender.

Overall it has been a very enjoyable experience so far but be warned it is addictive. The choice of the next model is already causing problems as i fancy a DCC but the wife is adamant that it will be a foden.

Regards

Andy

I am with your wife on that one Andy The Foden C-Type is bloody good fun, the water storage is brilliant and the back is good for people to seat on or for setting your cup of tea on or pint its just a good all round lorry.



Mark

Cheers for the words there Andy,
Right well erm, I lit a fire in mine today (Friday afternoon) and was muchly pleased at only a few tiny little leaks here n there (we're talkin nowt to worry about leaks ie : gland packing parts etc) so I'm pretty much chuffed to (insert bad word here).
As for words of wisdom, well I'm about as wise as dog (also insert bad word here) but I'll say this, IF along the way you get stuck for gods sakes either ask on the forum or ring Steve/Dean for advice. Not asking will cause you grief beyond belief and give you worry where it's not needed. There'll more than likely be times when you think "(insert bad word here) sakes is this worth it......??????". Stop, have a beer or a cuppa, go for a tomtit if it makes ya feel better haha, then bugger off back to it n carry on some more. The ONLY part I found utterly soul destroying was building the tender, those poxy nuts n rivets, there's trillions of the bloody things.
So to sum it up, from someone who's JUST finished his engine, take your time, read the instructions WAY before kit building to prep you of what to expect and, IF IN DOUBT ASK!!!!!
One of the best moments is when you offer the tender up to the boiler and slap on the smoke box end as well, the time when it finally starts to look like an engine rather than a cluster of built parts..

Good luck in the build mate..

Best Regards

LilyJack

ps : You may well find yourself making very small mods here n there, changing bolts for slightly larger ones or s/steel ones etc, so what, who cares, it's your engine. Just build it pucka

Thanks for the info guys, I have just stated building mine also so I guess that we will both be scouring through the forum for tips at each stage or kit..

Malcolm

HI OK

HOw can I put this Yes all god advice good luck and I as it has been put just ask....
Lots of help on here I found just look at the posts ...

SO GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN ho yes pashance.

Hughb

Thanks for the encouragement, its good to know that lots of you guys who have completed are still monitoring this forum to assist us new builders with known issues. I am not looking forward to fitting the cleading, that seems to have been quite an issue from reading the posts...
It would be good is a few more photos were available showing stages of build from guys.
Has anyone else started building recently ???
I have amassed kits 1 to 13, and have a couple of months off, so hope to have a few months of intensive building.

Malcolm.

HI Frostie

The cleading was not the worst bit for me it was haveing to go and get a plaster so maney times
Just look at some of my pics and you will see the size of my hands ,to the tender,

Do post and yes I had the kits 2 to 12 in my shead .BOX,BOXBOX,BOX and so on .
You will find that you will get parts that sit for a while and sudenly all go together and WOW

Hugh,

I cant find your pics , where are they ???

Malcolm

i have some photos on the following forum pages.
page 3 of owners photos
page 5 of owners photos
start of my final assembly

if there is anything you wish to see close up let me know and i will post a new photo.

Jon

Thats brilliant, many thanks for the info, I have been delayed at work (in Egypt) for another couple of weeks and am just bursting to get home and started again. so far I have constructed the front wheels, axle and perch, and just about a third of the way through the smokebox assembly. I have lots more kits ready to move on when thats completed.
Roll on cold Cornwall lol.

Malcolm

Frostie wrote:Hugh,

I cant find your pics , where are they ???

Malcolm

Hi All I can do is say look at 2" and you will see my name under the title .AS I do not konw
how to move it all around like forge can do.
Good luck