Hello From A Newbie

First post here, be kind to me :-)

Thinking of having a go at a 4" DCC Agricultural as a treat for my fiftieth. It'll be my first steam project and I'm after
a few "steers".

What's your thoughts on this kit as a first forray into the world of steam?

How have you all found the build process and what would you say is the average build time?

Half of me says I should start with a smaller unit, but I guess the work involved is the same, it's just a matter of scale.

Any advice for the "newbie" would be much appreciated.

Many Thanks in advance

Andy
Northampton

Hi Andy

I am also new to the building of steam traction. I am building the Showman 4". This kit has about 18 months to go on the build. It can not be accelerated as the kits are not in stock.

The Agricultural is a complete in stock kit as far as I know. So this can be purchased as a complete consignment. There was a chap in Holand I think done the Agri 4" in 3 months. He visited the UK and traveled back with the whole lot.

If you get the whole kit as a oner you may feel a bit swamped with the "huge" task. I would suggest except for doing an inventory of the parts to start at kit 1 and work your way through them in order and keep the rest in their boxes.

You will find everyone here friendly and most have been fed well so you will not get bitten or chewed.

Most of all remember no question is silly if you do not know the answer.

And last of all. Welcome to the STW family.

Hello and Welcome Andy,

I am a complete newbie to large scale steam models, tis been my first. I took the plunge into the deep end by starting with a 4" road loco.
My last engine was a Mamod ??

I am so glad I have chosen this scale and STW for that matter.
I don't think i would have coped with all the tiny nuts on the belly tank if they were half the size. An engine crane and stand have come in really handy. i've used the crane to get the components up and off the table on my own.

My deciders on size were the following.
Cost
Space
Wanted power so I could go out on road runs and cope with bumpy fields etc.

The only things i've heard from other engine builders i've questioned re scale is
2-3" owners - "I wish now i'd built a 4 inch "
6" owners - "it's a lump to move around, the 4 inch you can push".

I have no large specialist machines at home other than the DIY tools most have lying around.

I have had no major issues with any of the kits. I wouldn't want to paint a picture of a Meccano set as the kits still involve you to do some finishing but the instructions that come with each kit are really easy to follow.

The support offered from the team at STW is in my opinion priceless and you wont be disappointed.

The group of frequent posters on here are always happy to help and some have a huge wealth of experience in building models which helps.

I know a lot of questions may be asked by myself when the engine start getting steamed as
boiler management on a scale model is something i'm not familiar with.

All the best

Nick

Thanks for the replies

Can you buy a "batch" (say five or six) of the assembly kits and do they follow on logically, i.e. can you finish kit three before you need parts from kit four etc etc?

4" does seem like a perfect size, big enough to have the grunt to easily pull fifty years worth of pies and Marston's, yet not too big to store transport or indeed maintain...

Will give the guys a ring on Monday to have a chat. Luckily I'm only about ten miles from Daventry so I may even pop over.

I think the running of it is my main concern, I guess there's plenty of willing, able, hands to help there though :-)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldbuckshots/4414293070/ This was my last build project, not too worried about a loads of parts in boxes

Cheers

Andy M

Hi Andy

I would guess yes. If in stock. Kit's do run in logical order. Up to kit 14 (boiler) each kit is an individial assembly, apart from the tender fittings, and you actually have nothing to hold them all together. So technically you could do those in any order. After 14 everything starts to be bolted together.

Nice "other" kit. I am also a JAR1 PPL. Looking to get up to CPL + instructor.

Thanks Lynn

I guess you wouldn't want to get too far down the line without all the bits, I presume there's a lot of assy/disassy along the line for correct fit between kits, I've already sussed out the boiler cladding bit

There was a Guy that had a Europa up near Inverness, I used to see it quite often whilst up at the wife's Uncle's at Dingwall!

Fed up with group "A" waffle, now fly G-TANA, built that as well :-)

Thanks again

Andy

Hi

If you are getting an established kit you should have no problem with fit. The DCC Road loco and Showman are "new production" and so far we have had in essence only 1 modification requirement. That being the belly tank mountings and the space between the cladding. The belly tank came months ahead of other kits to fill a gap in production due to 3rd party delays. If the kit was in the correct place the modification notice would not have been needed.

The accuracy and fit have in my humble opinion been 1000% When you have kits that are months apart in production coming together and bolting up with 20 individual bolts or more and not a single hole needs altering.

Ahh the beauty of CNC

First post here, be kind to me :-)

Thinking of having a go at a 4" DCC Agricultural as a treat for my fiftieth. It'll be my first steam project and I'm after
a few "steers".

Hi and welcome to the forum,
To the best of my knowledge STW are not building the 4 inch DCC agricultural engine only the 4 inch single crank traction engine or either the DCC showmans / road loco
sorry to be ther bearer of bad news....

That'll probably explain why it's not shown on the current price list..

I'll call them in the morning but thanks for the "head's up"

Andy

you wont be disappointed with the service provided - i had to take a year out from the build as i was building a house, am doing an open university course and i had a new addition to my family so quite the hectic year!! job security also got a little shaky in the height of the "depression" !
after a couple of phone calls and a few emails i was back on track with the build and am happy with the way the situation was handled.
Just a pity i am now the USA with work until at least Christmas so still no model!!!

lynnr wrote:Hi Andy

I am also new to the building of steam traction. I am building the Showman 4". This kit has about 18 months to go on the build. It can not be accelerated as the kits are not in stock.

The Agricultural is a complete in stock kit as far as I know. So this can be purchased as a complete consignment. There was a chap in Holand I think done the Agri 4" in 3 months. He visited the UK and traveled back with the whole lot.

If you get the whole kit as a oner you may feel a bit swamped with the "huge" task. I would suggest except for doing an inventory of the parts to start at kit 1 and work your way through them in order and keep the rest in their boxes.

You will find everyone here friendly and most have been fed well so you will not get bitten or chewed.

Most of all remember no question is silly if you do not know the answer.

And last of all. Welcome to the STW family.

That Chap in the Netherlands was me. Yes I did the build is 15 weeks, including the waterbowser. As I want to use the engine for commercial rides with children there were reasons to do it this way. I do have skills in engineering and building steam engines, with made the job a lot easier. A good planning for the painting was necessary to save time, not waiting for a part to dry before assemble but painting the part before I need it. I did the bowser in the same go with painting and coating the tank at the same time as the tender saving POR.
She looks very similar to Madelin because I like the colour scheme; it’s the same maroon I used on my steamroller.


Alex Jan.