ModelWorks Foden Builders Diary

Prologue: This has now been moved to it's own page.

Monday 13 February: Kit one has finally arrived, slightly later than some constructors due to a mixup in dispatch. I guessed this kit was going to be big and heavy and I was not disappointed. At 2.5 meters long the package was too big and heavy to move so I split it open in my hall way and moved it piece by piece to the garage to photograph and assemble. I don't think this kit will take long to complete but I don't want to rush it.

Part number miscellany
All parts and fasteners are marked with a part number and the same part numbers are used in the instructions. I found this very useful on the Burrell particularly when there a number of similar looking bits.

It took me a while to twig the structure of the part numbers. This is useful to know as it helps identify a part that has been put aside for later fitting. The letters refer to the prototype; F for Foden, BU for Burrell. The first digit refers to the scale and the next two digits the approximate kit number. The final 2 digits complete the part number making it unique. Thus F40102 is the 2nd part in kit 1 of the 4 1/2 inch scale Foden. Steve has contacted me to point out that since he allocates the part numbers at an early design stage before he has finalised division into kit they should be taken as approximate. We should also watch of for a M suffix eg F40107M would be a mirror image of F40107.

As well a detailed instructions the kits are accompanied with isometric assembly drawings. These provide a second take on the instructions and dare I say it, are boon to those who don't read the instructions. I have included a typical example on the right and this may be clicked to see an enlarged version.

Unfortunately nothing is infallible and a number minor discrepancies have crept into the part number in this kit. They are easily spotted by comparing the instruction text, Isometrics drawings and detailed parts list.

After a tip off from Mike I easily spotted the first "deliberate mistake". The isometric drawings are quite clear and it would appear that the brackets F40102 & F40103 have been labeled the wrong way round.

It might be helpful to new readers if I introduce Mike. Mike lives in Pickering, North Yorkshire, and is a fellow builder of the Burrell and Foden kits and we often compare notes. Mike's Burrell is featured in the Gallery.

I also noticed a slight confusion with regard to the numbering of the chassis cross members. In the text and on the isometric drawings they are labeled F40108 & F40110 but the actual parts are labeled F40150 & F40151. A study of the parts list shows they are one and the same F40150 is F40108 and F40151 is F40110.

A slightly more subtle error concerns the two chassis rails F40107 but again the isometric drawing come to the rescue. While checking these over I noticed that one has an extra tapped hole. Judging by ISO 01A the rail with the taped hole goes on the left hand side. I believe the hole is to accommodate the pulley shown in the picture on the right which I took of the Foden on the ModelWorks' stand at Ally Pally. This pulley carries the cable which operates rear brake.

Before getting stuck into preparing the individual components I trial assembled the chassis to confirm that it fitted together correctly. I found that I had to keep my wits about me to avoid subtitle assembly errors. It looks simple but there are more wrong ways that right ways to put it together. For example it is possible to put many component in either way round but only one way is right. Here again the isometric drawings were a great help.

Tuesday: Today I made a start at cleaning up the chassis rails. I decided to follow Steve's suggestion and make use of a cup wire brush in an angle grinder though I did also use a wire brush in my power drill to get into the centre of the channel of the main chassis rails.

Wire cup brush in angle grinder

Wire brush in power drill

A side affect of cleaning up is that the labels identifying the part have to be removed. On most parts, once I have familiarized myself with them, this is not a problem but some I stamp to aid subsequent identification. I stamped the left hand chassis rail so that I could easily tell it from the right hand and whilst I was at it I added a distinguishing mark to aid identification if the need ever arises. Postcode marking would be another good idea.

It might be tempting to try for an all over smooth mirror finish but the slightly rough finish of the steal supplied is typical of the prototype. There are a few 21st century machining marks and I have done my best to blend these in.

Wednesday: I plan to paint the Foden as construction proceeds. This is not normal Model Engineering practice but is made possible because parts are supplied prepared for subsequent parts and with all fixing holes drilled. I am glad I adopted this practice for my Burrell but there are bound to be setbacks. For example I had to rework the Burrell's spectacle plate on two occasions resulting in it being painted three times. However the pain of doing this was must less that the agony it would have been to dismantle, clean, paint and reassemble the Burrell. Common sense has to be applied and where a close mating part is supplied in a later kit it is better to delay painting until fit is checked.

Having cleaned up the main chassis rails I decided I would immediately give them a coat of red oxide primer before they had a chance to rust. Rather than use my spray gun I used an ordinary 1" paint brush. I used this because I thought it quicker and I did not consider brush marks to be an issue. Any that are not masked by the rough surface I will be able to rub out. Due to the size and weight of the rails I could not paint both sides in one go and so it will take me 4 sessions to apply 2 coats.	The main chassis rails after the first priming coat
When I assembled the chassis I noticed excessive clearance between the dog legged chassis rail and the strut on the underside of the chassis. In full size practice I presume the rail would be held in tension by the strut thereby adding strength to the chassis. Judging by the rigidly of the model's main chassis girders addition strength is unnecessary and these parts are purely cosmetic. I have spoken to ModelWorks and as my gap is large they have kindly agreed to supply me with replacement rails. May: as it turned out all kits were affected and Modelworks have supplied replacement struts to all constructors.	The undesirable gap between strut and rail
Saturday: I have now finished priming the main chassis girders and I have turned my attention to the smaller components. Before painting each component needs "cleaning up". This involves removing sharp edges, rust and some machining marks. The amount of effort put into this step is left up to the builder and I tend to spend more time than is necessary to achieve a functioning model. I do a lot of this with the humble file. With a little patience surprisingly good results can be achieved. Draw filing, in which the file is moved sideways, is a useful technique for smallish flat surfaces and edges. When draw filing It is possible to feel the work under which helps keep a flush contact. As these components would probably be forgings in full size I used the file to impart substantial chamfers to all edges. A strip of wet & dry paper (or emery) placed under a flat file can be used to finally finish each parts. A quicker alternative is to use a Flap Wheel and power drill. I had never seen a Flap Wheel until I was introduced to this time saving tool at the start of the Burrell built. I find in particularly useful for cleaning up the edges of lazer cut parts. When doing edges I try to hold the drill at a sight angle as otherwise a narrow grove is quickly worn in the flap wheel. The flap wheel is well suited at blending in machining marks and any undesired angular edges. In this case I blended in the chamfers I had previously formed on the edges. I also use the Flap Wheel to give a quick once over to the faces of the smaller parts. For the early Burrell kits I continued until I removed all the scale from these faces. This took a lot of effort and despite wearing out a lot of Flap Wheels had no lasting benefit. ModelWorks have fabricated the Spring Slipper Mounting Bracket by welding three flat plates together. There are small tack welds on the inside of the channel. I believe these should be removed to allow the spring slipper to be fitted.	Using a file to chamfer the edges
	Cleaning up the edges with a Flap Wheel
	Remains of the scale after cleaning
These tack welds need to be removed	The Spring Slipper is fitted to the bracket
Bearing in mind the close proximity of the parts we will be getting in kits 2 & 3 I have decided to defer further painting until I have had a chance to check these for fit. This will also give me time to decide whether I am going to paint the chassis red or black. I am waiting for replacement F40107rails but other than this I am about finished with this kit. I shall keep the chassis in bits until the next kit arrives.	The smaller components after cleaning

Motivation for builders - Foden Steam Lorry Trevithick Day 2002

At this stage of the build there is not much to look at however over the next 2 years the Foden will take shape. This months kit was heavy and relatively boring but there are some very interesting kits to come.

Monday 24th July: Today I restarted painting the chassis. This is described here

Stage 1 of the chassis assembly

Tuesday 29th August: I have now begun finally assembly of the chassis having overcome all the obstacles preventing this.

I began by assembling the main frame including the boiler cradle from kit 2. This is not the sequence described in the instructions but simplified alignment of the cradle with the frames. After loosely assembling the frame I first tighten the bolts holding the cradle. I was thus able to wiggle the chassis rails around to bring them flush and perpendicular to the cradle. I then tightened the bolts holding the rear and centre cross beams. This was made much easier using the button head hex screws supplied in Kit 10 to replace those supplied earlier.

Fortunately my trestles were relatively level but I did spent time checking the chassis for twists and squareness using a spirit level and steel tape measure.

Button head bolts enable them
to be tighten in tight spaces

Chassis bolts after trimming
with angle grinder

Using a "nut plate" to trim bolts
inaccessible to the angle grinder

The painted and assembled chassis

Modelworks have supplied replacement struts to fix the problem with the chassis rails see above. It was a chore fitting all the bolts securing the chassis rail though when this was complete I was please to find the chassis rail now fitted correctly.

As the bolts were a little on the long side I decided to trim them back to just above the top of the nut. Since there were tens of bolts to trim I decided to use the angle grinder as much as possible. This gave me a chance to try the new Ryobi angle grinder which I found this much more controllable than the £9-99 budget model I previously used. I was not brave enough to use the angle grinder on the bolts inside channels and resorted to the tried and trusted nut plate. This is simply a piece of scrap steel drilled and tapped into which the bolt is screwed. The bolt is set such that when trimmed flush with the plate it will be the correct length. The bulk of the bolt is then cut off with an hacksaw and then filled flush to the plate.

The chassis bolts have been painted
in order to "blend them in"

Thursday: Since I have no intention of dismantling the chassis I got out the airbrush and sprayed the nuts and bolts. This will blend them in and make them much less noticeable. I want to hide them as on a full size Foden many of these would be conical headed rivets. While I was at it I gave the prominent members of the chassis a spray with the aim of blending in the brush marks.

This marks the final completion of kit 1 and I now have the momentum to clear the remainder of the backlog.

ModelWorks Foden
Builder's Diary

Kit 1 - Chassis

The contents of Foden kit 1

ModelWorks Foden Builder's Diary

Kit 1 - Chassis

The contents of Foden kit 1

ModelWorks Foden
Builder's Diary