Parts included in the C&D's kit (tires also included but not pictured)

The first step I took in building this model was cleaning up the parts.  I sanded or ground off any casting flash and any other high spots that prevented parts from mating together properly.  Next, I filled any porosities on the exterior surfaces, and decided while I was at it I would fill as many seams that I could.  To do this, I had to assemble a few of the pieces together, but I did not want to completely assemble the tractor because there were several components I wanted to paint separately. 

One of the parts of the tractor that I determined was OK to assemble prior to painting was the rear frame.  I glued the two halves of the rear frame together and added the drawbar.     One word of note here, before you glue the drawbar in place, you might want to put your tires on and check it's height.  If the drawbar is too high with the tires you are using, you might want to lower it.  It is also a good idea to put your tires on to check clearance with the fenders.  You definitely want to do your fender modifications now, before you start painting.  With the tires I chose, I had to grind a few spots down to clear them.  After everything was glued together, I filled the seam between the two halves, and any porosities on the fenders with body filler.  When filling porosities on the fenders and several other places on the tractor, be careful to only fill the porosities and not to fill the dimples C&D’s uses to show where accessories like lights and handles go.  These dimples help guide you where to drill to mount those pieces later.  I also filled the articulation pivot points with body filler so they could later be redrilled to more precisely match the pivot pin and reduce the amount of slop in the joint.

Another part of the tractor that I decided it was OK to pre-assemble, was the cab.  Before joining the two halves of the cab, you should install the hydraulic tank, which mounts on the back of the cab.  With the two halves of the cab joined, fill the center seam and any porosities on the surface.  Again, be careful not to fill the dimples that mark where the lights, handle and cab air cleaner go.  You will also want to make sure that the opening on the bottom of the cab is large enough for the interior to go through.  If not, you may have to enlarge it.  One thing I had noticed in several other C&D’s Steigers that people had assembled was that the steering wheel almost touched the roof.  To prevent this problem in mine, I cut off the bottom of the interior piece and remounted the seat and steering column on the thin piece of metal.  This allowed both to sit a little lower in the cab.

The front frame cannot be pre-assembled if you plan on painting the engine separately.  Still, you will want to fill any imperfections on the individual pieces, and check fender clearance with your tires.  Like the rear, I filled the pivot hinge area with body filler so it could be redrilled more precisely later.  In my kit, the engine did not need any imperfections filled, but I did add a few details to it.  The Cat V-8 engines used in the Wildcats, Super Wildcats, Bearcats and Cougars had distinctive valve covers.  If you are building one of these tractors, the valve covers can easily be duplicated by cutting a few notches along the bottom edge.  If you are building one of the Cummins powered tractors, you can leave them as they are.

Left - Standi 30.5-32 on Standi Rim Right - Standi 305.-32 on C&D's Rim

C&D’s provides a set of metal rims and tires for duals in the kit.  I decided to use wide singles on my tractor.  For the tires, I used a set of Standi 30.5-32’s.  These will fit on the C&D’s rims, but it takes some stretching.  For the hubs, I cut the tops off of some highlighter caps and glued them into the center of the wheels.  On Series I Steigers the wheels were red.  All later Series used green wheels.

One last thing I would recommend prior to painting is to drill the holes for mounting the detailed pieces.  As I mentioned before, C&D’s puts dimples on pieces to help show you where you should drill holes to mount the parts.  For the lights and cab grab handles, I used a 1/32 drill bit.  For the exhaust stacks, tool box and cab air cleaner, I used whatever size necessary for the pieces to fit into.  Except for the grab handles, I painted all of these components separately and added them later.  Grab handles can be made by bending the wire provided in the kit to fit into the holes you drill in the side of the cab.  At this time you will also want to redrill the hole for the articulation joint pivot pin, and the axle holes if the axles you are using don’t already fit.

With the imperfections cleaned up and desired modifications made, you are ready for paint.  Apply a coat of primer prior to applying your paint.  This not only helps the paint stick,  but also helps you see if there are any imperfections that you missed that you might want to clean up before painting.  If there are, fix them and apply another coat of primer.  Once the primer has dried, apply your paint.  Steiger green is not as easy to find as other tractor colors, but your local Case IH dealer should have some or be able to order you some.  While you are waiting for the green to dry, you can paint your lights.  These are so small, they are difficult to paint.  I found it helpful to hold them with a pair of tweezers while I painted them, and stick them in a piece of Styrofoam when I was finished.  Paint the bodies of the lights black and the faces white, red or orange, depending on what type of light you are wanting them to be.  Once the green paint has dried, add your accent colors.  I added black accents on the cab and engine air cleaners, as well as around the windows on the cab.  On the Series I and early Series II Steigers, the Cat motors were “old” Cat yellow, which is very similar to the yellow John Deere currently uses on their construction equipment.  In later Steigers, the motors were painted black.    

After all of the paint has had time to thoroughly dry, you are ready for final assembly.  Putting the major components together is fairly straightforward.  The locations of the lights and other accessories will vary depending on which model Steiger you are building, and your own personal preference.  Trim any excess off the tails of the lights to fit properly.  The kit also provides the appropriate decals for your tractor, although the instructions did not specify where to put them.  Refer to the pictures of the completed models on the C&D website, or photos of actual tractors for deal locations.  To give my model a little extra touch, I redid the “STEIGER” decals to more closely resemble how they looked on the real tractor.  These can be done relatively easily by printing them using the “Impact” font italicized in red on clear decal paper.