|
| |
|
|
TTS
Farm Toy Report: November
2003
Issue #19
|
|
TTS-Times
|
It
is time for the National. I look forward to meeting many of you
at the show. The National Toy Show
will take place November 7, 8, and 9. TTS will be set up at the
show in the National Farm Toy Museum at the Toy Tractor Times table.
Please stop by the table and say hello. You can learn more about the
National Farm Toy Museum at http://www.nftmonline.com/
. TTS will also have its 3rd annual collectors get
together dinner at the Country Junction Restaurant during the
National. The dinner will be a 6:30 p.m. Saturday November
8th, one half hour after the show closes for the day. This is a
great way TTS members to get together and put faces to names.
One year ago we
announced in the TTS Farm Toy Report Toy Tractor Show.com had purchased
The Toy Tractor Times Magazine. It has been a great year of growth
for both TTS and TTT. Thank you for all of your interest and
support. If you stop by our table at the National we have classic
TTT items on hand and a special classic issue of The Toy Tractor Times
for TTS members at the TTS dinner.
Next month
TTS-Times will highlight the Top Toys of 2003. In this issue you
can read about how to nominate your favorites and go back and see the
top 2001 and 2002 farm toys.
Make
sure to read the Ertl Top 10 closely this month there is lots of
interesting information. As always many thanks goes to Bill
Walter's for being such a big part of TTS.
In December
the
TTS Farm Toy Report and The Toy Tractor Times will feature the Top
Toys of 2003.
If you have articles or project pictures for the Farm Toy Report or all
new ToyTractorTimes.com
e-mail Jason Hasert at
In November
the
TTS Farm Toy Report and The Toy Tractor Times will feature the National
Farm Toy Show.
If you have articles or project pictures for the Farm Toy Report or all
new ToyTractorTimes.com
e-mail Jason Hasert at Webmaster@toytractorshow.com.
Jason Hasert
|
Fall Tillage
|
New Toy News
|
|
Looking to purchase many of the new toys listed in the Farm Toy Report?
Visit the TTS Links page at http://www.toytractorshow.com/links.htm
and look on the toy dealers listing. |
|
AGCO
|
|
|
| Pictured
above is the upgraded version of the 2003 20th Anniversary Toy Tractor
Times Tractors. This years model is a special edition of the 1973
Allis-Chalmers 7030. This 1/16 replica is the 18th TTT tractors
since 1986. To learn more of the history of the TTT
Anniversary Tractors series visit http://www.toytractortimes.com/toytractortimestractors.htm
. This years model introduces a new series allowing collectors to join
in from the start of a new generation of TTT tractors. The AC 7030
is the first in the series of five 1970's tractors that will be offered
by TTT through 2007. Each year TTT will offer a unique twist on a
classic tractors from the 1970's. Our long range plan includes an
International, John Deere, another AGCO brand model and a
Case. This set when completed will be a nice addition to any
collection. The AC 7030 offered as the first tractor in the 70's
set has 1973 graphics with a black mask AC Accusta-Cab and maroon
belly. The cab on this 1/16 model has additional detailing with
weather stripping painted on black to trim the windows and the cab roof
has orange hazard lights not found on any AC 7000 tractor offered by
Ertl before. The tires are a unique part of this collectors
tractor. The new version has large front tires not shown on the original
proto-type previewed in the August Toy Tractor Times. The rear
duals are improved with life like treads and they are set at 36 inch row
crop spacing. This wide dual option is geared for row crop farming
of corn, cotton and beets. The outside dual on the model is
die-cast to add heft and collectibles to the model. It is our hope at
the The Toy Tractor Times that will join a new tradition in TTT tractors
by purchasing this stand out Allis-Chalmers. The number produced
will be determined by the number ordered by November 15, 2003. To
order your 2003 20th Anniversary Toy Tractor Times AC 7030 visit http://www.toytractortimes.com/ttt7030order.htm. |
| The
Toy Tractor Times Magazine has released its 2003 and 20th Anniversary
Tractor. This years TTT Anniversary Tractor is the 1973
Allis-Chalmers 7030. This Ertl model replicates the 130 hp 1973
AC-7030 with black mask cab and maroon belly. This die-cast model
also has 36 inch row crop duals. This model is also the first in a
series of five 1970's tractors from The Toy Tractor Times that will be
completed in 2007. To learn more about the 7030 and for an order
form click
here. |
|
|
Big Bud |
|
Toy Farmer Magazine had a super sized November issue. On the
cover Toy Farmer featured the new 1/16 16V-747. In 2002 Toy
Farmer released a 1/32 16V-747 and in 2003 a 1/64 version
followed. All new for 2004 is the 1/16 version. Toy Farmer
has offered both the 1977 700 hp Factory Version and the modern
William's Brother's 900 hp 16V-747 in 1/32 and 1/64. The cover
picture of the November Toy Farmer shows the 1977 Factory Version in
1/16, 1/32 and 1/32. This tractor farmed on a 10,000 acre cotton
farm in California and then moved to a large farm in Florida. Upon its
competition at the Big Bud Factory in 1977 it claimed the title of the
World's Largest Tractor and has held the title for 26 years.
Production of the 1/16 model is slated for sometime in 2004. According
to Toy Farmer the rough dimensions of the 1/16 16V-747will be 20
inches long, 15 inches wide and 11 inches high to the top of the
cab. To give you an idea on the space this model will take
up a push lawn mower cuts a swath 21 inches wide, it is almost a foot
tall, and a normal 1/16 4wd is 10 inches across and a model like the
1/16 John Deere 9520 with triples is 15 inches wide. This will
be a big model. The 1/16, 1/32 and 1/64 16V-747's have been
produced by Die-Cast Promotions www.ffertl3.com.
You can learn more about Toy Farmer at www.toyfarmer.com/.
|
|
|
CaseIH
|
| The
100K 1/64 Magnum set is at CaseIH dealers. This great set celebrates
the production of the 100,000th Magnum. Magnum production began in
1987 and the 100,000th Magnum is slated to roll of the CNH tractor line
on the first week of December 2003. In 1996 Case International produced
the 50,000th Magnum known as the Mark 50. The Magnum has
become a modern day classic. To help celebrate the landmark Magnum
Ertl has produced a 1/64 set with the 1996 Mark 50 7250 Magnum, 2003
100K MX 285 and a gold medallion in a special box. The 1/64
7250 is based on the larger casting first used on the 1/64 CaseIH 8950
offered in 1997-1998. A 1/64 Mark 50 was offered in 1996 on a hauling
set in 1996 using the small casting first released in 1987. The
100K MX 285 toy has new rounded fenders and a window cab. |
|
| The
CNH rippers are at CaseIH and New Holland dealers now. Bill
Walter's first shared these items on TTS in August. These tillage
tools are impressive 1/64 replicas. The CaseIH MRX690 and New
Holland/DMI ST740 have nicely detailed hitches and the rear disk gangs
swing in for road transport. Look for a full review of the CaseIH
MRX690 in the November Toy Tractor Times "What is hot in 64th"
. |
|
|
Ertl has a new Precision Poster out of featuring all 20 of the CaseIH
Precision Classic models. This poster covers all of the CaseIH
Precision's offered in 1/16 scale from 1990-2003. The 20th
Precision Classic from CaseIH is the high-crop MV announced last
month. The MV will mark the end of the current line of CaseIH
Precision Classics. Ertl will start a new Precision series format
with the next CaseIH Precision. For more information make sure to
read this months Top 10 Question and Answer with Bill Walters from
RC2/ERTL. |
|
|
The shelf
edition CaseIH AFX 8010 is now at CaseIH dealers. This model is
different than the Collectors Edition released in August and the Fall
Farm Show Edition offered in September. The shelf edition is
marked as a 1st Production model on the box and on the bottom of the
combine. This model does not have the lights and handrails found
on the collectors editions. There are other detailing changes. This
shelf AFX 8010 has silver wheels where on the collectors AFX's the wheel
hubs in the center are painted black. The collector's corn head and
grain head had model number decals on them where the shelf edition heads
have no model number decals. This is a high feature model and
another great CaseIH 1/64 farm toy. |
|
|
International |
| First
Gear has become well known for its detailed model International trucks.
Now First Gear is taking on the International Industrial line. In 2003
and 2002 First Gear offered several variations of a 1/25 scale International
TD-25 crawler. In March 2004 the TD-25 will be followed
by an impressive 1/25 scale 433 dual engine pay scraper. This
model will be available at International Truck dealers and CaseIH Ag and
Case Construction dealers. http://www.cngco.com
is one CaseIH dealer who will stock the 433. You can learn more
about First Gear at www.firstgearonline.com/ |
|
|
John
Deere
|
| The
next 1/64 John Deere combine will be a 1/64 John Deere 9860 STS.
The 9860 STS will use the same casting as the current 9750 STS.
The 9860 STS will have the new 60 series unloading auger that dumps
grain out at 3.3 bu. per second. The 9860 STS like the 9750
STS is a 300 bu. combine. The 1/64 model will have a 30ft grain
head and 12 row corn head. |
|
|
The latest 1/32 from Ertl is a John Deere 7920. This model has the
same top notch detailing found on the 1/64 and 1/16 7920. This
model has cab windows, flood lights and other features that set it apart
from past Ertl 1/32 2wd tractors. |
|
| The
John Deere 3 piece Sound-Gard set has arrived just in time for the
National Farm Toy Show. This set includes a 1/64 4430, 4440 and
4450 with duals. This classic set is the best from John Deere and
Ertl yet. Look for additional spin off's of these 1/64 tractors in
2004. |
|
|
In August John Deere announced that in June 2004 it would begin offering
a 500 hp 4wd tractor named 9620. Ertl will begin supplying 1/16
and 1/64 9620 replicas in 2004 to help promote John Deere's biggest 4wd
to date. The 1/16 John Deere 9620 is due out in April 2004.
This collectors edition model will feature duals and an opening
hood. The 9620 will be a collectors set complete with a gold
plated 1/64 9620. This is the second 1/16 1/64 collectors set from
John Deere. In 2002 a 1/16 8520T was offered with a chrome 1/64
8520T. |
|
|
|
|
|
New
Holland
|
|
Scale Models surprised
collectors at the Ohio Farm Science Review in September with a new TJ
450 in 1/64. This latest 1/64 TJ New Holland 4wd is the first to
sport the new New Holland swoosh decal. The special show TJ 450
features row crop narrow duals that were used on the shelf edition TJ
425 released in the summer of 2002. Here you can see the new 1/64
TJ 450 and its real counter part with the new NH graphics. |
|
 |
|
|
TTS Notes
|
| It
is never to early to think about Christmas and helping those in need.
Toys for Tots began in 1947 when Major Bill Hendricks, USMCR and a
group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles, California collected and
distributed 5,000 toys to needy children. The idea came from Bill's
wife, Diane. Diane hand crafted a Raggedy Ann doll and asked Bill to
deliver the doll to an organization in Los Angeles which would give it
to a needy child at Christmas 1947. When Bill determined that no
agency existed, Diane told Bill that he should start one. He did. The
1947 campaign was so successful that the Marine Corps adopted Toys for
Tots in 1948 and expanded it into a nationwide campaign. Over
the past 54 years, the U.S. Marines have distributed over 272,000,000
toys to 133,000,000 needy children throughout the nation. It is
my hope that as TTS members attend fall farm shows that they might
purchase an extra 1/64, 1/32 or 1/16 tractor that is new in the
package to donate to their local Toys for Tots campaign. If you find
some good deals on fall clearance set them aside for someone less
fortunate. Remember all donated toys must be unused and new in the box
and delivered to your local TFT drop box unwrapped. Donating an
extra farm toy to TFT will help brighten a child's Christmas and
hopefully extend good cheer from the hobby we all enjoy.
Jay
|
Remember
to support Toys
for Tots this Christmas season.
|
 |
November
Top 10 Question And Answer by Bill Walters RC/Ertl Farm Toy |
| In
March 2001 Bill Walters the Farm Toy Product Manager began taking
part in question and answer forums on Toy Tractor Show.com with toy
tractor collectors. Over the past two plus years we the collector
have asked Bill the questions. Starting with the June 2003 TTS Farm
Toy Report, Bill will ask us the questions. This new format will allow
collectors to see what Ertl is thinking about for future farm toy products
and participate in that future by giving their opinion. This new
format will operate on a polling system where you the collector read
Bill's question and then respond by voting in a poll. |
| Question
#1: Will you be showing any new product at the National Show that
is not announced yet?
Answer #1: We
do have a few items that are not currently announced that we will be
showing. You will have to come to the show to see them.
Question #2:
Any additional news on
1/32nd replicas?
Answer
#2: I
can tell you our plans for 2004 include almost a dozen newly tooled
models. You'll have to wait for more specifics.
Question #3:
Why did you not put additional detail on the 1/64
JD 60 series combines?
Answer #3:
With an existing tool there are some limitations to what we can update
without having to start completely over. At this time, we have
decided not to spend money to upgrade it to the same level as the AFX or
CR. When JD does have a new design, we will do a higher detailed
replica in 1/64th.
Question #4:
Why are you spending time on the "Full Throttle" product?
Answer #4:
This is not what collectors are looking
for: This product is designed for kids who love the stylized cars and
trucks currently being sold through Mass Market. Just as kids like
these wild vehicles, we think they'll like a "cool" looking
tractor and construction pieces.
Question #5:
We are hearing rumors that
the existing Precisions series are ending. What can you tell us.
Answer #5:
We are planning on stopping the
current Precision series at #25 with JD and #20 with Case IH. We
will have a new series of Precisions for both debuting in 2004. We'll
tell you more later.
Question #6: Ertl
has been doing a lot with "Lego" style toys recently. How
did Ertl decide to venture in to this market and will this be an exclusive
John Deere product or will we see other brands offered as block toys.
Answer #6:
We did offer a special
100,000th MAGNUM in the Lego set as a sales incentive unit for Case IH
dealers. This was a concept that another Department came up with and
we piggybacked off their design. We will try to use this again
in upcoming skus where it makes sense. It makes for an interesting
display.
Question #7: The
Fall 2003 Ertl packaging in 1/16 and 1/64 has featured both the Ertl name
and Britains name while the new 1/32 toys have only featured the Britains
name? Can you explain the the dual branding.
Answer #7:
Since both the Ertl and
Britains brand are owned by RC2, we are working very closely on new product
offerings. Britains is the leading 1/32nd brand, so all of our new
1/32nd product will be primarily branded Britains, but with the Ertl logo as
well. For 1/16th and 1/64th, we will primarily use Ertl as the brand, but
will also include the Britains brand. We intend to sell all scales
globally. We will dual brand most products going forward. No
matter where the product is sold, the consumer/collector should recognize a
brand.
Question #8:
Has Ertl looked at
offering a 1/64 tele-handler? Tele-handlers have become a popular
piece of equipment in the dairy industry that collectors are starting to
talk about.
Answer #8: We
have discussed this, although we don't have anything in the works at this
time.
Question #9:
In 2002 Ertl released a 1/16 John Deere 8520T Collectors Edition combined
with a chrome 1/64 8520T. In 2004 Ertl will offer a similar set with a
1/16 9620 John Deere 4wd Collectors Edition and a 1/64 gold plated 9620.
Is this a new style of collectors series we should expect to become a trend
as new tractors are released by John Deere?
Answer #9: We
are still deciding. We have heard from collectors that they like getting
both scales at the same time. We have heard from others that only
collect one scale that they don't like this concept. I don't see
it being used for everything, but we like to keep our options open.
Question #10:
In September you posted on
Toy Talk about collectors interest in Precision 1/64 models. Could you
explain how detailed Ertl might consider going on a Precision 1/64 toy that
might fall into the $25-$50 range?
Answer #10: We
are still discussing this internally. We appreciate the feedback we
received and are discussing how we could market a program. We will
also discuss this with the OEMs during upcoming meetings and get their
reaction. One area of discussion is whether we only offer a
"Precision" style unit, or also offer a "stripped down"
version for those who don't want to pay the higher price. Or, do we
offer a basic version and a "Precision/customizing" package that
would allow the collector to upgrade their replica.
|
|
Feature New
Product of the Month |
| CaseIH
dealers are now carrying the new 1/16 40th Anniversary collectors
set of the IH Farmall 706/806. The IH 06 series tractors are
American Classics. The 73 hp 706 and the 94 hp 806 were introduced
by IH in 1963 and today the tractors are celebrating 40 years in the
field. Many 706 and 806 tractors are used on farms today and have
logged over 20,000 hours of service. Over 50,000 806 tractors were
sold between 1963 and 1967. Ertl has created a nice 1/16 collectors
set to mark 40 years of the 06 tractors. This box set includes a
1/16 narrow front McCormick-Farmall 706 and 806. These tractors are
nicely done and have some new detail with sheet metal rivets highlighted
in silver paint and precision rear tires. Both tractors have the
same rear tires used on the Precision 706 released last year. The
box highlights the marketing slogans and pictures used by IH to promote
the big new Farmalls in 1963. This a great set for red fans and farm
toy collectors. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
TTS-Times
Notes
|
|
This month the Toy Tractor Times will attend the National Farm Toy Show
in Dyersville, Iowa. Dyersville is the farm toy Capitol of
the World. It is home to Ertl, Scale Models, Spec-Cast, Die-Cast
Promotions and the National Farm Toy Show. The National Farm Toy
Show now in its 26th Year was founded and is hosted by Toy Farmer
Magazine. This show allows collectors from across North America
and other parts of the world to gather to purchase toys, trade toys,
make and renew friendships. The November Toy Tractor Times will
cover the show like never before by photographing the total event so our
readers who can not make the show or would like a recap can see just
what makes the show so great. TTT will interview toy dealers,
collectors and displayers for the next issue. Our goal is to give
you an up close look at all of the events. Of course our big
feature will be an article on the farm displays. The National will
be held Friday November 7, Saturday November 8 and Sunday November
9. Please stop by The Toy Tractor Times table and say
hello. Jason Hasert the owner of TTS-Times, Rick Larsen the
founder of The Toy Tractor Times and Dan Adamson a TTT writer and well
known TTS member will be at the table. TTT will be offering the
1/16 20th Anniversary Allis-Chalmers 7030 at the table as well as
subscriptions and some classic TTT tractors. If you subscribe to
TTT at the National you will have your pick of the classic TTT memorabilia
in honor of our 20 years. Toy Tractor Show.com 3rd Anniversary
1/64 Versatile 800 4wd will also be available at the table. We
hope to see you at the show and if not you can read all about it in the
next issue. The Toy Tractor Times
Magazine can be found at www.toytractortimes.com
. |
|
 |
|
