ihatepoundland

And the dog! (left hand of cab) Taken on just behind Taunton, plenty left uncut still, nothing happening today but tomorrow looks like it might be a busy day.

More if the sun shines.....

Raining again now though

But then again, it couldn't have been full at the time because of the crop that appeared, quite a big hint after the event

I'm not going to make it this year, but some expressed interest last year; http://www.visit-exmoor.co.uk/site/whats-on/vintage-farming-and-rural-heritage-show-p417833 I remember this weekend last year as the weekend the rain started, 4x4 advisory if wet.

930 knocking around further west

Bit odd....but this is what grew

1/32 Ertl/Britains Case IH Gold Signature Steiger 535 and Magnum 305 Before I start the review, I'd like to say thank you to Andy and RC2, as these models were the prize I received from the photographic competition run earlier this year; although I may level some criticism at these models, I am still grateful to own them. I have become quite selective in the models that I buy, they have to have particular interest for me to buy them, so this is not a set that I would have gone and bought of my own accord, but to be able to access them correctly in terms of value for money, I will assume that I did, and paid the market price of around 52 pounds. I'm sure many of you already know the background to this model from an earlier thread by Bill Walters ; http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=18903.0 , but for the sake of comparison, here are the real things; Magnum 305 - Of which there are 100 real ones Steiger 535 - Of which there are 50 real ones The Set The first thing you'll notice about this model is the packaging; the box is impressive, both in scale and the quality and throughness of the graphical presentation. This is continued inside with the mirror finish, leading to the overall impression that this set is something special. On a side note, Case and IH have a long history of unique anniversary paint schemes, but for my tastes as a British collector, I find the real scheme overly garish and dare I say it, too American. Having said that, I appreciate that others more interested in CaseIH and American farming will love this scheme. In terms of the model, Ertl appear to have reproduced the scheme faithfully, which is all you can ask for really. The Magnum I will try to avoid listing all of the plus and minuses of the base model, as they have already been covered by others, but obviously some of these affect how I view this model, the major let down for me is what appears to be an overly narrow front axle and tyres.Although I didn't have them side by side to compare, ignoring the paint work and decals, the only difference between this and the standard US spec Magnum appear to be the gold painted wheel nuts. This is what it is all about - but if you look closely you can see what looks like fine gold over spray beneath the decal, which is quite annoying. The Steiger Of the two models, I found this one the most disappointing. The first thing that struck me was that the tractor was on singles, set on a wide track, I have to wonder how many of the 50 real tractors will be set up this way. I feel to make this model extra special, it would have been more impressive on duals, or even triples. The singles may appeal to someone who has the dual wheeled 50th anniversary dealer edition, but as someone who doesn't, I feel this move is unrepresentative of the majority of the real thing. When I look at the John Deere 9530, this model appears slightly cheap to me, almost as if it was a few years older, not nearly as bad as the FW30, but not what it could have been. Some of the details leave me puzzled, the vertical fins running through the gold section on the rear are in real life handrails, which is not the impression you get from this model. Overall Dispute my criticism, I still think that this is a fairly desirable and collectable set. I'm glad the Ertl reproduced this anniversary for CaseIH and of all of the recent 'special' editions we've seen, this is one of the most genuinely special occasions. In my opinion it could have been more special, this set could have been the ultimate version of these models, with the Magnum on duals and the afore mentioned changes to the Steiger. In terms of value for money, 52 pounds seems a lot for RC2 products, but then the standard Magnum on it's own retails for around 15 and the collectors edition Steiger on duals for around 35 (although I think the Steiger is overpriced in comparison to the recent John Deere artics - a separate issue) . Of course this Steiger is on singles which may work out cheaper, but I feel that the few quid extra over the single models is not unreasonable for the additional paint work, excellent packaging and limited availability. So my summary is slightly confusing....if you like the real anniversary model, then you will most probably like this, if you don't, then you won't .

Thanks for the photos Thought about going to this one, but had seen quite a few of those on display before, decided to leave it as it was indoors...prefer to see them working Was the FW30 there out of interest?

If you get on ebay, ?20 delivered A very good value limited edition in my opinion, not much more than the standard model and actually numbered as well. I like the different box, not to my taste, but good to see some effort. I just wish they had used a different style box for the older 1/32 tractors now, could have done something

Road doesn't look too bendy behind him to me Sure it wasn't just a lapse in concentration?

More that I suspect that some of the people who have these models, have more than one, when they see high prices, they may release more of their own stock to get a quick return, causing a temporary reduction in value

I think of all the "limiteds" recently, this is one of the ones to have, only problem this early on is that the market might get flooded

I remember people saying similar things about that model, one thing Case didn't do though was to sue Samson who makes the real thing, so there is quite a bit more to wonder about this model than the Case version.

Looks like a lot of detail has been removed Is this to go into some basic "approx 1/32" playset?

It's good to hear that the basis of the model is sound, I just hope yours was a bad apple as it is a model I am looking to get. Thanks for the useful review/warning and I wish you better luck with the next one.

Sounds bad On this one, it seems that if it wasn't still in the packaging, the bonnet parts and fuel tank would have fallen off, I guess sending it back may not resolve this, but at least UH will eventually hear back about it from dealers if it is a common fault.

Bonnet/steering wheel assembly are loose on my 1/32 fordson, I haven't unboxed it as I will send it back unless it is an easy fix

Chopped leaves should help spring growth...but the gains don't seem to justify this

I'm going to move this to conversions, hopefully hear some more about it

Hmm, this has to be up there with the JD 8430T and sprayer set in terms of a perfectly matched combination Still haven't found a photo of one with that bonnet though \

you seem to have some uncommonly seen tractors there

Nah, no clouds, didn't really happen Forecast tomorrow is even better (don't see how ) migth have to think of somewhere nice to go

Like luke's thread, weather was spot on today, saw this field and had a Windows XP background moment You may remember this field from thrilling topics such as; http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=16990.0 and where-are-they-going-now harvesting moments such as this ; Only three though;