CMB

Slightly flatten the steel ends and thread the cord through any of the tie holes. (With the blue flatbed, I found it neccesary to remove both the uprights to get to the tie holes). I tried to do the same with the Magic Deutz flatbed but the 14cm ties weren't long enough to reach round. I've no idea if it works on the newer flatbed trailer.

Pin two round bales together by seperating one of the the steel ends from the cotton cord. If you put in the right side there should be very lttle gap between bales:

I'm sure I'm not the first to realise this, but I've found a really good use for paper treasury tags. Expert model makers may smirk but they're really useful for a quick fix. I was pondering how to hold down the round bales on my flatbed when I found a box of these tags and wondered if the steel ends would fit in the centre holes of Britains vintage round bales. Hey presto- they did! . They can be bought an most stationers and post offices (those that haven't yet closed)

Why are Ebayers constantly bidding £10 or more for the little white front hitch adaptor?

Trimming hedges on a lovely day.

That it is!

That's the ticket, ta.

One of several TR 85's I've recently seen listed as rare. Exactly how rare is the TR 85?

The old drivers were wonderful! Where can I get one of those 135 muledozer adaptors?

I don't know where to place my Britains Kemper Champion in a layout, or what to pair it with. It's the front mounted one attached to a tractor. I think this type is mainly used for forage harvesting but unlike my trailed harvester, it doesn't seem to be offset. With no chute to throw the silage, where does it all go? Thanks.

Occasionally overcast but dry in Stroud. Low prospects for harvesting wheat locally as it looks rotten and overgrown with weeds. Plus deer and crows have been nibbling round the edges; cutting for animal feed looks increasingly unlikely.

How good was the yield?

No- stick to vintage Britains, never cross with Universal Hobbies or any other make (sacrilege!) You may begin with modest ambitions about getting those models you wanted as a kid, but be warned: it will consume you! In little over 8 months I've aquired some 100 items (mainly from Ebay)

I've yet to find an acceptable substitute to the real thing. It's just a shame they don't reproduce glazing for old Britains cabs

Should be on its way, thanks for the encouragement guys

Isn't that a Beautiful South song?

Is Dave Pullen a member on this messageboard? I only ask because I want to know what is wrong with this beast: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200249092251&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=010. Maybe there's some major bit missing or repro parts I'm not aware of? Is the cab glazed like on the New Holland's of the era? I could wait 'till the end of October for Pullen's book. I won't be able to fit more than one on my shelf! hmmm \

Powerrabbit, do you know which year the axle caps were introduced? I've seen a few on Ebay that look original apart from these reflective caps.

Using Gavin's bale arrangements, I'm pondering what formation works best for my large blue bale trailer. Ideally it would be two lines of five flat-8's, but it's slightly complicated by the presence of two large 'wooden' supports at either end! I like to display my models as they arrive from the box, but clearly they hadn't given much consideration to Britains bale (round or rectangular) dimensions when they made it.

This place is a mine of information. I can now make a much more informed choice when bidding for one of these. Does anyone know when Dave's new book is on the shelves?

Hmm Hmm, I don't think I'm that good, perhaps too cack-handed to fiddle with miniscule straps and fibres! But some ideas for the future, thanks Stewart

Hi thanks BC that's very useful. I'm aware Brian has a shop on his farm in Yorkshire, but can you order through the post/via email (if he has it)? G&M seem to have sold out all their vintage models. Townson's Kverneland comes to £14.23 (including postage) and Farmtoysuk may have more in soon, but it looks like Ebay or a toy fair will be my best bet for this model.

Not having had this model for about 20 years, Lord, could you remind me what you mean when you refer to the 'walkers' This is probably a numpty question, yes?

Has anyone made a round bale fork with a single spike that attaches to a vintage front loader? If it looked anything like NHFE's, I'd snap it up right away. Guess the spike would have to be small enough to fit through old round bales though. I took a photo of a David Brown 995 with one in Dorset about 20 years ago. I'm surprised that Britains didn't release any round bale handling equipment with the old Loadall/front loader sets. For that matter, I haven't seen any round bale handling equipment for the more recent loaders..

In the eight years in which this combine was produced, have there been any changes in the basic design (steering, colour variations etc)?