ploughmaster

It looks more like the Claas version to me. The light may be playing tricks with the shade of green, so it's difficult to be certain

As a bit of a guide, this one was sold for nearly £60 on eBay last week: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rare-1970s-Britains-GREEN-High-Sided-Tipping-Trailer_W0QQitemZ380163431231QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ToysGames_DiecastVehicles_DiecastVehicles_JN?hash=item5883819b3f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 . Bear in mind that eBay prices for rarer Britains often go a bit OTT. There was also a boxed one a little while ago which made about £150 if memory serves. However, both those had the more usual 'Tipping Trailer' decal, whereas the one you have pictured has the very rare 'High Sided Tipper Cart' decal, which makes it doubly rare. Super 6 on here has the green trailer, but I think his has the 'Tipping Trailer' decal, so that will make at least two of us envious of you having both rare colour AND rare decal

I would say quite a high proportion of combines (and tractors too) are on lease nowadays. Certainly a lot a bigger farming operations do it this way as they can budget for a known yearly cost - servicing and some of the repairs and replacements are often covered within the lease/warranty which also removes the difficulty of big unexpected repair bills. I used to work on a Velcourt farm and all their combines were on a 4 year lease, and changed for new at the end of the lease period (that amounted to around 30 new combines within the company each year), Quadtracs were on 4 year lease too, and smaller tractors either on 2 year lease or short term hire over the busy seasons.

Just to add to that - when that set (9545) was deleted from the catalogue at the end 1987, the blue Link Box reappeared in a new bubble packed set (7167) from 1988 to 1992 with the Labourer with Sack (2066), Shetland Pony and rider (2085) and Sheepdog (2222) in addition to the bales, sacks and churns. The blue was based on a real one originally made by Ransomes. the later green and yellow ones were modelled on a Twose box.

I think it's just a historical thing. Originally one Guinea was equivalent to 20 shillings when they were first used in the 17th century, but the price of gold rose and it became worth 21 shillings. It got its name because a lot of the gold they were minted from came from Guinea in Africa. The Guinea remained the major unit of currency until 1816, when it was replaced by the pound. The term 'pound' came about because the Guinea was made from one Troy pound of gold. Guinea has a 'snob' connotation, and for years after it was withdrawn from circulation, Guineas continued to be used for professional fees , tailoring, furniture and land transactions, and is often still used for art and pedigree animals (particularly horses).

The 8000R probably will, but I doubt if the 8020 will do, and we've already had a 7820, albeit in single wheeled form. As for cultivators and drills, I think there is too much JD in the range already, what is needed is some European tackle.

Oh goody goody gum drops - yet more decal varieties to collect (shouldn't this be in the 'Ertl Farm Models' section )

The nearest they came to that number was the Ford 7710 which was simply a different decal on the Ford TW20 (produced from 1981 to 1983). Nothing else was changed from the TW20, so the 7710 was not a terribly accurate model. It was produced for around 3 years from 1984 to 1986 and neither it or the TW20 are common, although they do come up regularly. There was also a yellow version with orange decals in the Autoway series from 1984 to1986 which is quite hard to find. The same casting (with a new grille and cab roof) went on to become the Ford 5610, which was an even less accurate model than the 7710 . It was in production for 14 years, so is very common

If Marshalls had stayed with metal tracks and not taken on either Rubber tracks or rubber wheels, things might have been different, but they would be producing them in tiny, tiny numbers - perhaps there are a few farmers in your part of Canbridgeshire that would still buy a metal tracked crawler, but elsewhere the market for metal tracks in agriculture is well and truly dead. Back in the 60's and 70's in the area of Lincolnshire where I grew up, a lot of farms had a crawler (even on the light soils on the Wolds). Those farms now all run rubber tracked machines and would not entertain a metal track any more, not least because of the difficulties in moving them around on public roads. If you have land that is ring fenced with no roads crossing it then fine, but very few farms are in that position now. As for the Quad Trac, whilst Velcourt do account for the bulk of them, round Lincolnshire there are loads of farms with them (and not many Velcourt units!) There is an area between Market Rasen and Lincoln which has the highest density of Quad Tracs of anywhere in the world I believe, one 10000acre farming business having six of them. I don't know any farmer who runs a rubber tracked machine who even consider a metal tracked alternative.

I think the problem with Track Marshall at the end was that their only market was agriculture. Tracklayers had always taken the strain of the heavy primary cultivations, particularly on heavy land farms. Once the mainstream tractor makers started to produce conventional tractors of 150 to 200hp, it rather left TM behind - the rubber wheeled tractors could cope with the heavy work reasonably well, but were far more versatile than the metal tracked machines. TM's traditional market had shrunk to a fraction of what it was and the introduction of the Cat Challenger pretty much finished the market for metal tracks in farming. The TM200 (which was actually an Australian 'Waltanna' built under licence) was a desperate last ditch attempt to stay in business, but the machine was totally inadequate to compete with the Cat. The grip of the Cat Challenger in damp going is extremely poor; the TM200/Waltanna's grip disappeared altogether in such conditions. I agree with you, it was a total heap and a costly mistake for TM. Then the Quad Trac came on the scene, and that was the end for the TM200. The failure of Marshall to make a success of the former Leyland tractor business also had a big impact and probably had as much to do with them going bust as the TM200, but I honestly think that would have happened anyway with or without the TM200. Any current market for metal tracks in agriculture would be tiny, and really would not sustain an agricultural spec machine - even Cat only sell metal tracklayers for industrial/construction use nowaday. Rubber tracks have taken over as far as farming is concerned, and I can't see a return to metal tracks ever.

If you have ever had to claim for a lost package you will know it is not a total waste of time. With recorded, non receipt means no signature, so Royal Mail will pay out without any hassle. Without recorded (even with CofP), they go through a proceedure of obtaining written confirmation from the intended recipient that they have not received it. If they don't confirm this, you don't get the compensation, but, if it's an ebay sale, paid through PayPal, they will get a full refund because you are unable to prove they received anything. The options for SD are 'Next Day before 9.00am' or 'Next Day before 1.00pm'. There isn't a seperate 'Guaranteed' option. If it doesn't show on the online or telephone Track and Trace, it may be because the postman didn't get a signature or it didn't get entered on the database (doesn't happen as often since they mainly use PDA's for signatures now) - complain to the delivering Sorting Office if it doesn't show up on Track & Trace - you have paid for the signature! SD packages are signed in at each sorting office they pass through, so can be traced more easily. Recorded/Signed For is simply that - it allows you to prove that the package has been delivered. You've been told completely wrong there. There is compensation for loss or damage up to a maximum of 100x the cost of first class postage on both recorded and standard postage (currently £39). Recorded costs postage + 75p. Recorded simply adds proof of delivery. Only Special Delivery will give compensation above £39 -it automatically gives up to £50 compensation, with an extra charge for values above this. As you say, Certificates of Posting only proves the item has been sent, and as far as proving anything to eBay or PayPal are worthless, but can be of assistance if you need to make a claim if something you have sent gets lost or damaged with standard postage.

Depends what service he was using. 1st recorded would not be for short of £4 for that. What annoys me are the people who mark your DSR's down for postage when it actually cost more to post than you charge them for, and give a low score for dispatch time because they paid on Tuesday evening, and didn't recieve the item on Wednesday morning

Actually you can send by either 1st class recorded or 2nd class recorded, both of which really only add a signature on delivery. There is no tracking as such, and maximum compensation for loss or damage is the same as for normal postage (£39). In addition there is Special Delivery which is tracked at every stage of its journey as well as signed for on delivery, and carries compensation beyond the maximum £39 on 1st and 2nd class postage: http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump1?catId=400023&mediaId=400028 An entertaining article IHP! Whilst ebay has become very poor in some respects, I don't find it as bad as that journalist is trying to make out, but hey, why let the facts spoil a good story

Except that the Puma cab mouldings would probably need reworking to fit. The only surprise to me is that it should surprise anyone else that it is just new decals - we knew this in 2007 when they updated the New Holland TS135A into the T6070 with just a decal change. The Maxxum 125 is basically the same tractor. It is also worth pointing out that both Case-IH and New Holland will have approved the models as they are.

There are enough that don't go over to suggest to me that it is probably more to do with operator error and and poor loading technique. In the OP's case, stacking 6 courses in pillars and a bit of rope to hold them is always going to be unstable. Ideally they need binding in a bit and holding down with straps.

I hope WHS have it - they don't round here!! Warner Halls article is 'Baling and Handling Straw on the Britains Farm'. Can't really remember bu I don't think he's covered that before

I noticed that - it's not the only error either Is it my eyesight, or is the colour reproduction on some pictures way off? It does seem to be improving, but in many ways it needed to. To me it continues to underwhelm!

Britains only made 2000 of the Claas coloured version (back in 1998), so the chances of finding one are fairly slim, and judging from a recent prices realised for rare variations of Britains on eBay, is likely to cost the GDP of a small country!

It is undeniably rare, but looking at the ending price, I am staggered. Staggered to the point of being staggered to a staggering degree. When I showed the end result to another well known member of the farm toy collecting fraternity, his first reaction was "they need medical help!" I am very inclined to agree!

I wasn't aware that Jonathan Stephens had written a book. He is in the process of compiling a series of e-guides which have their own page on the site: http://www.britainsheraldfarm.co.uk/Study.html

I had't noticed that, but having now looked closely, I would definately agree with THEBRITFARMER; the two standing lambs are definately the 1971 on remoulded ones - well spotted. The earlier Herald ones had significantly different stance with the tail vertically down (not stuck out) and the head facing straight forward (the later one has the head looking slightly upward and slightly to one side. The Herald one can be seen on this page of Jonathan Stephens site: http://www.britainsheraldfarm.co.uk/History1957.html I have never seen the newer poses in black before though - odd?

I am afraid that like almost all of these price guide type books, the prices given are either at best hopelessly out of date, or wildly inaccurate. Personally I wouldn't waste my money on it. \

The correct link for Jonathan Stephens website is : http://www.britainsheraldfarm.co.uk/ (not .com!) Barney Brown is still selling the book on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRITAINS-HERALD-PLASTIC-FARM-MODELS-1955-69-NEW-BOOK_W0QQitemZ170374935231QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ToysGames_DiecastVehicles_DiecastVehicles_JN?hash=item27ab2332bf&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14

I'd agree with that; it is a mish mash! The Sleeve and Plinth box was replaced by a Window Display box for the farm version in 1970. The external steering came in about 1973, and the smooth front wheel centres as you say, in 1976. That particular model may not have ever had a cab - it may be one of the few yellow ones issued as 9520 at the end of production.

The only one to have the metal roof was the CR970 Collectors Edition (13625A). The second CR issued was the CR960 shelf version (13628) and that had a plastic cab roof, as did all the subsequent releases.