ploughmaster

The early County 1474 was based on the Ford 9700 and then the TW20 (with No1 fuel tank above the engine), so had the shorter bonnet, but the later ones were based on the TW25, so had the same longer bonnet as the TW25 and 35 with the main fuel tank in front of the radiators. The County wheels look odd - not seen one with those holes in the centres \ The two wheel drive version of the TW30 was the most common in the USA - were they available on continental Europe??; the 30 and 35 were only offered in the UK with 4WD as standard. Whilst some of you may think the TW25 would look better on wider tyres, the wheels and tyres shown in the photos appear about spot on for the size that was supplied as standard on the real thing - 14.9 x 28 front; 18.4 x 38 rear (20.8 x 38 rear on the TW30 and 35). Overall they look pretty good from the pictures so far, and I think most of the criticisms are just nit picking. I just wish UH would stop spewing out new models (and variants) at such a rate - it really takes the fun out of the hobby for me and for those who scratch build or convert to produce models which have not been covered, it must feel pointless to take the time trouble (and in the case of the likes of DBP, significant financial investment) to make a previously unrepresented maker or model, only to see UH sneeze out every concievable variant a few months later. In my view, the hobby is poorer for it, not richer Oh, and just to point out that the first two versions of the TW series were known simply as 'Ford Series TW', and the next was officially titled 'Series TW Force II', and the subsequent incarnation as 'Generation III' - there was, and is, no such thing as a 'Generation II' )

Normal behaviour for that seller - his prices are always so way over the top, I am surprised he ever sells anything (if you check his completed listings, you will see he rarely does \ ).

Again, as with the Netherlands and Germany, the farm toy hobby is more longstanding and much more strongly developed in both Northern Ireland and in the Republic.

...or you can simply copy the url from the address bar and paste it into the Google online web page translator; http://www.google.co.uk/language_tools?hl=en Saves installing a browser you might not want

For those on arable work, March, April, and into May are pretty flat out - drilling, planting, top dressing and the heaviest spraying workload of the year. By a similar token, August, September, October are even more flat out; harvest, land work, drilling, spraying. June would probably be much better for us (and indeed is the month when the Spalding show used to take place in the early days ). The principal reasons for the move to April were the competition with other events wanting to book the halls, and a cheaper hire charge earlier in the year when demand for the hall is not so great.

An important point to bear in mind when comparing a UK event with Zwolle, is that toy collecting (and toy/model tractor collecting in particular) is far more developed over there. They have also had a much keener interest in displays and dioramas, and in making working displays for much longer than we have in the UK - interest in dioramas is only just getting going here, and in most cases has a very long way to go to reach the standards displayed at Zwolle. A show with such displays would be very welcome (when UK standards have improved), but I see such an exhibition as complementary/extension to Spalding, not as part of new show to compete with Spalding - whilst the farm toy hobby has expanded massively, it is nonetheless limited and new specialised shows are likely to not only fail themselves, but could bring the downfall of existing shows. Someone mentioned the show at the National Motor Cycle Museum which happened a couple of years ago - in my own opinion, the standard of the displays was pretty poor (with a couple of notable exceptions), and whatever some people may think, the show was undoubtedly an utter flop both from a traders point of view and from the attendance (there have been several attempts to get various toy/figure related events started at the museum over the last 20 years, and they have all failed). Farm toy collecting in the UK only really started to take off significantly at the end of the 1980s; the 1st Spalding show was in June 1987 and occupied what is now the small hall (the rest of the exhibition complex didn't even exist back then). There were only around 15+ dealers, and there was room for a cafeteria/refreshments area at one end, and Stuart Gibbard used to bring one of his full sized tractors to display at the other end (there was plenty of room for his Doe Triple D in 1988!). I don't know the numbers through the door in those days, but I would think it would be no more than 100 - 200 at most. In the early nineties, the show moved into the old Springfields Restaurant (later flattened to make way for part of the shopping centre) - it was quite small and rather too 'friendly' for some people. When the show moved into the newly built large hall later in the 90s, the dealer tables were spaced out round the outside and Colin and Stuart had persuaded some of the local machinery dealers to take space in the middle of the hall to display full sized tractors. As the years went on the show rapidly grew in size to fill the big hall and then to utilise the small hall also. Sadly, most of this expansion has been money driven and has occured through a proliferation of what I would describe as 'money-grubbing' traders offering new, standard toys from the main manufacturers on a "pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap basis", which I believe has devalued the show. At those early shows, there was very little in the way of new mass produced stuff, most of the traders dealt in obsoletes, and it was really only G&M who had new on display (and almost all of those were from the likes of Ertl, Scale Models and other makers whose products were not easily available in the UK). The Autumn show originated in a small gathering that used to be organised by Bill Richardson on the first Sunday of October at his farm at East Hatley in Bedfordshire, and pre-dated the summer Spalding show by a couple of years - again only ten or a dozen invited dealers and Bill used to have his big Ford FW30 and John Deere artic and a convenient stubble field where he would from time to time take a few favoured guests for for a round with the subsoiler or somesuch. It made for a very enjoyable, friendly atmosphere - something which is certainly lost with the modern large events. When Bill retired and sold the farm, the show moved first to Standon, and then to Biggleswade before being merged with a new Autumn event at Spalding. I am not convinced that a move away from Spalding would be necessary, or indeed beneficial - it is well sited within the biggest agricultural area of the UK, and is also the region where the majority of serious farm model/toy collectors are. A move to better facilities at Peterborough might be worthwhile, but better facilities will be more expensive to hire, and to move it further afield would detract from its appeal I think, and I can't see that moving Spalding show, or starting a new tractor/farm show further south or west is going to do Toytrac any favours . Bearing in mind the relatively small number of visitors to these shows, and the resulting limited income from entrance charges, the size and standard of facilities of any potential venue will also be limited (unless you all want to have to pay £15 - £20 to get through the door??) I would like to see some changes, but I would start by trying to reduce the number of traders with piles of (the same) brand new issues all trying to undercut one another; a show with quality rather than quantity.

At about 20 tonnes carrying capacity, it would certainly be well illegal behind an agricultural tractor in the UK. The UK weight limit is 24390kg gross train weight for an agricultural tractor trailer combination, and a maximum permitted gross weight of 18290 for the trailer itself. The only way to use that legally on UK roads would be to tow it with a tractor which is licensed and operated as a large goods vehicle (and the only 'agricultural' tractor which will currently comply with the necessary emissions and drive-by noise regulations for such licensing is a Unimog).

There isn't much to advise - you will know what's what when you have completed the PA1 and PA2 training (I assume it is PA2a; Field Crop Sprayer: Hydraulic Nozzle and not something more involved?). Is this your first involvement with spraying? If so, you at least shouldn't have got into any bad habits which you will need to get out of

If I am looking at the same bit that you are, it should have one on both sides of the roof - on the real ones there was an indentation in the roof moulding about in the middle each side to accomodate a stud to hold the roof on (together with the two plough lamp bracket mountings which held the rear down, and I think a single stud in the middle at the front).

Series 10 Force II surely Looks OK - why didn't they put the Donaldson pre-cleaner bowl on the previous Series 10 model I wonder?

I usually snipe in the last 4 or 5 seconds on eBay; I have found it is the only way of standing a decent chance of winning without bidding way over the top. I decide the maximum and that is the bid I enter - if I win, I havent paid any more than what I think it is worth; if someone else has bid more than I think it is worth, so be it, I don't cry into my soup over it. If you leave an early proxy bid, there always seems to be a 'nibbler' who keeps bidding in small increments until they get one increment ahead of your proxy - your only hope of being successfuls if you leave a proxy which is way over the top, as the winning bidder in the listing the OP referred to has done (and is now going to have to pay the price for his folly). The other danger with proxy bids, is that some unscrupulous sellers can 'bid up' the price using another account (or getting a mate to do so), and whilst this shill bidding is against the rules, it is unpleasantly common, and eBay do not appear to have the resources to catch up with them all (if you suspect shill bidding, report it to eBay as this sometimes alerts them/spurs them to action). The BIG risk with running another bidder up, whether it be against a proxy on eBay or against another live bidder (or a clever auctioneer bouncing bids 'off the wall') in a bricks and mortar auction room, is that you might go one bid too far; then it is you with the big bill to pay (and egg on your face ) If eBay go to the same system as sites like eBid use, whereby the auction is extended by several minutes if a bid is submitted close to the end (auto-extension), it will obviously stop last second snipes, and if it results in most items ending at higher end bids, I probably won't be bidding on much in future. EBays usual greed suggests that it will probably happen, but they are a business, and most businesses are greedy, it's not just eBay - I notice that Vectis have to increased their buyers premium to 20% + VAT (their selling commission was already 20% + VAT + 2% insurance charge; in future the vendor will only be getting about 50% of what the successful bidder has payed out! All hail the snipe, I say

Rory - I'm sorry, but I find the the attitude that something largely sourced from abroad should be considered 'British' as absolutely staggering. It is no different from the potatoes and other produce which are imported from abroad, and then processed within the UK and then labelled as 'British' on the supermarket shelf (something most people in the UK farming industry get very up tight about). It is that mindset which has much to do with the current state the UK is in. And Lord F, the view expressed in your last post, makes me ask, what exactly was the point of your previous posts - you were the one who raised the lack of MF production in the UK and in almost the same breath congratulated JCB on highlighting their Britishness. I merely tried to suggest that MF has no relevence in this thread. [And I am also prompted to ask why, when I have made a comment based on published fact, I am (once again!!!!) having folks jumping down my throat and throwing thinly veiled abuse??? It seems to me that it is OK for some people to be critical, blunt or insulting, but the rest of us must only be permitted to agree with the views of the 'chosen few'.] Quite . It is certainly a rather loud colour scheme - looks even more so on the real thing (not exactly tastefully done!)

Massey Ferguson don't use 'britishness as a selling point though, do they (neither are they a UK company (and never have been). My figure of 80% is a little out it seems, and perhaps things have changed radically in the last 18 months, but JCB themselves admitted in early 2010 that UK made components accounted for only 36% of their backhoe loaders (a figure which was 96% thirty years before). Not something that sits well with using the Union Flag as a marketing tool \ source: http://cachef.ft.com/cms/s/0/be1fb22a-26f7-11df-8c08-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1bviTwal3

My understanding is that less than 80% of the components in currentJCB products are actually sourced within the UK \

I think Andy did mention that Britains were going to do the next batch with a grey skid unit, but it hasn't appeared yet, but I doubt it would be listed as a new model ( I don't expect the catalogue number would change for it). It may be on its way and will suddenly appear without any announcement, or perhaps the proposed change has got 'lost' during the recent change of ownership and management at Learning Curve/Britains.

I haven't come across anything else in 32nd farmingwise made by Jaditoys - they produce mainly cars. The New Holland 8070 was originally produced by Yaxon of Italy in the early 80s (I have seen a reference to it being released in 1980, but am unsure whether that is accurate). Yaxon stopped making it after few years (I think they closed down), but it re-appeared in 1989 as part of a newly launched range of farm toys by Giodi (another Italian toy manufacturer, who re-issued a number of former Yaxon toys). At the time it was priced at around £12.50. The other Giodi farm toys were 1/28th scale and included a Fiat 180-90DT and a Carraro 920 (which may also have been ex-Yaxon?). The moulds were then acquired by Hong Kong based Jaditoys and the NH 8070 was released for a third time around 2000. It was a stunningly good model at the time of its original release in 1980, even though it perhaps looks a bit basic to some folk now

Intentionally blunt. It seems to be the only way to get through to some people

Mainly because they were cheap and nasty, and other European countries were backwards in adopting regulations to safeguard the health of the workforce; and Farmers the world over generally go for the cheap option if available as they don't generally care about their staff either - most UK farmers were very resistant to both ROPS and Q-cab regs when they were first proposed (the UK farming industry even succeeded in getting the Q-cab regs delayed). We are talking 'Britains' here, and as these are items that have been instigated by Britains, they are not likely to portray a cab that wasn't available in the UK. If you had read Andys' post properly, you would have realised which cab was going to be on the Fords to begin with )

I agree entirely - I've been collecting seriously for nearly 25 years, and my collection is only just over 1000 including implements, vehicles and combines. I have only around 500 tractors. ( I have to admit to having a fairly large quantity of animals, accessories, buildings/playbases and point of sale material as well though ) Some very rich people with huge houses seem to forget that we don't all have sufficient resources (either in spare money to spend on toys/models or to afford somewhere large enough to house them all ) I would think FW have dropped this out to flush a few more collectors out into the open for a possible feature in FarmLife We had a poll on the forum a year or two ago and quite a few members had less than 500, some less than 100 (some only recently started had only a handful). I would think he isn't a member here, or he would have pointed FW in this general direction, but I see no reason why he shouldn't be.

Herewith some the projected release dates (to within a couple of months anyway) and suggested prices: 42757 1:32 CASE IH MAGNUM 340 TRACTOR (Jan - Mar) £25.49 42793 1:32 Case 1056XL 2WD Tractor (Jan - Mar) £20.49 42794 1:32 FORD 6600 TRACTOR (Apr - Jun) £17.99 42795 1:32 FORD 7600 TRACTOR (Apr - Jun) £17.99 42792 1:32 INTERNATIONAL 956XL 2WD TRACTOR (Jan - Mar) £20.99 42802 1:32 CASE 956XL TRACTOR W/DUAL WHEELS (Jan - Mar) £22.49 42824 1:32 JOHN DEERE 9460R TRACTOR (Jan - Mar) £30.99 42832 1:32 JOHN DEERE 8335RT TRACTOR (Jan - Mar) £25.49 42848 1:32 LAND ROVER SERIES 1 (Jan - Mar) £16.49 42808 1:32 MACHINERY BUILDING (Jan - Mar) £25.49 42807 1:32 LARGE LIVESTOCK BUILDING (Jan - Mar) £25.49 42761 1:32 MF 6480 TRACTOR & LOADER (Jan - Mar) £21.99 42784 1:32 JOHN DEERE 990 ROUND BALER (Jan - Mar) £20.49 42833 1:32 ROUND BALES (YELLOW) 42700 1:32 Kane 16 Tonne Silage Trailer (Feb) £18.99 42701 1:32 Kane 16 Tonne Grain Trailer (Feb) £16.99 42767 1:32 Sack Pallets (Jan - Mar) £4.99 42846 1:16 BF Horse Trailer w/Horse & Foal (Jan - Mar) £25.49 42847 1:16 BF GENERAL PURPOSE TRAILER (Jan - Mar) £13.99 42835 1:16 LAND ROVER & HORSE TRAILER SET (Jan - Mar) £34.99 42836 1:16 LAND ROVER & GP TRAILER SET (Jan - Mar) £30.99

We didn't read the rest of the thread properly, did we? As I said in my previous post, there is a very heavy hint in the post by Andy: (.....or do FTF members not get puns?)

I doubt if they will be either of those - the Fritzmeier cabs were for limited markets only and not common (unheard of in the UK, apart from a handful of more recent imports); I'm not even sure if they fully complied with the UK Tractor Cab Regs; the Q-cab or bubble was the standard for the mid 1976-on 6600 and 7600 (although I have seen a small number fitted with a Duncan Q cab). The Q cabs/bubble appeared early in 1976 (just before the Agriculture (Quiet Cabs) Regulations 1974 came into force on 1st June 1976) and as the Power+ versions were only phased in during 1980 (in the run up to the launch of the '10' series in 1981), and were little different in appearence other than having the piston+ decal on the nose cowling, they are rather a minority variant (later on they also included a new integrated hook and clevis pick-up hitch and the in-cab linkage levelling crank). I think Andy has already dropped a fairly heavy hint at the cab I'm just hoping they fit the correct exhaust in the correct position this time \

If you look at 'proper' eBay, instead of the half-arsed mobile version, you will see that the top line of the item description says "Britains New Holland FR9090 conversion" http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330625596919?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp5197.m570.l1313%26_nkw%3D330625596919%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

That would make sense - 6480 will be a redecalled version of the 7480 I would think. I will look forward to the Fords - it's a shame they didn't spend a bit more time and effort when the made them before. It will also be interesting to see how they compare with the Marge Models 10 series (both in detail and price), as from the pictures I have seen so far, they are not perfect either . Big numpty for Rick for posting a UH model in the wrong forum

Because the projected release date is February