powerrabbit

This link will give you all the info you need about it TM810. http://cgi3.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=dinkyclub

Anyone that has any earlier Britain's tractors with steering that is operated via the wire link that needs to be replaced or is missing, I find that a wire paper clip is the exact guage. Just staigten one out, cut it to length, bend each end to a hook, one end up, the other down or as required to fit each end, hook it in each end and with a small pair of sharp-nosed pliers turn each end to form the 'eye'. Job done!

I purchased one of these Fordsons from the same guy in it's kit form a while back for ?29.99. Building the kit was a little time consuming as the parts needed quite a bit of filing to fit them together. I would not buy another one of these as when completed the rear end of the tractor is a little wider than the front that leaves a very slight gap between the two halves. The axle pins, front and back, are slightly too small in diameter making all the wheels a little sloppy and the rear tyres are a little loose on the rims as well and these axle pins or shafts are too hard to pinch or crimp. The rear lift 'down-arms' are grey hard plastic and cant be fitted over the lugs on the linkage for this reason or the 'rings' are too small, I had to use the proper softer Britain's original ones, these arms should be orange. Another fault With this kit was that there was no steering linkage wire with it so I had to use my 'special', a wire paper clip. There were no transfers or decals supplied either. (Grilles and 'Fordson'). The peg to mount the seat had to be filed down as the seat would not sit low enough to hold the 'top link/cross-shaft arms in place without them falling out. These kits are cast using an original Britain's Major, on the right-hand mudguard 'Made in England is there but 'Britain's' has been ground out. In my opinion, this kit would score about 4 out of 10 for quality and around 6 for price. Not too dificult to build but I don't think That I would build another.

I think that you have hit the nail on the head when you say 'cost'. You are right in saying that the modern packaging does not realy reflect the model, it just seems more to be advertising the 'brand'. The older style boxes and packaging with all the artwork that it carried reflected the model and put it in a perspective that was more appealing and could be identified to a specific purpose, farming. This is true of most of the toy/model manufacturers now. It seems to me that despite the model in the box, the more sophisticated, if that's the right word, or colurful the box is, the more expensive the item is. Put a run-of-the-mill model in a colourful box, call it a 'limited edition' and hike the price. Anyone who has explored the commercial printers in having them to produce an item will know that nowadays there is more costs involved in multi-colour print than single, two colour and three colour print but the real expense is in the manufacture of the dies for the pattern.

If those pics are off your mobile phone Andy, they are such good quality, you can chuck your digi camera!

Cracking lot of pics Marky, be nice to look back on and with the 'line-up' I will now be able to recognise you chaps when we meet again in the future. By all your postings and comments, seems like you all had a very enjoyable day and for those of you that braved a long journey your faces said it all. Proper job!

Just come back from Exeter Airport. Brother is at work so had to take Sister-in-law in to pick up her French girl student from Bergerac who's here for a week on part of an English language course, good rate of pay, soon be able to pay for her car that we picked up yesterday afternoon after coming back from Mike Thorne's.

Well, it's all over now. Great to meet a few of the guys on here and have a chat. I did not expect the amount of toys/model stuff that was there and nice that the prices were reasonable. Went into the shop in Crediton on the way and picked up a cardboard box full of Siku stuff, wish that I'd saved it for some more at the open day really but I've already got most of what was there, did buy a Power Farm Claas Forager for 40 notes and had the better Corgi MF combine for 20 notes. Bought a copy of Mikes book that he has written on the Fergies and he kindly offered to sign it for me which I thought was nice of him and on the stall in the middle lower shed where the chap had all the leaflets and instruction books I bought the book he had there titled 'Ferguson Implements And Accessories' by John Farnsworth, a first edition from 1996. Great morning, very enjoyable and a terrific atmosphere. I left around 2.00pm as I had to be home to go and pick up my Sister-in-laws first car with my Brother. Cheers lads, lovely to meet you, hope we can repeat it again, probably at Toytrac in October. :)

This broadband thing is another topic really but whilst we are still on the subject, I am gratefull for what I've got as my broadband is totaly free. A close neighbour of mine was quoted something in the region of 38 grand to put in a phone line 300 yards to his premmises so what we did was put an extra line to my house and the phone signal is wirelessley transmitted to an antenna on one of my sheds that beams the signal half a mile to his place. The kit for this, the homehub and all the gubbins is in my house and my computer is hard-wired into the system so in actual fact we are sharing the same connection, works a treat. But there was an annoying twist a little while ago, we attempted to get the signal to my Brother next door by puting in his house a wireless jobby. Got it up and running perfect, 2 days later he lost the connection, it turned out that somewhere down the line the provider detected this and cut the connection on the wireless side as the flashing light on the homehub has permanently gone out now. Bas***ds!

We will all have to meet and introduce ourselves. I will turn up in a green 1966 D reg Land Rover Series 2A. I will be wearing green trousers and a blue and grey top and will probably break with my usual tradition and have a few Ferguson badges pinned on me.

That's the Implematic casting. Could do some potential builds with that, an Oliver 500 springs to mind for one. Have you cast the mudguards as well?

Not Chagford, that would take me in the opposite direction, the shop I will be going to is in Crediton. If I meet you up at Mikes open day I will tell you the shop to look in.

I would have a go at one if the member who was going to send me the casting for a 4wd 1200 that was prommised me and was paid for several months ago turned up!

Well,. I am going a little earlier in order to go into the shop on the way to have a look on the 12 shelves of Britain's and Siku stuff they have got. Mate of mine went in the shop today for a Ford 5000 and they had just one left. He asked the owner of the shop how many he had sold and the owner said that to date he has sold just over 400 and has another 500 ordered. So they must be selling ok.

Just had an email from Martin Smits, he is coming and I have asked him if he would bring an arctic full of the Siku limited edition models. We will wait and see!

Perhaps we ought to start a new topic to compare prices for houses, model tractors and real ones from say 1970 to date. I remember in my last year at school, 1970, a row of 8 semi-detached houses were built in the village here and were sold for ?8,000 each, three bed, one was sold recently in the row for ?185,000 and had not been altered in that time. When my Father bought the farm I am on now in 1961 it was ?3,500. It consisted of 38 acres but only basic building and the farmhouse plus all the stock, 13 milking cows and a plough, set of drags and a roller. The previous owner kept the tractor so Father had to buy one, a secondhand D.B. 30D from the local dealer for ?35. How times have changed. Back to topic. I think that the new 5000 is excelent value for money. All models have their inherant faults and will always be picked up on. I look at the positive points first and these usually outweigh the negative.

I think that I may have discovered why this tractor looks like it has a droop. It is because the mudguards are a smidging too high and the cab appears to lean forward a little where it contacts the bonnet. This is probably due to the rear wheels and tyres being bigger than the old original. If Britain's had made the tyres a little lower on the profile and everso slightly lowered the mudguards the cab would be more level so eliminating this 'bent in the middle' look.

He had 7 available last time I looked but Graham is probably not the only one to have them in stock.

I have posted these pics elsewhere but this is the 195 I got from the States.

Here is the U.S. Dealer version of the new Ford 5000. The tractor of course is exactly the same but the box is different. The catalogue number on the box is 13700. The U.K red and yellow box carries the catalogue number 42196. I have taken pics of all sides of the box so that you can see what it is like. Wonder how many of these will find their way to the U.K?

I am thinking of going in my David Brown boilersuit.

So for those of us that have yet to meet, how are we going to recognise each other?

Seen a lot worse. Looks quite a reasonable project but as said, depends what the mechanics are like and of course you have to know the reason it's for sale, hav'nt read the details but what's the clutch like? Does the engine breath heavy? You could put it back to 'showroom' spending around a grand on it and at the end of the day have a tractor worth between 3 & 4 grand.

Some well restored Implematics there with some period D.B equipment. Iv'e seen the majority of these at the Honiton Hill rally, all belong to the same family I think. I'm told that the hood/spout on the Hurrican Harvester has a fair thick skin of filler on it, one of their early restorations, they have used New Holland yellow on the wheels instead of the Primrose yellow but then, I may be a bit 'purist' being into the D.B marque. Forgot to say that the decals on the machinery has been all sign written but whoever has done it really knows their stuff.

Made a mistake. Not a Puma 190, it's a 195. Does'nt say anything about being a dealer box but you can take it as so because it is in the OEM colours which is what they are doing now as they have apparently stopped the so-called dealer boxes. Should probably be put in a seperate post but here it is.