The Tractor Twitcher

Wow  Just been perusing your collection Mark, absolutely stunning array of red   Love the 1200 artic, is it a Brian Norman model?

Cheers mate, I've got a cabbed 2 wheel drive 8240 - the only 40 series model I have, was really pleased when I snapped it up........Pretty solid models aren't they........

No problem mate, very pleased with mine, decent solid model and a good representation of a very nice tractor would like to find it a shelf partner now having seen what other variations were made. 

wow that is a nice collection you have

Thanks Marcus

Nice collection 

Loving those cuff links where did you get those 

Thank you Barry

My eagle eyed Mum spotted them in the local jeweller's in Pickering just after the new year. Made for a very nice surprise when I returned home from work

According to the tag on the box they're made by a company called "Dalaco" think they were about £15.

Ford 8210 and 9700 2wd in my opinion. The 9700 was a real beast for its time, and the 8210....theres nothing to say, the best looking tractor in all times.

I've been pondering this for a while and i'm going have to agree with Mattias on this one. The big "700" line Fords of the late 70's, TW's and latterly the 30 series look the best with the black wheel centred Case IH 956/1056XL and 1255XL/1455XL not far behind.

Go for it.... be a fun thing to do and a great way to start...

I'm definitely going to have a go, will be drawing inspiration from some of the master -piece TM's i've seen on here including your own very smart TM155 which i've followed.

I certainly don't fancy pulling anything too expensive apart for a first attempt only to find I can't put it back together again 

Welcome aboard David and look forward to seeing more posts from you now you have bitten the bullet and joined in ;)

Thank you BC

Enjoying contributing and making the most of such a brilliant hobby 

Thanks for that pic.... I have no idea why but I quite like the Olivers as a brand... saw some photos of some out in the states in one of the tractor mags and they do hold a certain appeal.... but as a Ford man I can't for the life of me think why...... [Enter stage right Mary Ferguson or big Si with some witticism about crap tractors....    ]

It's cracking model and agree the Oliver liveried tractors from the White Farm Equipment era look the business..... but here's a nice big blue machine to re-address the balance

I like that little 1 furrow plough  , good idea there 

It's the best part of 46 years old and can turn a good furrow in moist sand mate. 

I know exactly which one you mean... George has several [mostly knackered] and I have been sorely tempted to use the bonnet off one for a TM or possibly a TS, which may be closer.... They do make them in blue as well which may save you a job.... although ridding the world of another green one can only be a good thing   

Spalding looks set to be a good one this year, good turnout even if we are all broke... should mean more chance to chat though! 

Mine came from a friend who works in the visitor centre in Dalby Forest, i've always had it in the back of my mind to return it to the colour it deserves, and hopefully will make for a nice simple start for a complete novice like myself 

Very nice Pete along with all your other amazing conversions, and look what I found lurking in the archives....

Spotted it in a yard next to some fields being prepared for a lawn turf seed bed a couple of years ago.

Regards

David

very nice collection mate 

Thanks dmullen637

That is a superb collection David, thoughtfully displayed too.... I would love to be able to get mine out of the giant boxes they're packed away in but the kids would be in there quicker than I could set them out....

Not seen the Olivers before.... look very tidy models.

Any plans for a layout of any sort or some dioramas?

Thank you Simon

I would love to have some kind of themed layout in the future but i'm a little bit restricted for space being at home with my parents at the moment ( unless I get rid of my bed and sleep on the sofa )

However I am looking out for some more cabinet space to replace the shelves. I've only had the one you see in the photos a week, I bought it as a free standing unit from a charity shop for £20, had the legs chopped off it, made a very simple base for it and painted it black. Very pleased with it.

Here's my Oliver 2655.

Sighhhhhhhh.  We all have these "if only I kept..." moments.  I aften regret not keeping my original 1950's collection of Britains and other farm pieces. 

All I am now trying to do is redress the error so I may even have bought some of my own early pieces! 

Lovely collection you have there.

Thanks Sue

That's amazing, I'd quite like to own some of Britains tractors I had towards the end of the eighties, but for the time being i'm happy to indulge myself in the overwhelming plethora of new releases out there

Welcome aboard David 

Great intro David and it's nice to see another 'lurker' coming out of the closet!! 

Hope to meet you at Spalding and I've had a look through your collection topic, very nice.

Good to have you on board and hope to see you really going for it soon and having a go at building something too!

Catch you on April 5th!

Thanks Colm and Simon

It's about time I took the plunge, enjoying posting and contributing on here and really appreciating the comments / feedback on my collection

There's a friction drive tractor sat on one of my shelves that just about passes for a New Holland TM that maybe due for a re-paint and some extras, we shall see

Look forward to meeting you at Spalding.

A few nice models there, that cat 375 is worth a few quid now

Thank you JC

That's interesting to know regards the Cat, I bought it as a christmas present for my Dad many years ago from a toy shop in Scarborough, very nice model  . I also had the Joal Cat 225 until it fell off a work surface and smashed into several pieces, Dad put it back together but I later sold it.

Very nice collection you've got yourself there David  :o ;)

Thanks Si

Here's a few photos of the very small assortment of implements i've had hiding away attached to some of my collection.

Back when I was carpet farming I had quite an array of Britains implements bought for me as a youngster unfortunately and regrettably they went the way of the car boot sale.

My old Siku Deutz Fahr round baler which escaped the sale.

Britains New Holland baler bought off a friend in exchange for a pint a couple of years ago.

My Britains "Elite" Krone big square baler.

Siku Lemken plough.

Britains power harrow and drill combination.

Britains Wright Rain irrigator attached to my most recent tractor purchase.

Siku Bergmann muck spreader.

Siku Wuhlmaus potatoe harvester.

A couple of my Dad's old toys, his home made 1 furrow digger plough for his sand pit ( back in the day ) and the "remains" of his Lister elevator.

Wow thats one big collection you have there. Very nice

Thank you marshman

There's still space for a few more yet before it exceeds the limits of my room. 

great diversity in models and scales (which i like)  .

of course the 1 1:16 scale tractor deserves some friends.. (one of the other 7 models by Ertl from the  40-series possibly? ).

and dont fall for the MF-talk by Marky, you are on the good track with those NH and Fords 

Thank you Wil (Just had a look on your very impressive website, some amazing models on there  )

Certainly wouldn't mind a 2wd version to keep mine company ( I'll add it to my Spalding shopping list )

There's definitely plenty of blue in me when it comes to the real thing, my late Grandad, Dad in his younger days and now my Uncle have known nothing else but Fordson, Fords and now New Holland, and as a kid in the eighties I did grow up around seeing plenty of 10 series tractors on the farm.

When it comes to my model collecting habits, anything goes 

Regards

David

brilliant collection, last pic does it for me  7740

Thanks Murray 

I do have a bit of a soft spot for the 7740, my Uncle used to run one with a tanco loader a few years ago, and the farm near York where I get to "play" have a very tidy white roof model which i've been lucky enough to have a go on, if I can get my scanner to work I'll post some pictures I took a couple of years ago of it in the relevant section.

Seen as you did such a fine job on the MB - Trac 1800, how about a couple more big German tractors like a Deutz Fahr DX 8.30 or Fendt 626LSA, please.

That is a very nice collection with many diffirent brands.

texas

Thank you Texas

When comes to collecting I have no real brand loyalty towards any model or tractor manufacturer, enjoy having a variety of themes. 

Nice collection  , i think il have to second Mark with the 'more ferguson in there' 

Thank you Rhys

Agreed, I'm sure that will happen sooner rather than later

That is a very nice collection you have there mate, with a great variety of colours too, thanks for posting........

Is the Ford 40 series with ROPS an ERTL model........

Thank you New Holland2

It certainly is mate  It's the only 1/16 scale model I own, bought it at Spalding back in '99. It's an Ertl 7740, I think i've seen a cabbed 6640 in the same scale too.

Nice collection and a nice variation of colours Walter, I have mine arranged very similar with a shelf for each colour :

I know what you mean about implements as well, every time I think about adding an implement then along comes another tractor and goes to the top of the shopping list  \ \ \ \ \

Thank you Robbo

I enjoy viewing them all in themed rows, just after another cabinet now to replace one of the other MFI book cases.

I'm exactly the same when it comes to implements, I go out with the best intentions to find a suitable implement to display with one of the tractors only to buy another tractor. 

pretty impressive collection there mate,

Cheers Sean

Again it's mostly made up of general releases but there's one or two nice things tucked away in there 

Wowers.. what a collection... thanks for sharing...

Some nice kit in that lot too... I love the cufflinks too  :D - well smart...

Could do with a bit more MF in there I reckon... I'll have to bend your ear at Spalding I think  :D

Seriously... thanks once again... I do like a good old nose through someone elses cabinet

Thank you Mark,

I agree could do with a bit more Massey red in there First Britains tractor I had as a nipper was the dual wheeled 2680. Sadly it went the way of the car boot sale.

There's a man in your cabinet with a camera!!! 

Stunning collection, huge variety as well. Is it mainly tractors you collect rather than implements or are the implements just not on show?

JCB collection looks nice 

Cheers Tris,

Yes almost exclusively tractors and the odd digger to keep my Dad happy. I do have half a dozen or so implements including the Britains Krone baler and Siku Wuhlmaus potatoe harvester tucked away in a draw. Have been tempted by some of the UH implements recently but always ended up buying tractors over them instead.

They may come out of hiding once i've purchased some more cabinet space

Joal 4CX is strictly speaking my Dad's it looks quite good in front of the Fastrac line up

Big Siku 8000 series version may well be joining them soon.

nice collection,, wish mine were shiny and clean like yours.. would you like some of my dust please

Thank you tractorbob,

Funny you should mention that as they've recently been dusted, they didnt look as nice as that 2 days ago. The cabinet is a recent addition so i've had chance to have a big shift around and give them all a half decent clean

Thought the name was familiar. Glad you came out, it's great post by the way and interesting to read. We'll see you at Spalding for a cuppa down on Leveret's Farm 

Thank you Tris, I do enjoy writing, don't do as much now, but i've contributed quite a few articles to Yorkshire YFC over the past few years from my experiences as a keen "non - farming"  young farmer member.

Definitely looking forward to meeting you at Leveret's Farm and the rest of the gang at Spalding for a cuppa 

when you get as bad as mary and me mate then you  know your in trouble, we both have 1000 quid plus mfs on order from classic combines  :D :'( :'( :'( gonna have to do some serious overtime now

Wow, I think i'd need to push for a serious pay rise or promotion to afford some of Dr Andy's amazing feats of engineering, I'll keep drooling over the pictures on his website for the time being 

A few pictures from my ever evolving collection - My Cabinet and Desk.

Book Case 1.

Book Case 2.

that's a good way to be really... sooooo much choice... I could go into liquidation within an hour at Spalding  :D

That's what i'm worried about 

It's bad enough when I make my routine trip down to Ralph Yates's down the road in Malton just after I've been paid, takes a very strong will sometimes!

welcome on the forum

Thank you johndeere 3040

Brilliant... please make sure you come and say hello on the FTF stand David.. will be good to shake your hand

So... must haves... which ones 

indded it will marky, i will be there for sure helping andy out

I certainly will do Mark and Sean 

Hopefully as you will see from the pictures of my collection very soon I have quite a varied taste and lots of mini themes running through my collection.

I do seem to have quite a penchant for big American artics and 4wds of all makes and would quite like to add the Case IH 9150 and both recent versions of the 2470 Traction King to go with my Britains Quadtrac, they would look nice sat together.

Same goes for the Britains John Deere 8440 one of my most recent purchases, I wouldnt mind having an 8640 and 8430 sat beside it.

I'm also mighty impressed by the recently released Wiking models so I could be tempted, which one, who knows, I'm pretty spontaneous when it comes to buying models.  

Welcome to FTF, you have been browsing for a long time before taking the plunge

I hope you have deep pockets and long arms if you are returning to Spalding, a lot more traders there now

What a lovely introduction David... thanks for that... it's great to see you posting now too...

Glad you have come out of the shadows and I'm looking forward to reading your posts - if you need any help don't hesitate to contact me via PM anytime...

Any chance of some pics of your collection some time please  

Mark

welcome to ftf posting david, often seen you arround browsing,and glad you plucked up the courage to post at last

Thank you Super6, Mark and Sean.

Seem to spend most of my time on here admiring the amazing conversion and scratch build work from many of you guys on here aswell as keeping an eye on new releases, looking forward to contributing my thoughts and tales on here.

Can't wait to attend Spalding again one or two "must haves" on my wish list at the moment that hopefully won't leave me too bankrupt! 

Should have photos of my collection posted soon.

Regards

David

Greetings everyone

My name is David and I reside in Pickering, North Yorkshire. I work for the Co-op as a Duty Manager of a convienience store and seem to have a little bit of farming in my blood and blatent obsession for all things tractors, diggers and old machinery.

Although I don't ply my trade in the farming industry both my parents were brought up on farms. My Dad came from a mixed farm in the centre of Dalby Forest until he left to pursue a career in civil engineering at a young age and my mum spent her childhood on a large arable farm on Sherburn Wold.

My Uncle still works the land in Dalby on a farm that has seen nothing but the blue of Fordson, Ford and at present a pair of New Hollands a TS110 and TM140.

Whilst my retired Grandad can always be relied upon to talk about the old combines and the variety of International tractors he used to run on the Wold Tops, great stuff.

Much of my spare time is spent contributing towards a young farmer's club near York, stock judging, writing, public speaking and I've had stints as their secretary and last year as their proud chairman.

Being able to play with real tractors (mostly Fergies and Fords) on a friends farm local to the club also provides welcome escapism from the "indoor" career path i'm choosing to follow.

However it's my job and steady wage that goes with it that's allowed me recently to indulge and reinvigorate my model collecting habits.

I suppose you could call me a very young born again collector. Back when I was a little bit younger than the 25 years I am now, I decided I'd reached retirement age for carpet farming and sold all my "toys" at a local car boot sale. This contained quite a number of Britains models, various Fords, Fiats, Renaults, Massey Fergusons and a yellow County 1884.

It's something I regret massively to this day.

I did retain a small cabinet in my parents lounge with 15 or so 1/43 scale Ertl vintage and classic tractors and a couple shelves filled with tractor books.

Having read about "Tractor 97" in a magazine article I saved all my pennies and school lunch money and convinced my parents to take me on a little trip to Spalding the following year, absolute heaven!

I also attended in 1999 picking up a few of the Toy Farmer artics and various general releases.

In the intervening years, adulthood, college and trying to impress women slowed down my collecting progress but in the last year or so i've now built up a varied and cosmopolitan collection of mainly general releases from the major model manufacturers that stands at just short of 150 models.

Personal favourites are my Norscot Claas Challenger, Big Bud 440 on triples and New Holland T8040

I'm hoping to get back down to Spalding for the spring show this year as i've a shopping list that grows by the hour having discovered FTF.

Regards

David