Richard de Florennes

This Ford 7710 survived 23 years of toy farming - now looking better than ever before?

MF preparing for drilling maize ...

Just added some more details to the older Fords, including German number plates, front lights, a warning light, back mirrors and window screens ...

Having received so much nice feedback for my own farming dioramas it's time for me to have a look again at other mate's works. These self-made farm buildings on the previous page look very nice and extremely realistic. Very nice work!

The potatos themselves are grains of special millet or sorghum available in health food shops. The plants of potatos and especially of carotts can be very well reproduced by use of so-called "Iceland Moss" (do not know the exact English term, sorry ?) To round this topic off, here is another perspective of my irrigation diorama; which fitted very well to a totally dry April in Western Germany this year ... More Images from me, "Richard de Florennes" (real name: Sascha) at http://www.witomo.com/6595.html

Hello, I do not understand the meaning (what are you pointing at?) of the last two postings due to the language barrier (in spite of best marks in English at school - obviously not enough to cope with native speakers). The front weight/grill guards are available at Towse Trading, and just to avoid any misunderstanding, I am in no way specially linked or influenced by this modell maker/seller, but thanks to this forum, I found this shop and purchased quite a lot of articles there not available here in Germany for realizing these dioramas ...

And finally my Unimog, I always wanted to have this as a child but it took until last week, when I finally could afford purchasing one extremely used example without load area via ebay. This is how it looks after some new paint jobs and addition of a self-made (and therefore and little bit steep looking, sorry ;-)) load area:

Another minor conversion: This MF has been fitted with front weight, grill guard and self made "glass" windows made of blister toy boxes.

As I spent hours and days on Ford Tractors (a 5000 and 6600 if I remember correctly) joining a local farmer in our neighborhood when I was a small boy, Ford stayed my favourite brand, though I like MF and John Deere too). This example was a present for my 5th birthday some 30 years ago is fitted with a grill guard and front weight from TOWSE TRADING (will I get an item for free, regarding all this free adversitising for you, Dave ;-) ?), however I had no money for a new exhaust, which has got lost in all the years. Therfore, I had to rely on the stick of a cotton bud (Q-Tip), acting now as self-made unique exhaust, until this example will retire and replaced by the new old Britains Fords coming out this year (I am hoping) ...

The same tractor with a more suitable implement: a bed former from Towse Trading, added by row markers which are available from SIKU as official spare parts and painted blue. Also reflecting red/white warning markings were added. The field is brown floor carpet, while the beds are formed of dry used coffee. More of my pictures at http://www.witomo.com/6595.html - you can give me a vote, if you want! ;-)

Another farmer - another sprayer: This Evrad sprayer set once was available together with a Britains MF 3600. Although it is technically almost impossible to fit the frontal sprayer barrel to a Ford 7710 (steering is almost impossible now and the frontal barrel is fixed to the ground in reality), I think it looks pretty good in this combination. The flexible tube connecting the frontal and the rear barrel is one of those annoying new Britains box wires ...

especially @ New Holland2, but also to all fellow enthusiasts: I am a real "Row Crop fan" too, as this topic is really interesting in real farming live (special wheels, special implements) and sadly not covered satisfying by farm modell producers. You get a whole range of normal drills, but not a single precision drill. We have just a single planter on the market now from SIKU, but not a single other dedicated row crop implement (bed former, row cultivator, potato or beet harvester). However, that's why I choose Potato and Carrot farming of my farm's main topic; and I am really thankful for the support of this forum - especially as they realized my contact with TOWSE trading who provided the row crop wheels and some other implements (not for free, of course ;-)), hardly available anywhere else ? Anyway, this is what is happining on my "coffee earth" potato field this morning - the new John Deere sprayer has been pulled out of the box for the first time. In spite of some discussions regarding this tool, I like it very much. I think it looks good, and is far better then my previous SIKU Amazone pulled sprayer, which went to Ebay some weeks ago ;-) Unfortunately, my John Deere contractor has no row crop wheels available for works on my fields, but precise driving skills and a special plantic technic (leaving planting lines free for the tractor wheels) will allows for my plants growing without damage.

No, FB this is not the right link, they seem to have had a problem with my pictures size. This is the better link: http://www.witomo.com/6595.html And do not forget: Richard de Florennes is just a fantasy name like Sparrowlegs (or is this his real name?). Anyway, my real name is Sascha, but as a was a child, a friend's half-deaf Grandma always just understood "Richard", no matter how often I repeated my name. An Florennes is one of my favourite villages in Belgium, my second home - that's how I got this second name ...

and a close-up of the drill: The covers of the larger fertilizer canisters have been lost in my childhood years (1970s) and had to be rebuilt from resin. 30 years have past and still I am hoping and waiting for a better 1:32 precision drill ....

Back to the roots - that's where a carrot's live begins: MF with Flexicoil front mounted dual press and a 4 row precision drill from a 1970s German 1:32 producer called "Hausser Elastolin".

and a frontal perspective for a change:

Don't now if this is a new or great idea, but I made the "carrots" out of rice drown in orange paint. The grean stuff is available in most dedicated (train) Modell shop, the grown carrot plants are made of "Iceland Moos".

Deleted by error, here one more time - the highly appreciated Image 0545. Please do not forget to give me a vote via one of the links mentioned above, if you are satisfied with my work (did spent a lot of energy, time and money for making the dioramas, especially at TOWSE trading - thanks Dave! ;-)) - and will give any price for the benefit of charity if i make to 1st or 2nd place! By the way, the six dioramas at www.witomo.com are all dedicated to potato and carrot farming, which is not treated in dioramas that often as e.g. combine harvesters and balers ... They show precidion seeding of carrots planting potatos the "German" way (first planting, then bed-forming) or the new "Scottish" system (first be forming, then planting in prepared beds), irrigation of crops and finally harvesting potatos and carrots.

The Grimme planter has been added by the barrel of an old SIKU spreader, which in reality would contain chemical caustic preventing the potatos from rotting before growing up.

Thank you very much for the unexpected and overwhelming positive feedback! The Grimme "Dammfr?se" (Bed Former) is basically the new SIKU Kuhn Mulch Shredder, added by cratch built resine forming shapers, plus some Grimme and warning stickers. The beds are made of very soft wood and fixed to the basic underground by nails, then painted brown ...

Here is another one, after the irrigation of carrots (see above) this is how carrots are harvested Britains style ;-) The background shows the typical scenery of my region's landscape - the German Lower Rhine area not far from the border to the Netherlands. More pictures from me, Sascha: see http://www.witomo.com/6595.html

@ FB/archbarch: Thank you very much for your help - this is the result of a scratch-built load area (fast solution, 1 hour work ;-)). Dear fellow farm modell enthusiasts, thanks to the help and encouragment of some of this forum's members, I restarted my interest in real farming and modell farming early this years, at an age of 35 years, together with my 3 years old son. I was also supported a little by Ralf Winghart, who runs the German dedicated online shop www.witomo.de, I can abolutely recommend to everyone. At the moment I am am taking part in a "Diorama Competition" organized by Ralf Winhart; where you can some of my works results and where you can also vote for your favourite diorama creator. You can see the results (some of which thanks to your help!) via the direct link http://www.winghart-coaching.de/diorama2007/Album15/index1.html Of course any feedback and critics are very welcome. You can also give a vote (maybe for me? ) at http://witomo.com/tinc?key=oyrdlfZT&formname=Farm_Diorama_2007 You can fill in you favourite 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, but you have to fill all fields and a correct e-mail address in order to take part in the poll. Thanks for your support, Regards "Richard de Florennes" alias Sascha Jussen, Germany And here is a first picture, more will follow soon, if anybody is interested ...

@ FB/archbarch: Thank you very much for your help - this is the result of a scratch-built load area (fast solution, 1 hour work ;-)). Dear fellow landmodell enthusiasts, thanks to the help and encouragment of some of this forum's members, I restarted my interest in real farming and modell farming early this years, at an age of 35 years, together with my 3 years old son. I was also supported a little by Ralf Winghart, who runs the German dedicated online shop www.witomo.de, I can abolutely recommend to everyone. At the moment I am am taking part in a "Diorama Competition" organized by Ralf Winhart; where you can some of my works results and where you can also vote for your favourite diorama creator. You can see the results (some of which thanks to your help!) via the direct link http://www.winghart-coaching.de/diorama2007/Album15/index1.html Of course any feedback and critics are very welcome. You can also give a vote (maybe for me?) at http://witomo.com/tinc?key=oyrdlfZT&formname=Farm_Diorama_2007 You can fill in you favourite 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, but you have to fill all fields and a correct e-mail address in order to take part in the poll. Thanks for your support, Regards "Richard de Florennes" alias Sascha Jussen

Believe it takes some time until a single one will be available on Ebay. I am on time pressure as I am taking part in the "Diorama competition" at www.witomo.com. For my last diorama I need an Unimog as a towing vehicle for potato trailers until 12th of May. I will make the missing loading area this afternoon; any measures would be helpfull then. By the way, due to lack of time, the loading area will be fixed then. Thanks for any help. Would like to show you some of my dioramas when finished (including lots of own conversions and some from TOWSE) but I seem to be too stupid to understand how to upload any pictures in here ;-)

Hello, need you help as soon as possible. Purchased an 1975 Britains Unimog for lots of money but with its load area missing. For a rebuilt, I need to know the exact size of the load area. Any information, especially in the "Continental" metric system very appreciated (do not have a ruler in Inches ;-)). Thanks for your help. Regards, Richard de Florennes