Case IH Gold Signature set

[ihatepoundland]

1/32 Ertl/Britains Case IH Gold Signature Steiger 535 and Magnum 305

Before I start the review, I'd like to say thank you to Andy and RC2, as these models were the prize I received from the photographic competition run earlier this year; although I may level some criticism at these models, I am still grateful to own them. I have become quite selective in the models that I buy, they have to have particular interest for me to buy them, so this is not a set that I would have gone and bought of my own accord, but to be able to access them correctly in terms of value for money, I will assume that I did, and paid the market price of around 52 pounds.

I'm sure many of you already know the background to this model from an earlier thread by Bill Walters ; http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=18903.0 , but for the sake of comparison, here are the real things;

Magnum 305 - Of which there are 100 real ones

Steiger 535 - Of which there are 50 real ones

The Set

The first thing you'll notice about this model is the packaging; the box is impressive, both in scale and the quality and throughness of the graphical presentation. This is continued inside with the mirror finish, leading to the overall impression that this set is something special.

On a side note, Case and IH have a long history of unique anniversary paint schemes, but for my tastes as a British collector, I find the real scheme overly garish and dare I say it, too American. Having said that, I appreciate that others more interested in CaseIH and American farming will love this scheme.

In terms of the model, Ertl appear to have reproduced the scheme faithfully, which is all you can ask for really.

The Magnum

I will try to avoid listing all of the plus and minuses of the base model, as they have already been covered by others, but obviously some of these affect how I view this model, the major let down for me is what appears to be an overly narrow front axle and tyres.Although I didn't have them side by side to compare, ignoring the paint work and decals, the only difference between this and the standard US spec Magnum appear to be the gold painted wheel nuts.

This is what it is all about - but if you look closely you can see what looks like fine gold over spray beneath the decal, which is quite annoying.

The Steiger

Of the two models, I found this one the most disappointing. The first thing that struck me was that the tractor was on singles, set on a wide track, I have to wonder how many of the 50 real tractors will be set up this way. I feel to make this model extra special, it would have been more impressive on duals, or even triples. The singles may appeal to someone who has the dual wheeled 50th anniversary dealer edition, but as someone who doesn't, I feel this move is unrepresentative of the majority of the real thing.

When I look at the John Deere 9530, this model appears slightly cheap to me, almost as if it was a few years older, not nearly as bad as the FW30, but not what it could have been. Some of the details leave me puzzled, the vertical fins running through the gold section on the rear are in real life handrails, which is not the impression you get from this model.

Overall

Dispute my criticism, I still think that this is a fairly desirable and collectable set. I'm glad the Ertl reproduced this anniversary for CaseIH and of all of the recent 'special' editions we've seen, this is one of the most genuinely special occasions. In my opinion it could have been more special, this set could have been the ultimate version of these models, with the Magnum on duals and the afore mentioned changes to the Steiger.

In terms of value for money, 52 pounds seems a lot for RC2 products, but then the standard Magnum on it's own retails for around 15 and the collectors edition Steiger on duals for around 35  (although I think the Steiger is overpriced in comparison to the recent John Deere artics - a separate issue) . Of course this Steiger is on singles which may work out cheaper, but I feel that the few quid extra over the single models is not unreasonable for the additional paint work, excellent packaging and limited availability.

So my summary is slightly confusing....if you like the real anniversary model, then you will most probably like this, if you don't, then you won't .

[Fenside MF]

That was an interesting read ihp,I'm sure they will increase in value in years to come.

Were the real tractors manufactured with single wheels as well as duals