In the previous Friday Footnote we looked at some of the early manufacturers of toy tractors. Today we look at the modern era of toy tractors
U.S. Based Toy Tractor Companies
Ertl – The Ertl company was founded in Dyersville, Iowa in 1945 by Frederick Ertl. There was a strike where he worked, so he had some time on his hands. He started making toy tractors by melting down defective aluminum aircraft pistons in his home furnace. He made the molds from sand collected from a nearby river.
Frederick involved his wife and five sons in the toy tractor making venture. He began selling his tractors to local stores. He used his car to deliver the tractors and had to take the back seat out of his car to make room for the deliveries.
His first model tractors were the Allis-Chalmers WC tractors. On the 75th anniversary of Ertl a reproduction of the first tractor was manufactured. See Figure 1.
Figure 1. One of Ertl’s first tractors – the Allis Chalmers WC on the left was re-introduced on the 75th anniversary of Ertl. A recent Ertl Allis Chalmers 440 4WD tractor is on the right.
In 1946 he moved his business out of his home to a 1,040 square foot building only to move one year later to an 11,000 square foot building. In 1952 Ertl met with the John Deere company leadership and received approval to make John Deere model tractors which were then sold in John Deere dealerships across the nation.
When Frederick became ill, his 18 year old son Fred, Jr. took over the business. Fred, Jr. secured long time license agreements with John Deere, Case IH, Allis-Chalmers and other companies. They also reached licensing agreements with the Dukes of Hazard, Smokey and the Bandit, Batman, Star Trek, Star Wars, Thomas the Tank and even Gremlins.
In 1999 the British toy company RC2, now known as TOMY acquired Ertl. Ertl still operates out of Dyersville, Iowa but manufactures toys all over the world.
SpecCast – SpecCast began life in 1974 as a manufacturer of die-cast belt buckles in Rockford, Illinois. They also produced desk items and trophies. A former Ertl employee, Dave Bell bought the company in 1986 and moved it to Dyersville, Iowa. Dave had worked for Ertl for 13 years but wanted to be his own boss.
One of the first toy tractors made by SpecCast was the CO-OP 3 followed later by the CO-OP 2 & 1. The average person is not familiar with CO-OP tractors. These tractors were built in the 1930s out of a desire to reduce costs through collective ownership of machinery production. They were built first in Michigan and then Indiana using Chrysler components. More than 37,000 CO-OP tractors were sold over a 10 year period. The CO-OP brand ceased to exist in 1952. See Figure 2.
Figure 2. The CO-OP 1 tractor manufactured by SpecCast in 1999 is on the left. A more recent SpecCast tractor is on the right.
SpecCast has produced over 1,000 different models of farm equipment. They pride themselves for accuracy with their models which are created with CAD drawings that allow greater detail than was previously possible. The newer models are far superior to the old CO-OP model.
The 2024 SpecCast farm equipment collectibles catalog can be viewed at https://speccast.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-Ag-Collectibles-Catalog_PM-2269.pdf. And yes, they still manufacture belt buckles.
Trivia Time – For the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association (now the National Association of Agricultural Educators) SpecCast created a special commemorative item. It was:
- An Owl
- A Plow
- The FFA emblem
- A teacher standing in front of a chalkboard.
See Figure 8 at the bottom of this Footnote for the answer.
Dyersville Die Cast and Scale Models Toys – Dyersville Die Cast was established in 1970 by Joe Ertl. Joe learned the die casting process working with his father and brothers who founded Ertl. Initially Dyersville Die Cast focused on custom die casting. When a company needed some type of specialized part, Dyersville Die Cast would make it.
In 1978 a sister company was created by Joe. It was Scale Model Toys. They are proud of the fact that they are the only company that still manufactures their toy tractors in America. The current line of products includes pedal tractors and 1:8 scale collectible tractors. Their products are sold in farm equipment dealerships and in regional farm stores.
Figure 3. An Oliver 660 Wide Front Pedal Tractor made by Scale Models Toys.
Across the Pond
There are several companies in Europe producing farm collectibles.
Bruder -Bruder started in 1926 in Germany as a one-man operation. Paul Bruder handmade brass reeds for toy trumpets. When plastics became common Bruder and family started making plastic toys including tractors. As the business grew a sales office was established in California in 1999 headed up by a member of the Bruder family. In 2006 the California Bruder facility was enlarged to handle the American side of the business. Today there is a line of farm, construction, commercial and emergency vehicles plus more. The toys are made of high quality plastics. Where I live in North Carolina, the Learning Express stores carry Bruder farm toys.
Figure 4. The Bruder made John Deere 6920 with front end loader. The tractor can be steered directly both via the steering wheel in the driver’s cab and via an enclosed steering rod extension which the children can insert onto the steering wheel through the sliding roof in the driver’s cab. The fully functioning front loader can be easily clipped on and detached again by removing the front weight. The engine bonnet can be opened to reveal the engine block. Various trailers and implements can be attached to the back of the tractor. This model tractor won an award in Germany for being a good toy for children.
Wiking – Fritz Peltzer, a German citizen, was a magazine publisher but his hobby was making model ships. In 1932 he sold his publishing business to devote full time to making model ships. In 1936 his model business was listed in the commercial register as “Wiking Modellbau Peltzer & Peltzer.” He soon added airplanes and automobiles to the model line but World War II put a temporary end to the business. After the war Peltzer resumed making and selling models under the Wiking brand using both plastic and cast metal
In 1984, three years after the death of Fritz Peltzer, the Sieper Group acquired Wiking. The Seiper group produces plastic models and die cast zinc toys. They continue producing a variety of different model toys including farm equipment. In 2020 a number of modern European and American tractors including the John Deere 9620RX crawler tractor were introduced. They are marketed under the Wiking brand.
Figure 5. The John Deere 9620RX Crawler produced by Wiking.
Universal Hobbies -It was a challenge finding much information about Universal Hobbies. Here is what their website says:
UNIVERSAL HOBBIES is one of the leading brands in the world of farm and construction collectible replicas. For more than 30 years we aim at improving the quality level of our models while offering a large choice in the different scales. Our collectibles are produced by using die casting method combined with injection molding for plastic and rubber parts. To ensure the finest details, we prefer tampo-printing as opposed to sticker details. This gives our product permanent printings that will not fade or peel in time. The tampo-printing process can take up to 400 presses to complete a single model! Last but not least, each collectible comes in a specific and official packaging designed in partnership with the manufacturer. We believe all these little details make our products stand out from those of our competitors. Our die-cast models are suitable for ages 14 and over. All products are made under licenses.
American Hobbies and Merchandising is a family owned business in St. Charles, Illinois that distributes the collectibles for some of the European manufacturers. One of the companies they represent is Universal Hobbies. Target and Amazon are two of the retailers where you can buy Universal Hobbies model tractors.
Figure 6. The Ford 6610 4WD made by Universal Hobbies.
Weise-Toys – Weise Toys is a German manufacturer of die cast collectibles. In their early years they were dealers of old and antiquarian toys primarily made of tin. By the late 1990s it became more and more difficult to find good quality toys from the 50s and 60s. Also there was growing interest among younger collectors for toys that no longer existed and for models with better and realistic detailing. Weise responded to these changes by developing their own range of limited edition models. These were based on Siku Farmer Series models produced by the Sieper Group and Universal Hobbies tractors. In 2007 Weise branched out by producing the Fendt Favorit 515 C tractor which is popular in Europe. They tend to specialize in European tractor brands but not exclusively.
Figure 7. Claas Xerion 400 Saddle Trac made by Weise-Toys.
Concluding Remarks
I hope you have enjoyed this detour through the world of toy tractors and learned something new. I believe toy tractors could be incorporated into a variety of lessons we teach.
Next week we will resume our exploration of agricultural education in America by visiting Louisiana.
Figure 8. SpecCast made a commemorative plow for NVATA/NAAE in 1998 to celebrate their 50th anniversary.