|
|
|
|
By David Tallon
|
| |
 Overcast skies and scattered rain showers couldn't deter collectors from attending the 20th annual Dyersville Summer Toy Show. Organizers commented that attendance was up from last year, and several vendors were overheard saying it was more of a buying crowd this year. Any increase in attendance was not significant enough to change the atmosphere of the show, which, due to it's smaller size, is much more laid-back than the fall show. Visitors could easily stroll down the aisles without bumping into others. Vendors were on hand offering the latest in farm toys as well as quite a few custom pieces. Diecast truck, construction and NASCAR models were also available from several vendors.
There were several newly introduced toys of note that were available for purchase. The first was the Summer Toy show tractor, a John Deere 60. This tractor was nicely detailed, similar to other two-cylinder tractors of that vintage that have been produced recently. One unique feature of this one, however, is that this one was produced with a single wheel front end. For many, this show was their first time seeing Ertl's new "value line" of toys, which several vendors had for sale. These plastic tractors are intended more as toys than collectables and, as such are not to scale and do not have enough detail to satisfy most collectors. Despite this lack of detail, many of the vendors had them priced at or above the price of the equivalent regular 1/64 toy tractors found in the "bargain bins" throughout the show. Another newer item found at many of the vendors was the John Deere 9520 with Scrapers set. While this set, which was first released early in 2005, might not seem all that new, a second version of the set has recently been released in which the 9520 features the new clear window cab, as opposed to the black window cab of the first edition. Most vendors did not distinguish between the two, so when shopping make sure you pay attention and get the one you want. At least a couple of the stands had the new Claas Lexion 580 Combine and Jaguar 900 Forager produced by Norscot in 1/87 scale. These are very nice models, but many collectors will be disappointed they are being produced in one of the less popular scales for farm toys.
|
|
Toy manufacturers were on hand at the show as well, displaying their new and upcoming releases. At the Diecast Promotions booth, visitors could see the newest additions to their GM C-65 linup: a blue and white GMC and a red and white Chevrolet, both equipped with grain boxes. As with all of the 1/16 scale DCP trucks, the detail on these appears to be excellent. They also had pictures of prototypes for their 1/64 Kenworth W900. The 1/32 Versatile Big Roy they are producing in conjunction with Toy Farmer, was on display at the Toy Farmer table.  Not to be outdone, SpecCast had several new toy introductions of their own. A Cockshutt 770 and Silver King tractor were on display, both in 1/16 scale. In 1/64 scale, two new Kinze tractor trailers, one with a grain wagon and one with a planter were available for viewing. They also displayed several soon-to-be-available additions to their growing line of pulling tractors including a new 1/16 IH 1486 puller “Red Line Fever”, Roberts Pulling “Big Toy” in 1/16, a new version of the Silver Bullet in 1/16 with the new for 2005 paint scheme, and 1/64 versions of the Silver Bullet in both new and the 2002-04 paint scheme.
By early afternoon, the rain showers had passed and the activities going on outside the show began in earnest. In front of the entrance to the Farm Toy Museum was a pedal tractor pull, which featured classes from kids all the way though adult. New this year was a garden tractor and mini-rod pull put on by the Prairie Tractor Pullers. As in years past, an antique tractor show and parade were also included as part of the show.
RC/Ertl invited visitors to help them celebrate Ertl’s 60th Anniversary by providing free cake. They also once again had their showroom open for visitors to see the latest and upcoming additions to their product line. Upon entering the showroom, most visitors' attention was immediately focused on the new radio control John Deere 9520 tractor. The tractor's huge size was made readily apparent by placing it on a table next to a 1/16 scale Deere four-wheel drive, which it easily dwarfed. The level of detail on the tractor was also remarkable. While the remote control Deere was the most obvious new product, there were plenty of other new models on display as well, including other Deere products like the 1/16 Farm Progress Show 7320, Three versions of a 4320, 1/64 4920 with fertilizer box and several others. CaseIH was also represented with the precision 1206 and 2+2 models as well as the 1/64 6-piece set and 1/64 Farm Progress Show 50,000 Steiger Quadtrac STX500. (Additional Details and Pictures of these new Ertl models can be seen the the June Farm Toy Report)
On the other side of town, Scale Models had their factory open for visitors to watch the workers busily assembling toy tractors. On this particular day, the product going down the line was the 1/16 scale Agco DT240. They also had a number of their models available for sale there in the factory.
As I’ve said in past years, if you are coming to the Dyersville Summer Show expecting something on par with the fall show, you will be disappointed. However, what the summer show lacks size, it makes up for in the variety of extra activities and the less congested atmosphere.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
