Just Like The Real Thing Only Smaller - Part II
By: Jason Hasert

The Ertl slogan "Just Like the Real Thing Only Smaller" is the theme of our article series on the development of the 1/16 Toy Tractor Times.com Spirit of '76 Case 1570. In August T.T.T announced the tractor with a video featuring Bill Walter's talking about how Ertl would scale the real machine into a toy model. In September we reviewed the large plastic engineering model of the 1570 from Ertl. This month we are pleased to introduce our readers to the paint prototype of the 1570.

The Spirit of '76 Case 1570 has been a year long project. Case approved the 1/16 project in November 2004. Bill Walter's and I traveled to the Gyger farm in February 2005 to photograph and learn more about the real tractor. From the trip to see the Spirit Ertl was able to develop the model we saw last month. Ertl produced a 1/16 '76 1570 in the 1976. This model as Bill Walters mentioned was among the first collectors pieces from Ertl. It was not a true replica of the 1570 though. The original toy pictured in this article was an Agri-King 970/1070 casting with a larger hood placed over the small engine. If you look at the original 1570 toy you can place you finger in the gap between the engine and hood. The stars and stripes decal on the original model portrayed the real Spirit tractor but were not an exact replica. In fact there was some confusion on the original toy decals as Ertl produced two versions of the Spirit of '76 with light and dark blue stickers.

With the help of Jay Gyger the owner of a real Spirit Ertl has been able to tool an all new 1570 with all the correct details. Last month we saw the new 1/16 scale 504 cubic inch engine and accurate Case draw bar and 3 pt hitch. Ertl has done a great job in recreating the 1570 in 1/16 scale. Now the first 1/16 model is available. Thanks to Jay Gyger's information on paint and decals we can see Ertl has an exact copy of the real thing. Gone are the old sticker panels from the original toy and the new model has a blue painted hood with power white stars and red stripes.

The cab has never before seen detail with clear glass windows and detail inside. We can see the duals and front turf tires mirror the real tractor. The cab flood and hazard lights are painted to match the real tractor. The cab door even has a grab rail and door handle molded into the casting.

One other big change on the Toy Tractor Times.com '76 1570 is the box. The original '76 toy was packaged in a regular Case box from the 1970's. All Case toys of the era came in the same box. The new T.T.T box highlights the history of the real tractor and Case by using original sales literature images and text.

The '76 Case 1570 has been a fun project to work on. Three years ago when the Big '70s Power Series started the 1570 was a long range plan on a wish list. Today as you read this article the parts for this model are being produced for delivery in the spring of 2006. Ertl has done an excellent job in raising the bar for 1/16 detail on this model. I look forward to developing the next Toy Tractor Times.com tractor.

You can see this new model in person at the National Farm Toy Show in Dyersville, IA November 4, 5 and 6. The model will be displayed on The toy Tractor Times.com table in the National Farm Toy Museum. A DVD telling the story of the Case 1570 will be available from Toy Tractor Times.com in February 2006.