Doug Harke

Tractor Milestones: Part II 

Nicely detailed Precision Classics version of the 4020 requires only modifications for your options.

John Deere spent more than a decade developing a successor to the two-cylinder design. Their first effort was the “10 series” four and six cylinder tractors introduced in 1960. Completely new designs often have problems and it wasn’t until the “20 series” came out in 1963 that we can say that the next significant tractor development was the John Deere 4020. By most measuring sticks, the 4020 was the first truly modern tractor offering a closed system for power steering and brakes and hydraulics as well as a standard Syncro-Range or optional full powershift transmission, both with eight speeds. Both included a “shuttle or fast reverser” feature in some ranges. This was combined with a modern 100 horsepower diesel engine and a large capacity hydraulic system which contributed to it staying in the John Deere line for almost ten years. Of course there were improvements and more options over these ten years including front wheel assist, ROPS, cab, and the turbocharged models designated as the 4320, 4520, and 4620. The production years of the 4020 spanned the time from when row crop tractors were primarily narrow front models to almost exclusively all wide front models by the early 1970’s. Today, some thirty years later, a number of smaller farms still use the 4020 as the basic tractor. Good used 4020’s sell for twice their original cost. Toy collectors have the excellent Precision Classic wide front powershift 4020 model to use as the basis for their displays. This beautifully detailed model only needs the options added or deleted according to which version you want to create. If you want a more basic 4020, you can use the narrow front 4020 Precision but the rear wheels appear undersized. Ertl also produced Collectors Editions and shelf models of the 4020 which you can customize to your specifications.

Many versions of the Magnum line were produced in 1/16 scale by Ertl and can be easily detailed for your model.

Case-International knew that it would require a sensational design and good marketing to slow John Deere’s dominance of the big tractor market so they brought out the Magnum line in 1987. Like the 4020, the Magnums were the culmination of several new concepts including an excellent 18 speed full powershift as standard equipment, exhaust mounting at a cab corner post to improve visibility, and an extended warranty. It took the other tractor companies several years to realize that a viable large tractor would require all of these features and possibly more. The Magnum design, with the usual iterative improvements, is still current after being in production for more than fifteen years and it is the standard for large tractors. Ertl has offered many Magnum Collectors Editions and shelf model toys so it is easy to find the right one to customize for your display.

Steigers came in 1/64, 1/32, 1/16, and 1/12 scales. This is the Ertl 1/32 version and 1/64 versions which came out in the early 1980’s.

Large 1/12 scale Steigers were made by Valley Patterns beginning in 1976.

Steiger began producing large modern four-wheel drive tractors in 1971 but it wasn’t until the Panther line was marketed, in 1977, that the first truly modern four-wheel drive was offered. Their articulated design is still the basis for large tractors today and they were so successful in the 1970’s and 1980’s that they also built four-wheel drive tractors for International Harvester, Ford, and Allis-Chalmers. Like industrial machines, the Steigers came with a choice of engines as well as a selection of transmissions including a powershift and an Allison automatic. Steiger’s articulated design survived challenges from crab-steer and rigid axle models and the IH 2+2 design and after more than twenty-five years it has Case-IH red replacing the original lime-green. Ertl produced the earlier Steiger Panther in 1/32 and 1/64 scales and the last green one in 1/32 scale. Scale Models produced 1/32 and 1/16 scale models of the later Panther. Valley Patterns produced 1/12 scale versions of the earlier Steigers but these are quite pricey today. The 1/16 and 1/12 scale versions are sandcast so it will take some work to build a nicely detailed model.

Nicely detailed 1/16 scale Cat Challenger by NZG.

The final design that had a significant effect on tractor design and development was the Cat Challenger. It looked like a large tractor with a crawler undercarriage but it had reinforced rubber belt tracks. In many ways it had the advantages of rubber-tired tractor but with the low loading per square inch of a crawler. As tractors became larger and heavier to pull larger implements and reduce the farm manpower needs, soil compaction became a major problem. Crawlers, with their weight distributed over a much greater contact, reduced this problem. In addition, the larger contact area of the tracks on the ground greatly enhanced traction. The disadvantage of the conventional crawler was low speed and the damage done to roadways by the steel tracks. Challengers solved both of these problems with rubber belt tracks enabling the Challengers to travel on paved roads as fast as wheeled tractors. Cat introduced the Challenger 65, with a traditional track design, in 1987 and the smaller row-crop series, with a large diameter rear driving wheel, in 1994. Currently the Challenger models range from the from the 150 horsepower 35 to the 400 horsepower 95 model. Scale Models offers the 55 and 65 models in both 1/32 and 1/16 scales. You will have to add the details to have a nice model for your Milestones display.

Collectors may want to debate my choice of the most significant tractor developments of the twentieth century and argue that the John Deere A or D deserves mention. Cockshutt fanatics will tell you that they invented the live PTO in 1947 and Oliver collectors will rave about the 1800 which offered a front wheel assist option in 1962. Allis-Chalmers diehards will want to include the WC as the first farm tractor with pneumatic tires or the D-19 diesel as the first turbocharged farm tractor. Case fans will always mention the Caseomatics as the first general use of torque converters in farming and Massey lovers will remind us of the “Twin Power” models of the 1940’s. Ford had another first with the roll-guard cab on the 8000 in 1969. These models had an impact but they did not significantly alter the direction of the future that the Fordson F, Farmall Regular, Farmall M, Ford-Ferguson 9N, John Deere 4020, Case-IH Magnum, Steiger Panther, and the Caterpillar Challenger did on the tractor industry.

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