CaseIH Turns 20
by Gordy Schultz
On November 26, 1984 Two Great Brands In Farm Equipment History Became One
Literature is a great way to look back in time. Would you believe that has been twenty years since Case and International Harvester merged their ag lines? It has been. I would like to look back in the November issue of the "Literature Rack" at the first days of CaseIH. This month we will look at the first CaseIH toy catalog from Ertl.
The November 1984 merger of International and J.I. Case had a large effect on the farm toy world. The merger impacted toy makers and collectors. When the news of the merger broke on November 26, 1984 the farm world was turned up side down as long time rivals International and Case joined forces.
There were all types of speculation and rumors of red and orange tractors or the complete demise of red all together. Farm toy collectors also joined into the merger craze buying up any red International and white Case toys they could. IH toys and Case toy prices greatly inflated in late 1984 as toy dealers and collectors scrambled to get the last IH and Case toys. In January 1985 the 1/16 IH 5488 was selling for as much $125 and the Case 3294 for $100.
1984 International Harvester and J.I. Case Blue Print Replica Catalogs From Ertl
These rumors were quickly put to rest in February 1985 when the new Case international line was introduced in Las Vegas Nevada. CaseIH quickly utilized Ertl as a toy maker to introduce the new brand. Dealers attending the show were given dealer edition 1/16 replicas of new Case International 2594 tractor.
April/May 1985 Ertl Replica
The 1985 CaseIH catalog from Ertl featured the new Case International 3294 on the cover with the IH 5488 and Case 3294 in the background. This cover ended the collector craze for IH and Case toys. It showed red was here to stay and the both red and white toys were still in stock.
1985 CaseIH Blue Print Replica Catalog from Ertl
Inside the catalog CaseIH introduced a new 1/16 Case International 2594 and 3294 tractor along with a new 1/64 Case International 2594 and a 1/64 hauling set with a Mack truck and two 2594's bearing the CaseIH name. The rest of the catalog featured the combined IH and Case toy offering of Ertl from 1984.
Ertl was caught by surprise just like every one else when Case and IH merged. International had just introduced a new generation 2+2 tractor called the Super 70 series. Ertl had produced and shipped IH dealers 1/16 collectors edition 7488 replicas and thousand of boxes printed up to produce the shelf edition. CaseIH dropped the Super 70 series but offered the 1/16 shelf edition 7488 2+2 to CaseIH dealers rather than having to pay for all the toys. A new 1/32 remote control IH 6388 2+2 was also recently released and offered through CaseIH dealers.
The 1985 CaseIH toy catalog from Ertl shows that the early days of CaseIH was a transition times. It was a brand very much divided by red and white. Collectors like farmers were not sure what to expect from CaseIH. What would the future be? In November 1984 the future looked shaky at best as the IH name no longer stood alone.
Twenty years later CaseIH is part of the largest farm equipment in the world. The proud heritage of IH lives on under CaseIH. Toys continue help tell the story of CaseIH strength in the market place. In recent years CaseIH has had the honor of producing 100,000 Axial-Flow combines and 100,000 Magnum tractors. Toy makers like Scale Models and Ertl have been right there to help promote the land mark projects with 1/16 replicas.
1/16 scale Scale Models CaseIH 100'000th Axial-Flow combine
Ertl 1/16 scale 100,000th CaseIH MX 285 Magnum
