by Jason Hasert

Ertl John Deere 6910 with C&D Models hay head and Gordy Schultz's dump wagon

Dairy farm displays require allot of farm equipment.   Because dairy farming requires specialized equipment many collectors turn to custom toy builders to fill gaps in their display.

This month "What is Hot in 64th" will look at some of the most sought after 1/64 dairy farm implements.  These items are often asked about on Toy Tractorshow.com's Toy Talk.  Yes the implements do exist.  Below you can review some of the custom implements available for dairy collectors.

Having a custom implement can add a new level of detail to your display.  Custom pieces can be an expensive addition but are often well worth the money.  Custom farm toys are made for display purposes and are crafted with added detail not found a farm toy.  The pieces shown this month were posed in display action to help preview the accuracy builders put into the 1/64 pieces.

Hay Heads:  In 1993 Ertl released the first 1/64 self propelled forage harvester.  For some reason this chopper was only offered with a corn head.  In 2003 Ertl released its second 1/64 self propelled forage harvester.  Again this model only offered a corn harvesting head.  On a dairy farm corn silage is only half of the operation.  Hay forage is harvested three to five times a year.  The missing hay heads have bothered collectors for over a decade.  There are custom hay heads on the market for the choppers.  Josh Raut makes a plastic resin hay head for the 7500 chopper. You can contact Josh by e-mail at jrpowerhouse350@yahoo.com. C&D Models offers a metal kit hay head that you build your self for the 6910 chopper.

Josh Raut's 7500 hay head

C&D Models 6910 hay head

Dump Cart and Wagon:  Self-Propelled forage harvesters chop a tremendous amount of silage.  The small 12ft box forage wagons offered by Ertl are not a realistic match for an sp chopper.  Collectors are always asking about dump carts and wagons for choppers.  Gordy Schultz offers the answer.  Gordy makes carts and wagons.  His 1/64 implements offer realistic dumping action. Both the cart and wagon hitch onto the sp choppers and tractors.  The boxes can be raised and posed in the dumping position.

Gordy Schultz's dump cart

Gordy Schultz's dump wagon

Both the dump cart and wagon raise up to dump into trucks

The dump wagon and cart will hold a pose.

Hay Merger: To keep a self propelled forage harvester working efficiently it is important to keep windrows large.  Modern dairy farms use mergers to put 1 or 2 rows of hay together.  Gordy Schultz makes a one row and a double row hay merger.  Pictured below is the large double row merger.  The double row merger takes two swaths and places them on a third row.  In two passes you can place 5 rows into one.  This helps speed up chopping and allows for less passes for the chopper. 

Gordy Schultz's double row merger

Gordy's model moves into transport mode

The merger set for road transport

Wheel Rake:  Modern round and square balers are also built to handle large quantities of hay. Moore's farm toys offers to styles of raking implements.  Moore's most recent release is a 1/64 wheel rake.  The wheel rake is available as a pull type model and a 3pt hitch model.  The pull type model is featured in this article.  The wheel rakes are available in red, green and yellow.  They also fold up for transport.

Moore's Farm Toys Wheel Rake

Wheel rake in transport mode

Tandem Rake Hitch:  One is never enough.  over ten years ago Ertl introduced New Holland, CaseIH and John Deere hay rakes.  These 1/64 rakes are great models but collectors are always looking for bigger items.  Many farmers use a tandem rake hitch to pull two rakes at a time.  Moore's Farm Toys produces red, green and black tandem rake hitches.  These metal hitches have two hitches that pull the rakes and the hitch frame can swing from side to side or move to center for inline transport.  The Moore's Farm Toys hitch can also be used to pull two 1/64 John Deere 8300 grain drills.

Moore's Farm Toys Tandem Hitch with New Holland decals from Mark Wikner

Ag Bagger:  Silo storage is quickly becoming a thing of the past for forage crop. Many farms are changing over to bagged silage.  Bagged silage is wrapped in a long tube of plastic on the ground.  One of Gordy Schultz's most popular models is an Ag Bagger.  This custom toy is a replica of the machine that bags silage.  A forage wagon unloads into the bagger and it wraps the silage.  Below you can see how the bagging operation works.  I used a tissue to replicate the white plastic.

Gordy Schultz's Ag Bagger

Ag bagger posed at work

Truck Mounted TMR:  Big dairy farms use truck mounted TMR mixers to feed cows.  Gordy Schultz builds a truck mounted TMR. 

TMR Mixer with a Scratch Cast built telehandler

Tub Grinder:  Another popular feeding implement is the tub grinder.  Adam Suntken builds a "Jaylor" style tub grinder.   J&S Farm Toys offers a "Hay Buster" style grinder.  Both models offer big dairy farming feeding in 1/64 scale.

Houle Manure Spreader:  Houle liquid manure spreaders are one of the most popular brands in the dairy business for liquid waste.  This big tanker spreaders are avaiable in tandem, tri and quad axle models.  They can spread and inject manure.  Scratch Cast builds several variations of 1/64 Houle Spreaders. 

Scratch Cast Houle Spreader with C&D Versatile 950

C & D MODELS, INC Thank you for your interest in C&D Models, Inc. Manufacturers worldwide are now discovering that sales of high quality merchandise increases when they carry an official licensed trademark;  because trade marks do add value. C&D Models, Inc. currently produces replica models for companies such as Byron, Mohrlang, Artsway, Brillion Iron Works, Case-New Holland and Buhler Versatile Inc. See our product line at www.cdmodels.com

Moore's offers 1/64 detail kits for combines, tractors and trucks.  Moore's  build HillCo Hillside Combines in 1/64 scale.  Moore's offers 1/64 3pt implements including v-rippers, wheel rakes and blades.  Front mounted silage blades, pull type wheel rakes and combine header trailers are also available at  www.mooresfarmtoys.com/

TTT May 2004 Page 10

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