Hopefully you enjoyed last months look at 4wds of the 1970's that are currently available on the 1/64 market. To review, we are looking at models that are in production from a major toy manufacturer in 2004 or models being made in kit form that can be found at toy shows and on e-bay. This series of articles does not include 1/64 4wds that are no longer in production. It is my hope that the information you will find in the February, March and upcoming April "What’s Hot in 64^th" will give you a overview of the 1970's 4wd models that can be easily found on the market today.

In February we looked at Big, Case, John Deere, International and Steiger. Part II of the series will look at the variety of AGCO heritage 4wds from the 1970's that are on the 2004 market. We will start at the top of the AGCO family tree with Allis-Chalmers.

To date AGCO has not officially licenced a 1/64 4wd. In the 1980's Ertl offered a 1/32 Allis-Chalmers 8550 and in 2001 Ertl produced an Allis-Chalmers 440 for Toy Farmer Magazine’s Steiger Heritage Series. These are the only AC 4wds made in a standard production run. This gap in the market place has kept customizers busy.

C&D Models has offered 4wd articulation kits to convert the Ertl Allis-Chalmers 7045 into a a 7580 or 8550. The 7580 was introduced by Allis-Chalmers in 1976 and was rated at 186 hp. The 7580 was AC’s first in house 4wd and replaced the Steiger built AC-440. The 7580 was released in 1976 with the 7000 series maroon belly. In 1978 Allis-Chalmers entered the 1970's 4wd horse power race with the 300 engine hp 8550. The 8850 had a 731 cu.in twin-turbo charged engine.  In 1978  the 7580  4wds paint were revised to the AC corporate colors with black painted underside to match the new 8550. Both maroon and black 7580 and the black 8550 4wds have been created with the C&D kits. These models are created y taking the generic C&D 4wd rear end hinged with the 7045 body. The 7045 body is more correct for the 7580 4wd. The 8550 had a larger and wider hood because of its specially developed engine. If you are looking for a proper looking 1/64 8550 Roy Baker has made 8550 kits. The kit has the wide 8550 hood and dual stacks. The 8550 was nick named the Queen Mary for its two mufflers. Whether you are looking at a conversion kit or Baker Allis-Chalmers 4wd expect to pay $45-$50.

Some talented customizers have taken C&D Steiger and Baker International 4wd kits and created the Steiger built AC-440. This special custom is not a common find and takes quite a bit of modification to create.

Massey-Ferguson 4wd fans are in store for a nice surprise in 2004. Toy Farmer is offering its second National Farm Toy Show Tractor and it will be a Massey-Ferguson 1500 4wd. Massey Ferguson entered the 4wd market in 1969 with models 1500 and 1800. These tractors were articulated and featured Caterpillar V-8 power plants. The 1500 offered 153 hp and the 1800 rated at 171 hp. Both tractors were strong enough tillage and small enough for row crop farms. Toy Farmer will offer a nicely detailed MF 1500 from Ertl this November . 

The 1/64 1500 offer similar detail as the 2003 NFTS John Deere 7020. It has dual wheels, cab windows with weather stripping and a rear 3pt hitch. This new MF 1500 toy is so well done it is hard to tell it apart from the 1/32 version in separate pictures. One question that has been raised is about the 1/64 models duals. Massey-Ferguson did not offer duals on the 1000 series 4wds. Ertl is working on bolt on duals to show an after market add on. This should be a nice feature. Ertl plans to follow the Toy Farmer 1500 with the MF 1800 and the later 1970's 1505 and 1805 for AGCO dealers. Over the next few years there should be a nice selection of Massey 4wds from the 1970's on the farm toy market. The retail price of the new MF 1500 has not been announced yet. Watch www.toyfarmer.com for ordering information.

AGCO’s most expansive line of 4wds stems from its White heritage of the company. In 1969 Minneapolis-Moline introduced its first 4wd. Minneapolis-Moline 4wds departed from the M-M gold paint scheme to a red. The only yellow M-M 4wds produced were made for a select few dealers in Minnesota. M-M 4wds were produced through 1972. From 1974 the A4T-1600 4wd was offered as the White Plains man. Scale-Models has offered the 139 hp Minneapolis-Moline A4T-1400 as a rare yellow model. The 1/64 A4T-1400 is available as an open station model on single tires and in February 2004 dual wheel version with a cab was released for the National Farm machinery Show in Louisville, KY.

Oliver’s first 4wd was the 2455 and was based on the Minneapolis-Moline A4T-1400. Like the M-M 4wd the 2455 was 139 hp. Scale Models has offered a 1/64 open station 2455 with duals and a cab version with duals for the 2003 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, KY..

The Oliver and Minneapolis-Moline 4wds gave way to the red White-Plainsman in just a few short years. In 1974 the Plainsman was replaced by the new silver White 4-150 Field Boss. Scale Models offered a White 4-270 in 1/64 in the mid-1980's. The 4-270 has been pictured to show how the linage of the A4T. The styling of the A4T is similar to the White 4wds offered in the 1980's.

The yellow, green and red White heritage 4wds all retail in the $12-$15 price range. The cab and dual models do not sell for any more than the plain open station models. It can be noted that there are other collector edition versions of these 4wds but they do not sell for any more. Once Scale models has run through the A4T-1400/2455 variations there a second life for the 1/64 casting. There is a range of 151 hp models called the Minneapolis-Moline A4T-1600, Oliver 2655 and White-Plainsman A4T-1600.

White Plainsman A4T-1400

Yellow, Green & Red = White

In April we will close the 1970's 4wds Making a Big Come Back series by looking at Versatile, Woods & Copeland and Knudson 4wds.