The St. Louis Toy Show Scratch Built Contest had several classic farm machines.   These models high light farm machines and practices of the past.  These models were skillfully crafted buy their builders.  Each piece pictured in this months "Things That Used to Be"  has working life like parts.  

Pfister Seed Corn Harvester

Sam Smith's Pfister Seed Corn Harvester

Sam Smith of McClean, IL built a replica of a 1944 Pfister Seed Corn Harvester.  In the years before Byron and Pixalll corn harvesters seed corn farms often improvised with home made harvesting machines.  Pfister Hybrid Seeds built a seed corn harvester mounted on a Caterpillar crawler.   This large harvester to two drivers to operate it.  A operator was needed to over see the harvester and another drove the crawler.  A truck was towed by the harvester and carried the seed corn loads back to the farm.  

Picture from 1946 Pfister Sales Literature

Sam Smith's Detailed Gathering Units

Sam Copied Every Detail from Pfister Sales literature

Crawler Towing Truck

 Oliver #200 Corn Chopper

Rodney Cover built a #200 Oliver forage harvester from brass.  This classic chopper has every working piece a collector could want.  Rodney built the chopper from brass adding gathering chains in the corn head,  cutter knives inside, belts and a fully adjustable spout.  Oliver introduced the #200 in 1954 along with its Super series tractors.  Rodney noted Oliver customers were surprised to see that the tractor and implement line had changed the red wheel hubs to Oliver green.  

Oliver #200 Forage Harvester

Steven Schultz also built an Oliver piece.  This two row planter was Steve's first scratch built project.  The model has moving seed disks and a detailed frame.  Steve built the planter because a neighbor of his uses a real two row Oliver to plant sweet corn.  Steve built the planter to exact specifications.  One change he made were to the seed tubes.   In the picture below you will notice the far box has a silver seed tube and the closer box has a black tube.  Steve wanted to show the original unit had a metal seed tube and today the planter uses rubber replacement hoses.  This is one sharp looking scratch built planter.  

 Oliver Superior Corn Planter

1940 Superior 9-D Oliver Planter

Classic John Deere's From Electrical Parts

Bob Gibb had a wide selection of scratch built and customized John Deere pieces on display at the St. Louis Toy Show.  Bob is involved in the auto industry with vehicle manufacturing.   He works with car electrical parts in his job.  Bob uses the scraps from the electrical parts to create detailed, historical  John Deere implements.   The John Deere H is one of Bob's favorite tractors.   He took an Ertl H and customized it to pull a one bottom John Deere plow and sickle mower that he made.   He liked making the sickle mower and made one for an industrial LI.

Bob scratch built a John Deere two row corn planter, No. 51 plow and a detailed horse drawn binder.  Each of these items were built using scraps from electrical car parts.   For example the the reins on the binder are made from the wires in a cars windshield wipers. 

John Deere LI with mower, H w/ plow and H with mower

John Deere H with mower

Scratch Built John Deere Planter

John Deere No. 51 Planter

Horse Drawn John Deere Binder

Classic Farm Machinery For Your Collection

TTT March 2004 Page 13

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