by Jason Hasert

1991 Toy Tractor Times Farmall A by Ertl

1991's Toy Tractor Times Tractor was an International Harvester Farmall A.   This was the first of a long line of TTT tractors produced by Ertl. It was the 6^th small hp TTT tractor and the best selling Anniversary tractor out of TTT’s models from 1986-2003. TTT had a real hit with the A because the magazine was the first to offer the popular A. Ertl developed the casting and allowed TTT to release it in 1991. Today collectors have their choice of the Farmall A, B and C but back in 1991the A was a big deal.

Why was the the TTT A such a hit? The Farmall A was part of the IH Letter Series, the most successful International tractor line of all time. Over one million of the streamlined Farmalls were sold between 1939 and 1954. Toy collectors had always been able to purchase the big M and H models from Ertl but in 1991 the set was complete with the TTT A.

The A was built to offer IH customers a versatile row crop tractor. In the 1920's International Harvester was the number one tractor maker with out question. For most farms their first tractor was a Farmall. By the end of the 1930's International was still the market leader but Oliver, Case, Minneapolis-Moline and John Deere were bring competition with their own row crop tractors. In 1939 IH pulled away from the pack again with a new row crop line of three tractors. The stream lined look of the Letter series was developed by industrial designer Raymond Lowey. The IH stream look was used on Farmalls until 1958 when the squared 60 series was introduced. The Farmall A, H and M were the first International tractors to bear the famous IH logo. The IH logo was used until 1985 when International and Case merged to form CaseIH.

The IH Farmall A was designed for the small farm, and it was most likely to replace a horse. This is the story over and over that you have read about the TTT Massey-Harris Pony, Allis-Chalmers B, Oliver 44, Minneapolis-Moline V and John Deere L. Today these little tractors may seem a little boring as they are most often relagated to lawn mowing duty. In their day they were a big deal. For centuries man used the horse to till his field. During the 1920's and 1930's farms turned the horses out to pasture for the first time. The tractor was a new concept and for small farms especially the tractor seemed like a luxury item. By 1940 the horse to tractor ratio turned. More farms used tractors than horses.

Still, there was a reasonably large amount of small, low-profit operations using horses. The cost of a tractor was a barrier for these small farms. A large tractor was not useful to these farms even if they could afford it, because it was too big to do chores and work the fields. IH addressed that concern with the Farmall A. The model A debuted in 1939 and introduced "Culti-Vision". The A had its own special line of implements for small farm work. The Farmall A was fairly powerful for its size, putting out 13 hp and 17 belt-pulley horse power. It was the right size to do muck of the work a horse could do in the 1940s.

The A replaced the F-14. Beyond the A’s sheet metal, the most distinctive improvement over the F-14 was the offset of the A’s seat to the right and the engine to the left of the center of the tractor. IH thought of the operator first with the A. Many tractors that competed with the A offered similar ground clearance and tread width for cultivating. Yet neither of these features are worth while if the driver can not see the row. International brought the row to the driver with "Culti-vision".

The A was not only marketed to the small farm. The A also offered larger farms an option for a second tractor. A farmer who owned an F-20 or a new M might also need a tractor for lighter work, odd jobs and hauling that might be done by horses. The A was a good stable mate of larger tractors.

The Farmall A changed farming and built the Farmall legacy. Because of the A many farmers bought their first tractor or added the second machine to their fleet.  Today collectors can purchase a set of IH's small Farmalls.  Introduced in May 2004 the collectors set includes the A, B and C Farmall.  Small horse power Farmalls are still very collectible.

1/16 scale TTT IH Farmall A

TTT Box Side

TTT Box Back

TTT Box Top

Ertl Letter Series Set released in May 2004