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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1987-12-02, Page 27THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1987. PAGE 27. Farm markets may be bad but these tractors sell While many farm equipment dealers today are feeling the crunch of an uneasy farm economy, thereisone dealer in La Moure, North Dakota, whose business is expanding so rapidly that he can only guess gleefully at its future. ClareSchibe(pronounced “Shy bee”) moves a staggering number of units through his dealership each year. But the big-name tractors and implements are only twotoeightinches high - the “toy” farm equipment that abounds in most real-life dealerships at this time of year, ready for Christmas giving. Mr. Schibe is the owner and operator of The Toy Farmers, a shop which displays and sells more scale-model farm equipment than probably anywhere else in the world, and he’samanwholoveshis work. ‘‘It’s just like being a kid on Christmas morning every day of my life,” he says. Although they are often referred to as toys, these models are actually extremely accurate blue print replicas of their real-life counterparts, and today far more of them go to adult collectors than to children, as farm toy collecting enjoys a period of unprecedented Dealers can hardly keep toys in stock growth all across Canada and the U.S. By far the largest percentage of all makes of models are made by the Ertl Company of Dyersville, Iowa, which works closely with real-life equipment manufactur ers, such as John Deere, Case International, Ford and others to design the rugged die-cast metal toys from actual scaled-down blueprints of the real thing. Eachyear the new model toys are unveiled to dealers with much fanfare, in conjunction with the first showing of the real thing; and the toys can definitely assist dealer sales, says Dan Ellidge, Ertl’s line product manager in charge of model sales. It is impossible to estimate the number of farm toy collectors in the nation today, but the hobby magazine, published by Mr. Schibe and also called “The Toy Farmer,” is mailed each month to wellover 10,000 subscribers all over the world, and is a “must” for serious collectors everywhere. Mr. Schibe and The Toy Farmer alsosponsor the world’s largest farm toy show, held each Novem ber in Dyersville, home of the enormous Ertl factory. This year, more than 10,000 people attended the three-day show, many of them serious collectors seeking a covet ed item or selling off surplus stock. The highlight of the show is always the equipment auction, run exactly like a real equipment auction, and sometimes attracting bids that boggle the mind. This year one of the top items went for close to $1,000, while last year an antique tractor brought more than $1,500. Although farm toy shows are held somewhere in the U.S.A, nearly every weekend, they have been slower to catch on in Canada. They have not yet managed to gain a foothold at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto yet, perhaps because space is at such a premium, but Mr. Schibe has been negotiating with the summer National Farm Show in Regina to bring the Toy Farmer’s massive show and auction north of the border, and more and more smaller centres are holding scaled-down versions of the show for local collectors, where they are sure to be an instant success. Onethingis certain: in model collecting, there is nowhere to go but up, and with the phenomenal growthofthehobby today, farm toy shows and sales may soon be part of every agricultural exhibi tion and fair in the land. Still haven’t decided what to get your favourite guy for Christmas, but it has to be something special? Your worries are over. Most farm dealerships across the county are full of the gifts that any male (and quite a few females) will cherish - scale-model tractors, combines, plows, discs, even portable feed mills and manure spreaders, and most dealers report that the toys are the hottest items in the shop at this time of year. ‘ ‘It’s ridiculous! ’ ’ says Jane Van Campofthe Belgrave Co-Op. “We can ’ t keep them in stock. We had to order the ones we had last June, and they’re nearly all gone now, but people keep asking for them. There are no more available in Canada now, either, so if you don’t have what you want, you’re out of luck.” She says that one local collector has “roomfuls’ ’ of the toy tractors, and comes in at the start of every season to get “whole shelves” of new models to add to his collection; while there is one woman that comes in once every year to carefully choose a new model to add to her teen-age son’s collec tion. However, Kevin Buchanan of Huron Tractor in Blyth says that he has an excellent range of John Deere models still available, and Neil McGavin of McGavin’s Farm Equipment in Walton says that the model Fords and New Holland equipment he ordered has not yet arrived, but will likely be snapped up as soon as it arrives. This is the first year that McGavin’s has stocked the toys for the Christmas trade, Mr. McGavin says, adding that they felt they had to get into it this year because so many of their customers have been asking for it. “We’ve always had some of them around,” he says, “because anybody who bought a new tractor or piece of equipment always figured they should get the toy model free as well. But we quit that when the models started getting pretty expensive. ’ ’ He adds that he would like to have back some of the old models the dealership has given away so freely over the years; a $7 Neufeld tractor model recently soldfor over $100 at an auction; and some of the pre-1958 Cockshutt die-cast metal tractors he handed out are now worth a small fortune, as they are no longer in production. Blueprint replicas of real-life equipment, the rugged toys come in three sizes ranging in price from under $3 to about $40, reasonable considering the attention to detail and the quality of construction. Limited Edition models cost more, such as the just-released 1930’s ‘‘Waterloo Boy” John Deere tractor which Mr. Buchanan says he still has on display, despite already having sold more than 30 of them this year at $50 each. Needless to say, kids of all ages are crazy about the models because they can do a scaled-down version of any work the real equipment can handle. But more and more adults all across the land are becoming keen collectors of their favourite makes of equipment as the hobby grows in popularity. Most dealers say they sell about half of their models as kids’ toys, and half as collector’s items. An excellent stocking stuffer for an avid collector (or even for a kid) would be a subscription to Cana da’s newest bi-monthly farm toy magazine, ‘‘Tractor Classics,” which is published in Listowel. Subscriptions cost $14 per year, and may be ordered by writing to Tractor Classics, 751 Walton Ave. North, Listowel, N4W 3C8, or calling 519-291-1656. Or you can get the world’s premier hobby magazine, The Toy Farmer, by sending $15.00 (U.S. funds) to The Toy Farmer, Rte. 2, P.O. Box 5, La Moure, North Dakota, U.S.A., 58458, or by calling the publisher at 701-883- 4430. He’ll love these jewellery gifts Every Christmas, some cartoon ist pokes fun at the tired old ties, shirts and socks men receive as gifts. Well, today’s man is fashion conscious, so women won’t find it any problem at all to get the men on their lists gifts that will light up their lives, says the Jewelry Industry Council. Jewelry designers have created exciting new watches, imaginative shirt and pocket jewelry as well as belt buckles, pen and pencil sets and bar equipment that will please the most discerning male. There’s a fashion flair to new quartz watches that either harken back to the ‘30s or step boldly into the Space Age. Handsome dials and two-tone metal bands or rich leather and reptile straps set off watches that are durable as well as beautiful and exquisitely accurate. Remember everyone can use a wardrobe of watches for round- the-clock wear at the office and leisure and dressy occasions. It’s a point of prestige for scholar or businessman to have elegant writing instruments, and new pens Advertising is a guide to fashion. and pencils for pocket or desk are incredibly slim and attractive in karat gold, sterling silver, gold- filled or black matte finish. Considergettinghima signet ring, his birthstone ring, or one of the new lapis or onyx beauties. Gold rings designed with a single accent diamond, or a row of small channel-set diamonds will please him. Men today are very much into playing the host, and so a gift of monogrammed highball glasses, or a roomy ice bucket as well as any of the many other items of bar equipment won’t go amiss. II f fitJuLiti Home Hardware Try “Home” for all your Christmas Gifts and Tree Decorations! ENTEROUR CHRISTMASDRAW Blyth 523-9273 —(YaRD-MaN>- Count high-speedTwo steel augers turn simultaneously, pulling ice and snow into the second-stage impeller chamber with greater force than a single auger. Augers set at two levels provide outstanding clearing performance whether there’s a little snow or a lot OraiRD-MaN) Turnberry SALES AND SERVICE HWY 86 WHITECHURCH PH: 357-2277