Saturday 1 December 2012

The Ferguson - A Tractor Icon (1/35)

To me the most iconic tractor ever built is the grey Ferguson. No Danish model railway in the fifties should be without one (or two or three). And naturally the small roads around Nystrup will not be without their example(s). My Ferguson is a kit from Tractor Models Co. in white metal. I think you can have pre-assembled models of Fergusons from Britains and other producers, but none with detail or definition that matches the kit. And assembly is quite straight forward, really.
As far as I got without instructions. Now I can begin fitting all the lovely details. The Ferguson badge is from a scrapped tractor - not part of the package from Tractor Models!
I started my Ferguson TEA-20 kit some time ago, but didn't dare to proceed too far as I had somehow mislaid the instructions. Normally not being overly sensitive following manuals (any!) or assembly instructions, in this case I didn't want to risk messing up a Ferguson. Luckily Model Tractors supplied a new set of instructions without fuss.

Commercial from 1959 on the virtues of the Ferguson-tractor. The local dealer of the tractors is labelled as the farmer's friend (as if the dealer wasn't there to make money...)
When choosing which period magazine clipping or old commercial should illustrate this post I almost couldn't make up my mind. My archive is full of images and clippings - not to mention all the stuff available on the internet. The Ferguson was the first tractor I learned to drive as a boy. Having recently visited one of my university's experimental farms I was treated to a ride in a GPS-controlled tractor. Even though the ride was great (and somewhat scary: driving through a field not touching the steering wheel is sort of unnatural) it wasn't half as fun as the Ferguson.

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