175th Anniversary Collector Edition Models

175th Anniversary Collector Edition Models
From ERTL
TBE45357A
1:16 60 175th Anniversary Tractor
Pack: 4
– Available August 2012
– Prototype shown
Silver chrome plated die-cast construction,
die-cast front and rear wheels, steerable front
axle,175th anniversary logo engraved on the
bottom of the tractor. Model 60 representing
the one-millionth produced tractor by John Deere.
TBE45365A
1:16 4440 175th Anniversary Tractor
Pack: 4
– Available August 2012
– Prototype shown
Gold chrome plated, oscillating front axle,
steerable front wheels, engraved John Deere
175th Anniversary logo on battery box. 4440 is
representative of John Deere's two-millionth tractor.
THE LEGACY OF JOHN DEERE
and the beginnings of Deere & Company
The Man before the Plow
The story of John Deere is one of innovation, integrity and commitment
to quality. These values are the heritage of John Deere and have been in
every John Deere product from the first plow to today’s line of industryleading equipment.
John Deere was born in 1804 in the small town of Rutland, Vermont, to William
Rinold Deere and Sarah Yates Deere. John was 4 years old when he lost his
father and his mother struggled to provide for the family. When he was 17,
John was apprenticed to Captain Benjamin Lawrence, a successful blacksmith
in nearby Middlebury. Captain Lawrence taught John the trade that would
later make him an American legend.
But in late 1836, the possibility of John becoming a legend seemed unlikely.
With money from an investor, he tried to start his own blacksmith shop,
but it burned down. Displaying the trademark John Deere determination,
he rebuilt the shop, but it burned again. The investor demanded his money
back. In October of 1836, he sent Deere a court summons recalling the loan.
John had few options. He could stay in Vermont, lose everything and risk
debtors’ prison. Or, leave his family behind and move west, make enough
money to pay off his debts, and then rejoin his family. John decided to take a
chance. He struck out for Grand Detour, Illinois, a town he heard about from
a former employer. Leaving his wife and children behind until he could establish
himself in Grand Detour, John headed for Illinois with only $73 in his pocket
to sustain him during the 800-mile journey.
After several weeks of travel, John arrived in the small frontier town
to set up shop and start over. It is here that he made history with his
self-scouring steel plow.
As the town blacksmith, John Deere would craft hundreds of
different items. Nearly every metal tool a farmer used was
made by the blacksmith, as were kitchen items like this skillet.
Several items from Deere’s shop turned up when the site was
excavated in the 1960’s. Hammers, horse shoes, wrenches,
bolts, and hooks of all sizes could be found around what 175
years ago was a thriving blacksmith shop
TBE45329A
1:64 3-Piece 175th Anniversary Heritage Tractor Set
Pack: 6
A Sticky Situation
John Deere the Innovator
A Self-Scouring Steel Plow
The soil in the Midwest in the 1800s was rich black,
fine-grained soil enriched from thousands of years of
decomposing prairie grasses. It was very different from
the dry, rocky soil of the East Coast. Farm implements
used back East didn’t work well in this Midwest soil.
When wet, the gumbo soil became sticky. A farmer had
to stop plowing every few yards to scrape it from the
plow’s share and moldboard.
When John Deere found a discarded steel sawmill blade, he got an
idea. He thought a steel plowshare would scour itself so farmers
wouldn’t have to stop to scrape off the sticky soil. He shaped the blade
into a rough-hewn plowshare, and polished it to a bright sheen.
The plow scoured beautifully, and the story of John Deere began.
The heavy soil that stuck to iron plows
fell away from the polished steel, making it
much easier to work the prairie land.
John Deere’s plow was a technological
breakthrough that helped farmers break
the prairies and settle the Midwest.
175th Anniversary Booklet included
with both 1:16 scale models!
– Prototype shown
– Available August 2012
– Prototype shown
The heritage of John Deere's past and present comprise this set.
The 8335R in traditional green and yellow; the 4440 in gold chrome
representing John Deere's two-millionth tractor, and silver chrome for
the one-millionth tractor, a model 60.
TOMY | 2021 Ninth Street, SE Dyersville, Iowa 52040-2316 | Phone: 1.563.875.2000 | Fax: 1.563.875.5674