Jason Hasert
The 7500
New 2003 is John Deere's 7000 series self-propelled forage harvesters. The 7000 series are built to chew up hay and corn by the ton. The 570 hp John Deere 7500 is the current 7000 leader with even larger 7700 and 7800 models in development. The 7800 chopper still in development is rated at 640 hp and powered by a Cummins QSX-15 Engine ( the same used in STX Steiger 4wds).
The 7500 new features include composite body panels, Infinitely Variable length-of-cut transmission, improved crop flow and larger cutter heads. In July 2003 Ertl released a new 1/64 7500 Forage Harvester showing off these new features. The model is stamped with a 1st Edition mark indicating to collectors this is a first release model. The 1/64 7500 comes in a set including two forage wagons and a kemper head.
The 1/64 7500 is a newly tooled toy featuring a big 10 row kemper head. Kemper heads are like a buzz saw. Whirling saw like blades chop through corn and pull it into the chopper. Because there are no row units a model like the 7500 can cut any direction in the field during harvest. The new kemper head is a nice improvement from the 6910 with a 6 row corn head released in 1993.
When you attach your new kemper head you will notice the 7500 has a new feeder housing. For over 20 years now Ertl has used clip on headers that attaches to two die-cast pegs on the feeder housing frame. This has been the standard on Ertl combines and the 6910 chopper. The 7500 toy has taken a new course. The 10 row kemper head plugs into 4 slots in the new plastic feeder area, like an electrical plug. You will not be able to interchange the 6910 corn head and 7500 kemper head between models with out some serious customization.
The 7500 offers an all new body styling. Ertl did a nice job in replicating the new composite body. One stand out feature over the 6910 is the cab steps. The 7500 has steps where the 6910 has the step area but only a flat side where steps would be. The 7500 also has several light decals under the cab platform and on the rear hitch area.
The cab on the 7500 is nicely detailed. It has a life like operators station and clear windows. Here we can see the 7500 cab compared to the 6910. Ertl has confirmed after the May issue of The Toy Tractor Times "advance of the cab" that Ertl will no longer produce a new model with black windows. It is just not an option any more. This is good news for collectors who have enjoyed Ertl's cab improvements since the 1999 introduction of the 9750 STS combine.
The spout on the 7500 has been refined. The new spout is narrower and offers a little more realism in its mold. The spout is curved for truck filling. Some of Ertl’s promotional shots featured a straight spout used for wagon filling but the 1st Edition is curved. The 6910 over its 5 year run from 1993-1998 offered both a curved and straight spout. This may indicate another variation possibility for the 7500.
The 7500 is packaged as a set with two forage wagons. These wagons are made from the same casting first introduced in 1982 by Ertl. Here you can see the progression of green forage wagons. There are three casting changes (note there are 4 variations with decals and color change). The original 1982 model has a long hitch and a deep yellow roof. In 1994 the wagon was re-released most likely to hook on to the 6910. The 1994 version has a short hitch (almost peg like) and a light yellow roof. The new 2003 wagon in the 7500 set has a slightly modified peg hitch and a bright yellow roof and matching yellow beaters. The new wagon does not have John Deere decals. The wagon has become a green and yellow generic model because John Deere has not marketed or sold a reel forage wagon for well over a decade.
The Ertl wagon represents a single axle 12ft forage box. This type of wagon was common through out the 1970's and 1980's for pull type choppers. It is most likely that if a 12ft wagon was hooked to a 7500 with a 10 row kemper that you would over whelm the wagon in seconds with silage. A pull type would be cutting 2 rows into the wagon. Ertl has added a lot of play value to this set with the wagons. A young rug farmer has a harvest crew in one purchase. Remember Ertl’s primary market for 1/64 is to children.
For the older rug farmer with a display there are some realistic options to haul silage away from the 7500. If you want a wagon, Standi toys ( offers an 18ft box with tandem axles. A 7500 is a big machine for any wagon but the Standi wagon fits the bill. You can see from this picture the Standi wagons large size compared to the Ertl wagon.
The most common method to keep a big chopper like a 7500 running at full capacity is trucking. Chopping directly into a dump truck allows the chopper to operate almost non-stop. If you are stopping to hook and on hook wagons valuable chopping time is lost. This 10 row machine will fill this tri-axle truck in 5 to 8 minutes. It can roll away and another can slip in behind it and keep the 7500 going. The model shown here was built by Jason Jeffers.
A dump wagon is another option if you do want to use a wagon. This type of wagon creates less down time because the wagon is always hooked onto the chopper. The box raises up and dumps into a truck and then sets back into place so the farmer can keep chopping. Depending on the truck size normally one or two wagon dumps can be made before the truck is full.
Be careful with you big new kemper head. It sticks way out and leaves little clearance for trucks to pass.
If you are looking for lots of action on your model farm. Many farms turn to tractor and trailers to haul silage. This is very common in Europe. Here is a John Deere 8220 with a truck pup running along side a 7500. Maybe some custom toy makers will offer dump trailers in the near future.
Over all the new 7500 gets high marks for it noticeable improvements and attention to casting detail. It does appear there a few "oops variations" on the market. There are some models out there that did not receive decals at the factory as we can see in this picture. Some other models have been reported to be missing the steering wheel inside the cab. This happens from time to time on new toys. Many collectors who have mistake models ask if it adds value. Value is in the eye of the beholder. Some collectors may pay more to have an odd ball variations other may scoff at it because they want a correct model. All in all a mistake model like this will only hold its value if it is new in the box and even at they it will only add three to five dollars in most cases.
The 7500 already proving to be an exciting new toys. It has been long awaited. Collectors have been paying $35 or more for 6910's in recent years and have wanted a kemper head. Ertl has really come through on the 7500. The only thing that could be added is a hay head. It is interesting that John Deere has offered two self-propelled choppers with a corn harvesting option only. One other hope collectors have is that Case-New Holland may offer an NH FX 60 or a similar CaseIH machine or that Claas would release a Jaguar in 1/64.
TTT
July 2003 Page 11
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