The Advance of 1/64 Tires 

Part III

by Jason Hasert


        Part three of The toy Tractor Times wheels and tires from 1973 to 2003 review will conclude the 2wd tractor evolution.  In September we will look at the advance of 4wd tires, including an interesting 1/64 prototype 4wd that was not produced. 

        In part I we left of in 1986 when Ertl first offered 1/64 tire options including front wheel assist front (fwa) tires and rear dual tires.  Although these tire options were not offered together on one tractor.  If a collector wanted the common fwa and duals option they would have to look a custom pieces.  The 1988 John Deere "4955" pictured in this article is a prime example of custom tires.  Standi Toys has been a long time 1/64 tire maker that has allowed collectors to create many tire options.  The decaled 4955 was customized in 1988 by taking a fwa Ertl 55 series John Deere and large flotation duals by Standi Toys were added.  For collectors and displayers these add on tires made all the difference in creating tractors seen in the field.


1986 brings new 64th tire options.
A fwa and duals combo is only possible with add on Standi tires.

  The 1990's brought several improvements for 1/64 wheels and tires.  Scale Models was the first toy maker to offer a full production fwa and duals tractor with the White Work Horse 145. (Mini Toys offered a Hesston DT-1180 for a very short time in 1986 with fwa and duals but it was a short run model and is quite rare in 1/64)  The White 145 was a major step forward because it had larger tires with lug details.  In 1993 Ertl changed its 1/64 line with the John Deere 7800.  This fwa model was slightly larger than previous Ertl models.  Its tires are rubber instead of hard plastic, the tires offer a life like appearance rather than the rounded plastic look and the wheel inserts were crafted after the John Deere 7000 series rather than a common toy insert seen for 20 years on 1/64 tractors with few exceptions. 


Scale Models offers fwa and duals on 1990 White 145.
The 1993 John Deere 7800 brings in a new era of 1/64.


The 1997 John Deere 8400 is the first Ertl 1/64 w/ fwa & duals. It is also the first 64th piece with mud flaps.


In the late 1990's fwa/duals, 2wd singles and fwa are all offered.

The next big change for 64th came in 1996  with the release of another John Deere.   John Deere's 1/64 8400 was the first Ertl model to offer a combo of fwa and duals.  This new model was a great new piece with its new large size and mud flaps.   The 8400 like the 7800 before offered wheels that were crafted to look like the real thing.  After the 8400's release CaseIH followed with the 7240 with fwa and duals in the old scale and a new scale 8950.  AGCO and New Holland also began offering a full line of tire options by the mid 1990's.   The AGCO-Allis 9675 with fwa and duals, White 6-175  with 2wd and AGCO-Allis 9695 with fwa only are a good example of the new range of tires offered in the mid-1990's. 

   2wd tractors by the late 1990's became the odd ball model rather than the norm.  Ertl main feature became fwa toys just like the real tractors.  John Deere,  CaseIH, AGCO and New Holland all continued to offer 2wd so Ertl offered 2wd as well. These models are slightly harder to find than fwa models of the same time period.  The John Deere 8200 and 8210 used large balloon tires., the CaseIH MX 180 offered in 1999 used small plastic tires and the White 6-175 used a mid-sized rubber tire.  Once again one size tire and wheel style did not fit all. 

     December 2001 was the next advancement in 1/64 tire options.  The John Deere 8420 became the first model offered with front duals.  This new feature added to large hp 2wd tractors.  The 8420 was also the third Ertl tractor to offer row crop spacing between the duals.  In 2002 Ertl also added a new 1/64 tire to its tractor line.  The 8420 also became the first 2wd with the large wide tires used in Europe.  These single tires offer similar flotation as duals with out the width.  

    The Fall Farm Show Edition CaseIH  MX 285 Magnum became the first 2wd to receive all the tire options possible.  This model is the best example of modern 1/64 tires vs. the original 1970's.  The MX 285 offers front row crop duals and rear triple tires.  On side note the first 1/64  tractors with rear triple tires were the 1999 Fall Farm Show John Deere 8410, 2000 MF 8280 collectors edition and 2001 CaseIH MX 240. 


2wd tractors have become a rare option rather than the norm.
  The John Deere 8420 was the first 1/64 with front duals.

Large single European style tires are the latest option in 1/64.
CaseIH's  MX 285 was the first in 1/64 w/ front duals & rear triples.

Fwa with singles remain a standard general sales model.
The 2003 John Deere 7920 is a prime example of 30 years of tire and wheel improvements in 1/64.

 Today the most common  general sales 1/64 tractor is fwa with singles models.  Farm sets are becoming a popular 1/64 feature with barns or haying equipment and most are sold with fwa/singles 1/64 tractors. 

    2003 1/64 tractors are a long ways from the original models offered 30 years ago in 1973.  The newest 1/64 replica is a prime example of the best 1/64 has to offer.  The  2003 Fall Farm Show Edition 7920 will raise the level of 64th the way the 7800 did in 1993.  The all new 7920 offers fwa, mud flaps, row crop duals plus offer great extras like a window cab, roof flood lights and new improved hitch. 

      1/64 has come a long way since 1973.   Tires used to be a basic part of a 1/64 tractor.  Over time tires and wheels have become an integral part of 2wd 64th tractors.  Next month our tire and wheel series will conclude with the advance of  1/64 4wd tires.

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