Precision Classic Out Look
Brick in a Box
Philipp J. Altstaetter
What a wet spell we have been through here in the eastern corn-belt. Planting went fast and furious right up to the first day of May and we have been on a three week hiatus since. As I write this article in Late May we are just starting to get back in the fields. Hope we do not shut the spigot off totally like we did last year though. With the crop finishing up, the cows AI’d, and first cutting hay made I guess it is time to kick back with some R&R. As I think early summer and R&R, how can the county fair not come to mind?
As I thought about this article, one thing kept coming to mind and that was. “What do I always like most about the county fair?” As a kid I was active in 4-H and enjoyed exhibiting my animals at the fair, running around with the other youngsters, and just having fun. Every year at some point I was always drawn to the tractor exhibits. I always had to go and admire them and think how nice they looked. In these visits I would imagine myself the proud owner of one of these marvelous machines. Now as a business person I am active at the fair working as a volunteer; purchasing animals at the livestock auctions, and enjoying visiting with my customers. Still as an adult I am attracted to the tractor exhibits. So now one would ask what tractor is it that really draws me? Well bar none a John Deere 4020 catches my eye quicker than anything in these exhibits. 4020 wide fronts (WF’s), Diesels, Row crops, Hi-crops, just about any one would do the trick but I must always go over and closely scrutinize them.
As a collector of precision classics the 4020 is often know to catch our eye as all. As a refresher we have 3 different models to obtain. The narrow front #3 box number , the granddaddy the 4020 WF power shift (PS) box number , and the 4020 with corn picker box number . Any auction or toy show I attend and there is a 4020 WF PS, just like the fair I must stop and admire it thoroughly. It is the intrigue of my-self and many others that makes this toy so popular. Just as the 4020 is popular among farmers still to day many collectors are in search of this tractor as well. This toy is able to demand high price weather at auction, toy show, or private treaty. Current price range seems to be $475-$525. How did this toy get to its current price level?
I have said the 4020 WF/PS is nothing more than a mysterious brick-in-a-box. No box the asking price is cut in half, beat up box the price is cut by a third. I have seen many of these toys with the tape still holding the tabs shut sell for great prices. What is in that box; a toy, a broken toy, nothing, or maybe my fabled brick? Many times I am left shaking my head as I watch the price march straight up for this toy that has never seen the light of day. Once while with Jay Hasert at a Toy Show and seeing another nice 4020 NIB I said “There may as well be a brick in that box as a 4020 and someone would still pay top dollar for it as it is sealed”. This very nice toy was released in 1993 and has since been retired. The $1,000 question ever since has been “How many of these toys were actually released?”
With that question in mind I am going to share a few of my thoughts on this subject and am sure there are many other theory’s out there as well. I have chosen this subject for this article as many people have asked why this toy commands such a price. Could it be Ertl® was on the fourth toy of the series, a series which was selling but not taking everything in sight by storm and they were questioning the future of this series? Maybe they decided to short run a toy an see if the collectors kept buying or if they were going to re-bell at paying 90-100 dollars per toy? Is the rumor about the mold breaking and they had to stop producing the toy sooner than they had expected true? This theory may have lots of possibility Ertl® was working hard to add greater detail as was demanded by their customers. I have often heard there were levers that were not made sturdy enough and the mold broke. Many of those reading this article have probably seen an A with cultivator have broken levers. These are both good strong possibilities but I do not believe either of them.
My thoughts are more along the lines of it was just a darn popular toy. As I am allured to the 4020’s at the fair and antique tractor shows I think the owners of these real tractors are allured to the toy replicas of the tractor they own. The 4020 has to be one of the most popular tractors ever produced by John Deere. This leads to the fact many people grew up using them as the main tractor on their farm and many others learned to drive on a 4020. Now the same tractor that worked for so long on the farm is now in the hands of a collector. My demonstration here is to show there are many people with a tie to the 4020 WF/PS creating strong demand for this toy as well. Once the synergy was built the price then strictly marched higher. Many folks put the toy in the closet or on the wall of their office and have no plans to sell it. This left those of us who are collectors to pay higher and higher prices in order to obtain one of them for in our own collections. This leads me to summarize there was nothing different on the number of toys made rather the difference is in the high demand by all those who have a connection to the real tractor.
Well now some wrap ups from my last article. Do you remember the questions?? The first was what makes a tractor a Standard? Or in other words how is a standard different from a Row-Crop tractor? Well, a standard has just that, a standard position the tires are always in. They are not able to be moved, this version of tractor is very popular in wheat and small grains country where there is no need for the tires to be adjusted frequently. A row-crop has adjustable axles or variable tire positions. This is very important in the mid-west where tires must be moved for plowing, hauling manure, or planting corn. So there you have it a very watered down explanation on what makes a standard a standard.
My second question had to do with the 2nd release from the John Deere collectors Center. As most of you know the toy is a BWH-40. A clearer explanation is that this toy is and wide front, un-styled, high-crop B.
I wrote last time that there were going to be 5,000 of these toys released. I have since read that there are only going to be 4,000 so I guess I will need to do a little more research for my articles in the future. If you have not ordered one yet you better speed up as I am certain they are nearly all sold out. I have seen them advertised for has high as $300.00 already. The point to my question though was to inform everyone why 4,000-5,000 toys is a number we see often. Bill Walters from Ertl® informed us several months back that a container from China (where most Ertl® toys are made) can hold this number of toys. I have found it interesting how different things are limiting factors on how many toys are released in different series. Last year we saw the initial release price at $141.00 on the 630 hi-crop. I can not help but speculate that the price came from the face that the selling price for a totally restored 630 hi-crop was $141,000.00.
To wrap up this month Ertl® has another JD precision on the horizon for us. It is an un-styled B, no real surprise here if you think about it. Last year the collectors’ center released a hi-crop 630 and a couple of months later we got a narrow front 630. Same story this year, collectors’ center got a Hi-crop and now we are preparing for the release of the narrow front un-styled B. We will discuss this in more detail when it is finally released.
Well I think we have spent our time together for this month. I will again welcome your questions please email them to me at precisionphil@hotmail.com. Remember to collect what you like and like what you collect.
TTT
June 2003 Page 4
Back
to the index