Pedaling Around Pennsylvania

New Pedal Tractors at the National

By Michael G. Henry

           Two new pedal Tractors were on display at the National Farm Toy Show.   Ertl debuted its new John Deere 5020 pedal and Scale Models had the new Farm Master pedal on display.  Both models offer new aspects to the pedal hobby.

           The 5020 is an all new casting and the first big power classic pedal tractor.   The 5020 was introduced in 1965 by John Deere.  This 1233 hp tractor replaced the 5010 and was offered through 1968.   At the time the 5020 was the most powerful 2wd tractor in the world.  later in its production John Deere boosted the 5020 to 141 hp.  The 5020 is powered by a six cylinder 531 cu inch engine.  

         The new 5020 pedal shares the big look of the real 5020.  Ertl has added a wide front end not seen on many classic pedals and the new large rear tires introduced on the 8520 with dual wheel kit last year.  The new 5020 was on display at the Ertl factory in their show room during the National Farm Toy Show.   The 5020 is a newly tooled pedal.  To show the new features of the 5020 Ertl had an old 4020 wide front pedal on hand for comparison.   The big change between the 4020 wide front and the new 5020 is the engine tooling.  The 4020 was powered by a 404 cubic inch engine and as noted above the 5020 has a 531 cubic engine.  The new5020 has the appropriate larger engine casting. 

          Other changes on the 5020 include a longer John Deere stripe down the hood, larger rear tires and a black seat.   The 5020 will offer many hours of fun for young pedal farmers and a nice new model for collectors.  It is my hope that the 5020 is a sign of tractors to come from Ertl.   I think many collectors would like to see big iron from the 60's and 70's.  Some ideas that I have include an Farmall 1206, IH Gold Demo 1026,  Case 1070 black Knight, Case 1570, Allis-Chalmers D-21, Allis-Chalmers 7080.  All of these tractors with a wide front end and larger rear tires used on the new 5020 would be great classics to see added to the pedal hobby. 

        Scale Models has become a leader in the pedal market. I think their best release in 2003 was the narrow front Farmall 806  and wide front Farmall 706.  The 06 pedals are great pedal tractors and retail in the $150-$160 range.  Just in time for Christmas Scale Models has made a shift from collectors pedals to a kid's pedal.   The new FarMaster pedal will arrive at TSC stores on November 28 to help kick off the holiday shopping season.  The FarMaster is a generic tractor but has a great price that makes it a nice toy for kids.  The FarMaster will retail for $99.  That is a price that Santa Claus can deal with.   This is a nice play pedal and Dad will not have to cringe as it gets hours of play time and wear and tear on the drive way.

Thank you to Ertl and Scale Models for sharing their new pedals at the National and our readers here at The Toy Tractor Times. If you have a question that you would like to see mention in the Toy Tractor Times, please feel free to email me at michaelghenry@yahoo.com and I will try to find an answer to your question.

TTT November 2003 Page 6

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