Fall Farm Show’s……

What great memories I have!!

            I will never forget those crisp September mornings as a kid or even today when I get up and head for the annual Ohio Farm Science Review.  As a child my whole family would go: Mom, Dad, my sisters, and maternal Grandparents.  We planned it for a whole day, we would take the flexible flyer wagon, pack our lunch and head out to sniff the new paint.  As life changes so do we, now just my father and I go to the show together.  We must stop to eat breakfast somewhere as we start our journey early in the morning.  Whether 20 years ago or today the goal is very much the same.  We drool over the new shiny paint, look for practical ideas to use with the cattle, and enjoy meeting talking with friends from throughout the state of Ohio. 

            Well now we must get down to some real business and talk GREEN toys.  I have missed a couple of articles the last few months but, hope get back in the swing here this month.  We usually talk Precisions in this article but this month Jay has asked for something different.  With the coming release of the 7920 Waterloo Works Employee Edition he has asked me to share some of my thoughts and information I could supply on this toy.  So after comparing some notes, making some phone calls, and swapping a few toy stories here it is.

John Deere 8400T

            The first Waterloo Works toy was release in 1999 and of course as with all series of toys it is the most valuable.  The toys released as “Works” toys are 8400T, 9400T, 8520 w/front duals and rear triples, and this year the 7920.  So now as true collectors we should have come up with lots of questions. How many are produced, how do you get one, what are they worth, what distinguishes these toys from their shelf model cousins?

John Deere 8520

            Lot of these questions will be answered as I work to spell out my theory on how this works.  To be eligible to order on of these toys you must have a clock number at Waterloo Works.  Remember this is a clock number so both retirees as well as current employees are eligible to order the toy.  So one question I was trying to find and answer to was how many clock numbers have there been at Waterloo Works?  To be honest I got a wide ranging number of answers but for the sake of settling it lets say between 4,250 and 6,000.  Someone who knows, please email me and set this straight. 

So now for how I think it works.  These employees are give the opportunity to order one of these toys and then with the number of orders taken then the number produced is determined similar to how Toy Farmer operates.  This leads to the summation that the reason the newer toys are not worth as much is because more employees are ordering them making for a larger number of toys on the open market. 

            Well what are they worth?  A quick look through any toy show or magazine will show you these approximate prices.  8400T-$275.00, 9400T- $150, 8520-$100  This scenario spells out that more employees are buying and reselling these toys.  There are folks out there myself included who have significantly more than this wrapped up in these toys.  Most will agree that there are only 1,000-1,100 of the 8400T but after that it is anyone’s guess.  The current price tells us though that there are significantly more of the newer toys though. 

John Deere 9400T

            Well now for the big LOOK-OUT.  The box is everything on these toys, no box means no value.  These toys are simply stamped with a waterloo employee edition stamp.  Other than that they are exactly the same as a shelf edition.  The boxes are stamped or marked the same way.  Most folks I talked to have zero interest in these toys if they are not complete with the box they came in.  These toys have also shown up with a stamped toy in an unmarked box. 

John Deere 7920

            As fall farm shows have a unique attraction to many in the agricultural community, so to do toys in a series.  The Waterloo Employee Editions are just one of these many short series.  If one finds them-selves interested in this series I would really encourage you to do your homework first.  Make sure the toys and boxes are marked correctly.  As the series continues I look for the value of these toys to be only slightly above a shelf model version. 

            Remember to collect what you like and like what you collect.  Please send any questions to precisionphil@hotmail.com            Head out to a Farm Show this fall and start making memories of you own. 

Philipp J. Altstaetter

TTT September 2003 Page 4

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