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Toy Potato Harvester And Potato Planter
Thank you for the write-up in your last issue on how I modified a 1959 Volkswagen pickup to look like a small semi truck. I thought you might also be interested in the farm machinery toys I've built, including a one-of-a-kind potato harvester and an 8-row potato planter. The planter is the most complex model I've ever built and has about 3,000 pieces in it. It's on display at the National Farm Toy Museum in Dyersville, Iowa. The potato harvester has 2,600 pieces in it. The Michigan Potato Industry displays it at meetings all over the U.S.
  I've built over 100 different models of machinery, most of which are one-of-a-kind. What makes my models unique over all other toy builders is that I build only with steel, and I weld or bolt every joint. The planter model has more than 1,000 welded joints on it. Every piece is cut out of a sheet of 18 ga. cold rolled sheet metal. I even build the engines piece by piece out of steel, ending up with over 75 separate pieces on each engine. I don't use any brass, plastic, or glue on any of my models.
  This is my part-time hobby and people have contacted me from all over the U.S. to build rare models that the toy companies have never produced. (Don Campbell, Box 132, Gaylord, Mich. 49734 ph 517 732-3946; E-mail: koli@voyager.net; Website: www.expressodesigns.com/minimachine/)


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2001 - Volume #25, Issue #6