Case 65 HP 1/16 Scale Model

Image Gallery Ertl's new Millennium Farm Classics line includes this Case 65hp steamer.

I'm writing this in January, so the Christmas just past is still fresh in my memory. It proved to be another Christmas that I found no Minneapolis-Moline UDLX under my tree. I keep trying to be the best boy I know how to be, but Santa never comes through. I can't really complain though, since on Christmas morning, I found a large package that couldn't possibly be a shirt. I eagerly opened it and found ... a 65 hp Case steam traction engine! 

The Ertl Company of Dyersville, Iowa, has introduced a new line of models they call Millennium Farm Classics. So far, the series includes the 65 hp Case steamer, as well as a great model of the Froelich tractor, originally built in 1892, and considered to be the granddaddy of the long green line from Deere and Co.

Ertl seems to have positioned the Millennium Farm Classics line between their higher priced, and more detailed Precision series, and the regular edition shelf models. Although probably not quite up to the standard of the Precision models, the Case 65 hp has plenty of detail, and for less than $100, it's a good buy (or at least Santa thought so).

The model comes encased snugly between two blocks of Styrofoam inside an 18" x 19" x 9-1/2" cardboard box. The sides of the box have large left- and right-side color photos of the model, as well as images of the Eagle on the Globe logo of the J.I. Case Threshing Machine Co. On top is a three-quarter front view of the model, while on one end is a close-up photo of the flywheel, pump, operating levers, drive gear train, and the rivet detail on the boiler. On the other end, a very brief history of the machine (not very accurate, as I discovered) and a photograph of Jerome Increase Case himself completes the colorful graphics.

This is a really hefty model, measuring 16" long and 8" high to the top of the smoke stack, while tipping the scales at about 7 or 8 pounds. Built in the popular 1/16 scale, the boiler, fire box, water tank and coal bunkers are metal, diecast in one piece, with a full complement of seams and rivets. The smokebox door, with a cast-in eagle and globe, looks almost as though it would open. The drive wheels (with spokes and lugs), the front wheels, and the front axle with steering arms and springs, are metal as well.