Massey Harris Tractor

[Wolfie Ginsburg]

More of that photo

[Wolfie Ginsburg]

According to Jack Odell who supplied the photo to Ray Bush the plastic gun was not a Lesney peoduct!

It was the prince's own toy which he brought to the fair (Or did another exhibitor give it to him?)

It's interesting that young boy seems more interested in the miniatures on display than the big toys

[Moyboy]

The gun was supposed to be the Space Outlaw pistol by BCM but doubts have been cast on this. I have a mint boxed one here but no mention of Lesney on it so maybe they just made a small part of it at the time but even this has had doubts cast on it - so why was it on their display table ???? Why would they display other manufacturers goods at a major Toyfair sales promotion.
Just posted after you Wolfie and just read your comment on the gun - this seems totally plausible to me, he was given it probably by BCM if they were exhibiting at the same toyfair

[nickjones]

Interesting, A few years ago I was in contact with a chap that had researched the BCM company and interviewed some ex employees, He was adamant that the Space Outlaw gun was completely made in house by BCM ad that Lesney played no part in it's manufacture.

[kwakers]

As I remember it Nick, that story at your site is very accurate as to Lesney casting some intricate part of the internal mechanism of the space gun. I believe that story may have been included in one of the early Bronner Club publications along with the Soapbox Racer picture I will never forget. This would have been very early on at the rifleman I am sure, but then came the diecast Toy line. Once they were busy with all they could handle there, the dies may have been sold to BCM so they could do all their own casting completely in house. That ex-employee you talked to may not have been with BCM when Lesney was a parts supplier to them. Both stories can be accurate, I see no problem or conflict here at all. When those huge toys were done, Lesney may have still been casting for BCM. They would have had their gun at the table as a display of their talents, and possibly one for the royalty of course. Where are those other large Lesneys today??......
The later Massey Harris Tractors used phillips head screws to hold on only the rear wheels Wolfie, while the fronts are still as yours on their very delicate spindles. An early Fred Bronner picture showed the phillips screws very clearly that are on mine, so even production variations along with colors of these 'Specials' can be found. kwakers

[Moyboy]

Yup - screws or nuts !! Also comes in an orangey shade as well as the red but not sure if sunfade or paint reaction. Those front wheels were always dodgy and when I pick up mine I keep thinking they will fall off !

[zBret]

Great photos of a very nice model. Couldn't help but to notice though that the chevrons on the rear tires are the wrong way around. The bottom point of the V , should face forward. Looking at the images on Nicks site it appears that some 5a models have the tires on the right way while others are the wrong way round, perhaps this is why the chevrons were done away with on the 5b. Obviously on the small model the tires are not removable... Can they be changed the right way around on the larger model?

zBret

[nickjones]

Hi zBret.
Some of the large scale Massey Harris tractors had the rear wheels held on with rivets and some were held on with phillips head screws, supposedly the Brit version had rivets and the US version screws, but the version with screws you can remove the rear wheels and swap them side to side to make the treads rotate in the correct direction.

[Wolfie Ginsburg]

I have two tractors

The more worn one on the right was bought in Bath about 28 years ago

The one on the left (the one pictured at the top of this thread) was bought more recently in Salisbury

By coincidence both come from about the same part of the world.

Both have tyres with treads facing what I agree would be the wrong way around

The rubber these tyres are made of is pretty tough - it would be difficult to switch just the tyres (and why would one?)

I don't think the wheels have been switched round on either so I think they left the factory this way

[kwakers]

The workers who installed the tires were definitely not farmers. I must now admit to running downstairs and checking mine to make sure it wouldn't get stuck in the mud going forward. I keep that one on a fireplace mantle in a plastic AMT Model display case. I had to drill a hole for the exhaust stack, but other than that it is ideal for keeping the Tractor dust free and safe.
Could Nick's statement about the phillips head screws holding the rear wheels on for the U.S. market be true of all these Masseys exported? They were shipped in their own boxes, so I doubt there was any advantage in shipping them with the large wheels off the rear. I'll have to investigate and discuss that fact a bit with some older collector/dealers we run into here in the U.S. Thanks for that info Nick! kwakers