Happy St. Patrick's Day

Many Internet sites you visit today will change their colors or put up articles to honor St. Patrick's day. Here at Zac's Tractors I don't have the option of that since my site is ALWAYS green. I still want to celebrate, so I've decided that I will post some pictures of my favorite green tractor. And I thought that this was such a great idea that I've decided to post a green tractor each day this week.

The John Deere 8530 Authentic Series #1 is one of (If not the most) detailed 1/64th scale tractor ever made. It features metal wheels w/ rubber tires (only seen on precision tractors), clear cab glass with an opening cab door (first ever in 1/64), An opening hood with detailed engine, a movable 3pt hitch, and steerable front wheels.

The particular 8530 that I have pictured is one that I removed the rear duals and added rear triples. This adds a unique touch to the tractor that wasn't offered from Ertl. This is one of my favorite customs because it turned out looking like a factory piece, and retained its realistic look that was important to the authentic line of tractors.

The downside is that I had to cut the extra wheels off of the back of another tractor, but that allowed me to add fat duals to the 8530 that lost its wheels. I used the other set of extra wheels on an 8410 John Deere that I will feature in another article.


THE ERTL AUTHENTIC SERIES
Sine I've focused on the initial offering in this series I wanted to write a quick note about the authentics. Ertl saw a window of opportunity with collectors that wanted high detailed 1/64th scale tractors. They responded with this series that offers collectors small tractors with great detail. So far there have been 2 authentics, and a 3rd one is rumored to be released later this year. The first 2 were John Deere tractors (8530, and 4930 sprayer), but the 3rd offering is rumored to be of another color/brand. The first 2 authentics have sold in the $20-25 range and should retain their value. I doubt they will increase for a while because they were available everywhere, bot the authentics are worthwhile to collect because a custom piece with this level of detail would cost HUNDREDS from a custom builder.

The Golden Premiere: John Deere 8530, Premiere #17

On its second year of the premiere series Ertl has created a mail in offer for collectors who have 8 UPC symbols from the back of their tractor packages. The UPCs must come from one of the first 8 tractors produced in the 2007 premiere tractors. With your check for $4.99, you mail away the UPCs and a few weeks later you are the proud owner of a Golden John Deere 8530.

The 8530 is officially #17, with the previous 16 being regular editions. The tractor comes with a gold collector coin that says “Model 8530 Release #17”. The 8530 is actually a very nice model with die cast construction and cab glass. As far as detail the 8530 is probably one of the nicest in the premiere line. The cab even has painted on lights, which are absent from some of the other premiers. The cab glass is only seen in a few of the other premiere releases.

As far as collectors value the golden tractor is definitely limited in number. How limited I’m not sure, and I doubt if Ertl will ever release production numbers. Nevertheless this tractor already has significant value, with price tags as high as $125 at the national show. I have seen it go for less on eBay, but really we can’t be sure of the price until some time has passed and the market adjusts for the supply.