In more than one respect, Ertl, long the most celebrated name in diecast toy tractors, is much like Tonka: both were founded shortly after World War II in the basements of enterprising
Midwesterners. Although Ertl, also like Tonka, has produced countless toy trucks, this book focuses solely on the Iowa toymaker's true bread and butter: toy tractors produced from 1945 to
present. Two hundred color photos depict Ertl's 1/16- and 1/64-scale tractors, as well as pedal tractors, up close with theater-gel backgrounds, diecast implements, and the sort of plastic
injection-molded farmers and livestock with which Ertl has often packaged its tractors. Accompanying the photography is the story of how this Dyersville-based company grew by leaps and
bounds, including founder Fred Ertls' first licensing of some of these companies' names and actual designs in 1945, the family-based assembly line he and his wife established in their home,
Ertl's renowned commitment to quality, and the incredible detail that goes into today's precision-made scale models.
