316 Farm Tractor
General Information
The following information has been collected from original newspapers, catalogs, and magazines, some of which are freely available for reference below. The rest can be found in the site’s gallery. No aggregate catalogs (BrickLink, Brickset, etc.) were used.
Instructions: H-2304
Advertised Part Count(s): 49 pieces
First Year Confirmed Available: 1967(USA)
All 1967 Model Makers are incredibly hard to track as they were not typically advertised like the larger assortments/models. However, the 316 is fortunate to have a 1967 appearance:
I will return here to cover the Canadian side of things later, as I currently have a lack of sources for Canadian Model Makers and am not comfortable making any assertions.
Most Likely Retirement Date: 1969(USA)
The set does not appear in a 1970 dealer catalog but does appear in the 1969 idea book, thus it was likely retired in 1969.
Last Year Seen Available: 1971
Greeley Daily Tribune, October 28th, 1971
Aliases: Farm Tractor, Model No. 316, Tractor
Retail Price(s): 77c-$1.59(USA)
Note: Samsonite discontinued listing RRP's for sets in 1967. As a result, Model Maker sets' prices can vary. I've theorized this to be a reason 1968+ Model Makers include a secondary number, you can read about it here.
Rarity Score(Index): 3/7
Known Box/Packing Variants
There are two known versions of the USA 316:
The drawer version without an alternative number:
Around 1969, Model Makers were given a tabbed box and an alternate number:
This is a better image to show the difference:
The 316's alternate number is currently the lowest identified of the Model Maker line. Only the 315 European Taxie could outrank it if a tabbed box variant of the 315 is found, which is unlikely.
There should also exist a Canadian version. It will have a tabbed box and not a drawer/sleeve style.
Box/Overview
The 316 Farm Tractor, like all sets in the new Model Maker line, was not an original Samsonite creation but instead already was a set sold in Europe.
The North American version reuses the European image of the set:
And the sides are the standard affair with other 1967 Model Makers:
And the drawer(or tab on later boxes):
Contents
As with other 1967 Model Makers, the set would've contained the pieces required to build the intended model:
Not much to note, except that while online inventories show that the set contains a 1x1 round brick without bottom lip, the North American version only used one with a bottom lip.
Intended Model
The tractor is an incredibly simple build:
