Young Toy Builder's Models Are "Out Of This World"

Young Toy Builder's Models Are "Out Of This World" AG WORLD 29-6-22 When most people think of genius, they're not likely to think of a toy builder. But if you take a close look at the scale model beet equipment made by 18-year-old Jon Frikke, you'll probably agree that the Prinsburg, Minn. native has talent from out of this world. The toys are made entirely of brass that's soddered together and painted the same colors as the real machines. The high school senior builds the toys from scratch in his spare time, working out of the basement in his family's home. "They draw lots of attention at toy shows," says Frikke. "As far as I know, no one else builds 1/64-scale toys of beet equipment. I build them with as much detail as possible. My only tools are a dremel cutting tool and a small torch to do the soddering work." The toys include two different styles of beet lifters. One resembles a Wick 8-row beet harvester, while the other resembles an Amity 12-row beet harvester. Both models have diggers in front that lift beets up out of the ground and put them on a series of conveyors, which dump the beets into a truck. He also made a 12-row defoliator that tops the leaves off the plant. It has knife-like scalpers on the back side that cut off an inch or so off the top of the beet where the leaf grows out. There are three sets of flails under the topper. He has also built an open-topped semi trailer designed to haul the beets. And he has built miniature farm scenes. Frikke says he became interested in farm toys as a young boy. "Dad always collected toys so I became interested in them, too. It takes about 15 hours to make each toy. When I start building a toy I'm never sure exactly how it's going to turn out - I have to test and revise quite a bit. I'm looking into getting a mold for my toys so that some parts could be made out of a mold, which would speed up the process quite a bit." Frikke even modifies the tractors that are used to "pull" the toys. The tractor wheels come factory equipped with wheels set for 30-in. rows. However, beets are usually grown in 22-in. rows, so he spaces the wheels out accordingly. He also adds toolboxes, lights, hand rails, antennaes, and pushers on front of the tractor that pulls the lifter (in case the truck that the lifter unloads into gets stuck, the tractor can push it out). Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jon Frikke, 505 Park Ave., Prinsburg, Minn. 56281 (ph 320 978-4915; jkf32@hotmail .com).

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