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Written by Paul D. Race for Family Garden Trains(tm)
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John Deere collectibles get the respect they deserve - Collectibles celebrating the John Deere pioneering spirit have been around a long time. But John Deere is now being celebrated by world-class artists like Thomas Kinkade, as well as Hawthorne Village®, a premier manufacturer of mint-quality and museum-quality collectibles.
John Deere himself was a blacksmith from Vermont who set up shop in Grand Detour, Illinois in 1836. There he discovered that the cast iron plows the farmers had brought from New England were almost useless in the prairie clay. Deere came up with a plow shaped something like an icebreaker that forced the clay to "break away" from the blade as it continued down the furrow. But Deere knew cast iron wouldn't do the job. In 1937, Deere used the high-quality rolled steel from a broken saw blade to make his first plow. His experiment was so successful that, not only did it change farming and farm tool manufacturing, it even changed the way steel was made in this country. But Deere didn't rest on his laurels. He continued to improve and develop his products for the rest of his career. And wherever pioneers spread across the Heartland of America, John Deere's products were there to break new ground, literally as well as figuratively. Is it any reason that John Deere's products, and even the company logo, comprise such a compelling piece of Americana?
Note: The villages and accessories shown on this page are for indoor use only. The scale of these products (except for the HO train below) average about 1:48, the right size too look good with Hawthorne Village(r) collectible trains, On30 model trains, and Lionel O Gauge trains.
Note about Suppliers: While we try to help you get the products you want by recommending suppliers with a good record of customer service, all transactions between you and the supplier you chose to provide your trains or other purchases are governed by the published policies on the supplier's web site. So please print off any order confirmation screens and save copies of invoices, etc., so you can contact the appropriate supplier should any problems occur. (They almost never do, but you want to be on the safe side.)
Update for December, 2009!
I personally respect the Deere brand, not only because I have an old but very reliable John Deer tractor myself (the original 120), but also because the brand has stood for quality since the time of its founder - a man who did as much to turn the Midwest into the "Breadbasket" of America as any other person.
Almost three years ago, Hawthorne Village, the world-class manufacturer of holiday village collectibles, negotiated with the John Deere company for the right to mint certain collectibles that would display the quality that John Deere's products and history deserve. Customer response was huge. The company also commissioned world-reknowned painter and sculptor Thomas Kinkade to plan a holiday village collection, as well as the unique Christmas tree shown below.
The villages on this page are available by subscription, which means that you sign up for them like you would a magazine. You then get (and pay for) a package about every four weeks for the next four months. The accessory packages, however, are sold as single-purchase packages. As always, please contact
us with any questions.
Note: Deadlines approaching! Because these are subscription trains, each piece is actually considered a separate purchase. (The price advertised on the Hawthorne Village web site is the cost of each collectible piece.) In the first shipment, you receive the locomotive, which is an exceptional value. Then about a month later, or when the next piece is available (whichever comes first), your order for the next piece is automatically processed. That means that you can still get the locomotive before Christmas if you order early enough, so you'll have something to wrap up and put under the tree. The locomotive is also a great value, so the recipient won't be disappointed, even when he or she learns that the rest of the train is still to come. On the other hand, there is a good possibility that some of these trains will sell out between now and Christmas. If there's one you really want, don't assume that it's "safe" to wait until later - I have not heard from one reader who was disappointed with his or her train, but I have heard from many readers who were disappointed because they put off ordering a subscription until it was too late. These are delightful trains and a great value, so order your favorite soon if you don't want to miss out! For details about how a subscription train works, please click here.
John Deere Halloween Subscription Village
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John Deere/Thomas Kinkade Creek Village Collection
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Thomas Kinkade John Deere Christmas Tree
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New for 2008! John Deere Holiday Heartland Musical Tabletop Christmas Tree
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Shoreline Pastimes Village Accessory
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Note: Family Garden Trains™, Garden Train Store™, Big Christmas Trains™, BIG Indoor Trains™, and BIG Train Store™ are trademarks of Breakthrough Communications (www.btcomm.com). All information, data, text, and illustrations on this web site are Copyright (c) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 by Paul D. Race. Reuse or republication without prior written permission is specifically
forbidden.
For more information, please contact us
