Half-Scale Super M Farmall

Take a good look at this tractor – at first glance, it looks like a regular (and very nicely restored!) Super M Farmall. But when you look closely, you might notice that something seems a little off in the background – the tractor’s too small! That’s because this is a picture of an impeccably done half-scale tractor, handcrafted by Kurt Smith of Milan, Michigan.

Kurt started on this project last January with a Cub Cadet 122 tractor. By the end of May, he had transformed it into this stunning replica of a Super M.

Here are some of the special things Kurt had to do to make the tractor look just right:

The grill started with a flat sheet of metal, with the bars cut out on a CNC machine. Kurt bent it to the perfect curve and had his machinist perfect it.

These rear wheel weights are made of wood. The front wheel centers are a metal plate to cover the original centers of the Cub Cadet. The metal plates are designed and painted to resemble the centers of a real Farmall Super M tractor. The very center cap is actually the cap off of a 2-Liter sprite bottle that has been sanded and painted. To remove the wheel you have to remove the three chrome bolts and then it will come off!

This Super M is Kurt’s 34th half-scale tractor. This started as a hobby, and in 2010 he turned it into a full-time business. The Little Tractor Company manufactures custom half-scale tractors of all types, around 7 per year. He’s only made three show tractors – the rest are all made to order. He enjoys the variety of working with different brands, and has made Oliver, Cockshutt, Minneapolis Moline, Farmall/IH, and John Deere Tractors. They range in price from $10,000 to $20,000. The Super M was $17,500.

I met Kurt at a tractor show in Wauseon, OH this past June. Here’s a picture of his half-scale 5020. What a neat project!

To find out more about Kurt and his little tractors, check out his website – thelittletractorco.com