Robert Denson drove all the way to St. Louis from West Memphis, Ark. On his way back home from the Gateway Farm Toy Show, he saw a bit of the devastation about which everyone at the show was talking.

“It was a sobering experience to see all the homes without power as I drove back through southern Missouri and northern Arkansas,” he shared. “I was reminded of the ice storm of ‘94.”

Thankfully, the weather at this year’s show was quite mild and visitors were able to enjoy Robert’s remote control toys that he built. He entered the adult scratch-built model contest and walked away with first prize.

This was not his first go at toy building. He is well known for his remote control “TerraGator” and the remote control scratch-built combine he created. In fact, Robert laughed and said no one remembers his name; they just call him “The Combine Guy.”
Robert shared his combine and TerraGator two years ago at the Gateway show. This year he was back with his latest creations. “My new project is a John Deere 650 wing fold disk,” he explained. “It took me two months to build. It was one of my quicker projects.”
The wing fold disk has a few main features that make this implement unique: “It has two servos, and I can attach that disk to either one of my tractors.”

The disk wheels can be raised and lowered via radio functions. During the show Robert had the disk hooked up to his other new project, a John Deere 9630 tractor.

“I transformed a Diecast model into a radio-controlled one. It has functions for lights and an auxiliary port on the rear so that I can attach a disk to it,” he said.

Robert’s other radio-control tractor is an 8630, which features a working three-point hitch. He said, “It is very realistic to see the tractor to simulate working in a field. Once it reaches the end of the field, the three-point hitch raises the implement and makes a return run back across the floor.”

Robert’s toys look just like the real thing, and that is just what he is aiming for. “I wanted something that could function like a real machine,” he said.

He grew up on a farm and works with his hands on a daily basis, for AT&T at Methodist Hospital, maintaining its phone network. At night he relaxes by working on his latest project. He said he turns off the phone and just runs the television for background noise – arriving home around seven, eating a quick meal, then working into the night is how he kicks back.

While working on these projects, some of the nights turned into early mornings. “While preparing the disk and the 9630 for the Gateway Farm Toy Show a week prior to the show, there was not a day that I got to bed before 2 a.m. There were all those little details,” he said.

“Wednesday night prior to the show, the 9630 was in 100 pieces because I had an electrical problem. I realized the problem and got it back together, but not before 3:30 a.m.”

Those at the Gateway show were glad Robert stayed up late and completed his project. If the opinion of the judges for the scratch-built model contest was making a statement by awarding Robert with a first-place trophy, that about says it all!

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.