​The following information was found in Allis-Chalmers, Construction Machinery & Industrial Equipment by Norman Swinford.

1911 - LaPlant-Choate Manufacturing Company, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, formed.
1940s - Company developed hydraulic-operated pull scrapers for high-speed rubber-tired tractors used by the U.S. Army.
1945 - Developed their own rubber-sized construction equipment.
1947 - TS-300 motor scraper introduced.
1950 - Samller TS-200 motor scraper and the TW-300 motor wagon introduced.
1952 - Allis-Chalmers acquired LaPlant-Choate. Orange paint and Allis-Chalmers decals added to TS-300.
​1960 - Paint changed to yellow.

Produced for: The 2007 National Toy Truck 'N Construction Show - Indianapolis, Ind.
Scale: 1:50
Manufactured by: First Gear
Quantity Produced: 5,004
​
UPDATE:
This model is still IN STOCK! Go here to order:
Allis-Chalmers TS-300 Motor Grader

Other stories in March TT&C 20007:
• Lamar Criswell, Attracted to Logging Trucks
​• John Guthrie Jr., Childhood Toys Just the Beginning

Want this story in print?  It's available in the March TT&C 2007 magazine!

Call (701) 883-5206 or (701) 883-5206 to purchase!

Allis-Chalmers introduced the “AD40” in 1952 with many improvements over its previous grader models. The new “T” frame was narrow all the way back to the rear frame. This made a huge improvement in operator visibility over the previous Y-shaped frame designs. A constant-mesh transmission allowed for shifting on the roll, and provided slightly faster speeds. The $13,740 AD40 tipped the scales at 23,000 pounds.


When they acquired the “Buda Company” in 1953 Allis-Chalmers engineers were afforded a great deal more control over reliability, cost and performance for their entire line of construction machinery. In that light they soon began extracting GM 4-71 engines from assembled machines and inserting the new Buda 4-stroke diesel engines in their place.


A six-cylinder diesel rated at 120 hp, the “D-516” was installed in the AD40 and remarketed as the “Forty-Five” in 1955. When the popular V snowplow was fitted to the grader it could cut a 9-foot path through deep snow, a 12-foot wing plow pushed that snow even further, to slow drifting on the wind-swept plains. Blizzard-prone areas enjoyed the optional fully-enclosed cab, which afforded all-weather operation for the year-around.


1961 brought another remarketing as the grader’s name was changed to “45” and Persian Orange paint on unsold “Forty-Five” models was over-sprayed with yellow paint, which was growing in popularity throughout the construction market. New elliptical decal design set the 45 apart even further visually, and advertising boasted of the new 10000 direct-injection engines, which made for easier starting and improved fuel-consumption.


Production of the 45 model derivatives ended when the M100 was introduced. Its entirely new square-tubular frame design replaced the familiar tube-frame but production numbers seemed to swindle.


Toy Trucker & Contractor chose the “Forty-Five” for it’s National Toy Truck ’N Construction model in 2008, built by First Gear. It has the optional cab and the pre-”45” color of “Persian Orange.”

The model is still IN STOCK! Go here to order:
AC GRADER

Jeremy Sellner of New Ulm, Minn., first tinkered with trucks by fully customizing a model replica of his dad’s semitruck. Today, he’s a busy father himself, but he is truly making a name for himself by building custom models and parts for 1/64 scale semitrucks.
Jeremy has worked for Kraft Foods (part of The Kraft Heinz Company) in New Ulm for the past 15 years and he trims trees for Roots & Up Tree Service of Winthrop, Minn., which is a tree service company owned by his brother, Jason. 
Jeremy grew up just a few miles north of New Ulm in Winthrop, but New Ulm is definitely where he calls home. 
“I moved here right after high school to be closer to my job at Kraft Foods. My fiancée, April, and I have set down roots here and purchased our first home together. We already have a large family, with two daughters, Ramsey, who is 3 years old, and Georgia, who is 1 year old, and April’s son, Simon, who is 12.” 
One might say that Jeremy was born with model trucks in his blood. “My dad, Bruce Sellner, is an owner/operator, so I grew up around the trucking industry, which means I grew up playing with toy trucks and dreaming of driving a truck myself,” he said.
As a little boy, Jeremy’s toys of choice were Tonka trucks. “I remember Jason and I received quite a few old Tonka tow trucks and dump trucks for our birthdays and at Christmas, and we did a pretty good job of destroying them over the years, especially playing demolition derby with them. I have one surviving blue-and-white Tonka tow truck that’s still in my display case as part of my collection. I love having this one piece of my childhood with which to remember the good ol’ days,” Jeremy reflected.

Want to read the rest of the story?  It's available in the Dec. TT&C 2018 magazine!
Download here: DECEMBER TT&C 2018

Call (701) 883-5206 or (701) 883-5206 to purchase or order online at: http://www.toytrucker.com/past-issues.html