Martin Squires Automotive Illustration: Eastern Counties Vintage Tractor Show

After spending Saturday in London it was time to scoot up to Norfolk and spend a Sunday in the more relaxed climate of the Eastern Counties Vintage Tractor Show. Now in it's 3rd year this event is getting bigger and bigger, the variety of vehicles and machinery on display is now more akin to what you'd expect from a large steam fair. It's the variety of stuff that keeps me coming back to this show I am spoilt for choice every year I have been and this year was no exception....

1923 Fiat 703

(ink sketch)

First sketch was of one of Roger Desboroughs' ever expanding collection of early tractors. I was attracted by this Fiat purely by it's simplicity and the imposing nature of the big box shape on the front. This tractor was on of the first models built by Fiat Trattori, the agricultural division of Fiat at the time.

1972 Condec M561 'Gama Goat'

(ink and watercolour)

The find of the show was this Gama Goat. These were developed by Condec for use in Vietnam. The front tractor unit houses a 3 cylinder supercharged 2 stroke which drives all 6 wheels. The vehicle was specifically designed to drive through paddy fields, and so is amphibious. A compressor pumps air into the brake drums in order to stop water entering and the front and rear wheels both steer to make it more manoeuvrable not only on land but in the water too. The rear trailer is designed to take different pods, this particular one is a radio pod but it also could have ambulance, weapons and other variants of pod dropped into the trailer. This particular radio pod was found by the owner whilst driving a lorry in Germany. When passing a house Paul noticed that the garden shed was in fact a radio pod for a Goat. Knocking on the owners door Paul tried to explain that he wanted to buy the mans garden shed. No sooner had a neighbour translated Paul's request the shed / pod was being emptied and loaded onto his lorry!

1949 Deutz FIM414

(ink and watercolour)

Final sketch of the day was this 11hp Deutz which sported a double plough on the back and I loved the shape of the red counter weight which is for a finger mower. This is such a simple little tractor which you don't see that often at shows, so I was very happy to spend some time sketching it before making the along journey home.