Summer Farm Toy Show attracts many to Dyersville - KWWL - Eastern Iowa Breaking News, Weather, Closings

Mark Egli of Manson has been collecting farm toys for nearly 45 years.

"I like some of this old stuff, like some of the Huber's and things like that, which us old guys are dying off -- ain't that many of them out there that like that kinda stuff, but that's my thing," he said.

Model farm toys were on display at the Summer Farm Toy Show in Dyersville, from antique tractors, to John Deere replicas. 

For Egli, this is more than a hobby. "Just a good reason to play with toys, that and you meet so many neat people, this show not so much, but the fall show, you got guys coming in from Europe and South Africa and Canada."

The show attracting thousands with an appreciation for all things agriculture.  "It's a lot of fun, and a lot of nostalgia and memory for people to come and check out. It's really a family affair," said Amanda Schwartz, manager of the National Farm Toy Museum.

A display with special effects, created by John Baird of Terra Haute, Indiana, won best of show. It depicts what a farm was like in the early 1900s. "So, we added some animation to our scene to give it a more realistic effect," he said.

Collectors say, this is a way of life.