With toys, in particular, maintenance and reparability are important to ensure a long life. A broken plastic toy goes in the bin, whereas a well-designed wooden toy can make many trips to the repair shop over generations of play.
Read MoreWhat better way to introduce a legendary aircraft to another generation than through the universal medium of toys? While there are a number of limitations in a toy around scalability, safety, and complexity, I wanted to still give a firm nod in the direction of the original inspirational aircraft. A search of the internet yielded some basic plans of the original plane and images of recreations of the Sopwith taken from various angles.
Read MoreI made the prototype of this rocking horse more than 15 years ago not having the recipient present to measure against I approximated the sizes. It was a good fit…for me, but sadly not for a potential junior jockey. The next model I attempted was suitably scaled to a more appropriate size and with a few refinements is presented here
Read MoreThe toys are made from kiln dried, pine, kindly donated. PVA glue holds everything together. I avoid metal hooks or eyes, which may be unscrewed or cause injury. The toys are undercoated, painted with acrylic paint and finished with a coat of Polycrylic ™which gives a gloss finish for cleaning. I find the Resene™ test pots a worthwhile ‘investment’.
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