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TOY-MAKING AT HOME

How to Make a Hundred Toys from Odds and Ends

MORLEY ADAMS

Printed in Great Britain.

PREFACE This work has been compiled with the assistance of Mr. Walter Higgins, the well-known instructor in woodwork.

The volume fulfils a long-felt want in that it supplies fascinating amusement for evenings at home. The making of toys is an engrossing pastime, and the home-made toy is invariably more novel than the shop-bought article and of superior quality, besides which there is always a satisfaction in "I made it myself."

The purpose of the book is to give simple and easily understood instructions and plain diagrams and sketches for making toys from the odds and ends that are usually discarded as useless. Matches, Match Boxes, Cotton Reels, Cocoa Tins, Cigar Boxes, and even Egg Shells comprise the materials from which are evolved Shops, Working Models, Dolls' Furniture, Boats, Steam Engines, Windmills, and scores of other toys dear to the hearts of boys and girls.

Perhaps the chief charm of the occupation is that literally dozens of toys can be made at a cost of less than a penny. Every toy described in this book is practicable, and can be easily made by anyone possessing the smallest amount of handicraft skill. At the same time the instructions are such as will prove of the utmost value to instructors of handicraft classes.

MORLEY ADAMS.

TOY-MAKING AT HOME

TOYS FROM ODDS AND ENDS

In every household there are countless things which are thrown away immediately they have served one purpose. Cotton-reels may be taken as an instance. It does not occur to the majority of people that these little wooden articles, strongly made and well finished, may be put to some use, even when the cotton has been wound from them. Yet from them quite useful furniture can be made and playthings innumerable. And so it is with many other things--match boxes, broken clothes pegs, cocoa tins, mustard tins, egg shells, cigar boxes, nut shells, corks, incandescent-mantle cases, old broom handles: there is no end to the list.

In the following pages we have set out to explain, largely to boys and girls, just how these odds and ends may be used for the construction of toys, games, and interesting models. The list is not by any means complete: such examples as are given are merely suggestive examples. The boy or girl who has patiently and thoughtfully made some of them will be in a position to devise and construct many more on similar lines.

Now if you nail two strips of wood in the form of a cross, and pin on four or five differently coloured wheels, you will have a jolly little toy for which baby will thank you .

A very interesting little toy, which you can make in a few minutes, is the

Divide the circle into seven equal parts, and paint or crayon the sections with the colours of the rainbow--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.

When this is dry, make a large loop of string and put it through the round hole of the card; and hold the ends of the loop one in each hand. Now if you turn the string at one end as if you were turning a skipping rope, and then suddenly pull it tight, your card will revolve very rapidly, and you will find that instead of a coloured card you have what appears to be a light grey one. This is really a little piece of science, for it shows that the white light about us is really made up of the different colours of the rainbow .

First cut out a cardboard circle for the base of the tents, say 2 in. radius. Now for the sloping canvas sides--the conical part, that is--draw out another circle, this time with a radius of 4 in. Only a part of this will be used; and to know just how much, roll the base circle round the circumference of the larger circle until it has completed one of its own revolutions . In cutting this out, one or two tongues should be left jutting out from the circumference: these fold over the edge of the base circle and secure the sloping sides in position. All we need now is a thin stick, about 4 in. long, to act as a centre pole. This should be glued to the centre of the base, and should have the sloping sides glued around it. A little paper flag at the top will complete the little structure.

Most boys, and not a few girls, love to play at "soldiers" and there is no reason why each boy should not make himself a complete suit of armour, so that the game may be more real.

Using stiff paper, cut the seven sections as in Fig. 11. These should be glued together, so that the connecting flanges are inside. Then at the apex of the sections glue on a circular piece of cardboard, about 1-1/2 in. across. For the ring at the base, cut a strip, just about 22 in. long, and having ornamented it in any fashion you please, glue the two ends together so as to form a circlet which will just go round the sections. Fix this to the seven sections with dabs of glue.

All that is necessary now is a coating of aluminium paint to give just that real dull metallic appearance. If this paint is not available, you can cover with silver paper, but this is not nearly as effective.

To fix it, when wearing, strings are used. Small holes are bored at the four ends and knotted strings passed through. Tie the bottom pair across the back with a knot . Now take one of the ends of this, and tie it with a string from one of the shoulder pieces. If the other shoulder piece be tied in similar fashion to the other back string, then the breastplate will be held correctly in position. The strings and all the back gear will be covered by the cloak and mantle, similar to that which knights in olden days wore over their armour.

Before you put the breastplate on you can tie a towel or apron to come just to the knees: this will take the place of the "surcoat" .

For "greaves" or leg-armour you can cut out and paint cardboard shapes, like those shown in Fig. 13. These, when fixed with string, look quite well.

While we are talking of soldiers, we may as well give details of

These materials can be used for a very interesting war game, consisting of the siege of a fort. The fort is simply a front elevation, similar to that shown in Fig. 14. This is drawn out in pencil on a piece of stout cardboard and coloured in with paints or crayons. The windows are then cut out; and the whole thing made to stand upright by the addition of two or three triangular supports . These are hinged on to the back by means of strong tape or canvas, so that the whole thing can pack up flat.

We propose to describe how to construct a simple

We commence with the stand. This is quite simple, being composed of five pieces of cigar-box wood, a rectangular base, two sides cut as shown, and two small end-pieces to give the sides stability. The measurements you can decide for yourself: we suggest a base 5 in. long and 2 in. wide, and side about 2-1/2 or 3 in. high, as being suitable to the thickness of cigar-box wood.

The cannon itself is not very difficult, if made square instead of cylindrical. The barrel is composed of four pieces of thin wood glued together as shown in Fig. 17. The pieces are about 6 in. long, and are cut and fitted to such a width as will leave a square hole in which the rod can move easily. On the under side of this barrel are fixed two pieces of wood--one about 1-1/2 in. long and 3/4 in. wide at the end near the mouth: to this the elastic will be fixed. The other, a piece about 1-1/4 in. long and square in section, is fixed about midway along the barrel, and will act as an axle on which the cannon can swing.

The rod by which the shot is ejected should be square in section, and about 5 in. long. At the rear end of it should be fixed two side-pieces to act as stops to prevent the elastic forcing the rod too far into the barrel. A nail driven through these two pieces will prevent the elastic slipping out each time the cannon is fired .

All that remains now is the fixing of the elastic. It should be slipped through the slot at the end of the rod, and the two ends fixed as shown in the first illustration.

If desired, this cannon can be used in connection with the skittles as described on page 30, and in fact the pegs can be quite easily carved into the similitude of soldiers and used for the game. It can also find a place in the "cokernut shy" described on page 31.

Have you ever tried

In actual practice, you get a large sheet of brown paper, and move the matches about until the right position is obtained: then you fix the matches to the paper one by one by means of a dab of glue. In time you will astonish everybody by the ease with which you can build up really intricate pictures. Specimens accurately done and tastefully mounted make very acceptable little presents .

Deft fingers and a big fund of patience render it quite possible to construct

To suggest the panel in the door, glue matches round the outside edges as shown, and leave the cardboard showing in the centre. If you want the door to open outwards, you will have to bevel the edges of the two matches where the cupboard bends, because, by the nature of the model, the hinge is on the inside.

In similar fashion you can make countless little objects--all varieties of dolls' furniture and fittings, money boxes, trinket cases, &c. If the matches are stained with bright colours, and tastefully arranged, and the whole varnished, some splendid effects can be obtained.

Talking thus of matches leads us to the description of another model in connection with the same articles. This is a

One rather novel match holder and striker can be made in the following way. Obtain a funny picture--for preference, one that has a large figure in the foreground. Fig. 22 shows the type of picture we mean. Glue this on to a piece of stout cardboard. Suppose the picture shows a man's head. Then let his beard act as the striker. To secure this, cut out a piece of fine sandpaper, exactly the shape of the man's beard , and glue it into position on the picture. Then at the side glue on a little holder for the matches. This can be made of cardboard specially, or an ordinary match-box cover can have the bottom stopped, and be glued on. As far as possible this should be a part of the picture.

All sorts of pictures can be done in this fashion: dogs, with strikers on the tail; pigs, with strikers on the back; elephants; grotesque men, &c.

If you like you can glue the picture on to fretwood, and cut out the figure or a part of it, and arrange it, so that it will stand upright on a wooden base. This will tax your own ingenuity.

There is in every house one thing out of which the enterprising boy or girl can make any number of models and toys: that is the empty match box. Its shape and formation lend themselves to the construction of all sorts of things--houses, trams, dolls' furniture, &c. &c.--the only other requisites being a sharp knife, a ruler, one or two pieces of cardboard , a number of large matches .

These match "stales," which are very useful in toy-making, can be purchased from Byrant & May, Fairfield Works, Bow, London, E., at 1s. per bundle of 1500. The pine veneer costs 1s. 6d. per dozen pieces, each 3 ft. 6 in. long.

You can start with the simplest form of

To give an idea of the method, we show how to put together a small overhead

Across the top of the two sides so formed is glued the second sheet of veneer or cardboard, 11-1/4 by 5 in., to form the upper deck. Five covers placed end to end exactly make up a side for this, and one at each end completes the superstructure. Two covers, placed end to end, make a suitable back and front for the lower deck, while two pieces of veneer, 3-3/4 by 4-1/2 in., effectively close up the inside of the car.

The trolley pole is provided by a wooden skewer, glued to the lower deck, and passing through a hole in the centre of the upper. That completes the tram for all practical purposes. If you desire to make your model more elaborate, you can construct a cardboard or wooden stairway at each end, connecting the upper and lower decks; and you can replace the sheets of veneer at each end of the inside by properly constructed doorways; and so on.

Another excellent toy, constructed with match boxes--and one very much appreciated by little brothers and sisters--is the

The back fitment consists of a block of twenty covers, five in a row, and four rows deep. These are glued into position. The two lower rows are deprived of their trays to make storage partitions, and the two upper are fitted with handles as above. Surmounting this block is an upper fitment consisting of five trays glued together so as to stand upright at the back of the block, leaving a free shelf in front . Finally there is a row of three trays placed endways on the top of the five just mentioned.

For "playing at shops" a little model like this is invaluable.

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