MAKING TOYS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18275, 16 December 1922, Page 4 (Supplement)

MAKING TOYS.

For anyqne gifted with a mechanical turn of mind, a certain amount of originality, a sense of colour and proportion and a love of children, toy-making is an exceedingly attractive hobby, and one particularly useful at the present time.

One of the first i-seentials of a good toy ia that it should be absolutely harmless to the child. Paint ar.d colour must not 'jo used, for all small children have a way of putting things in their mouths, and it is just as well to remember this when making toys for them. Nuts and screws, and any mechanical parts should be firmly fixed. The bolder the outline the better. Toymaking is rather like advertising in one respect. A telling toy depends •on the idea, something which catches the eye, and in the case of a child, holds the heart! Children want toys to play with, not to put up on the mantelpiece and look at. A plain wooden outline of a horse, provided the lines are simple and are artistic and convey the word "horse," will give quite as much pleasure as the most elaborate gee-gee with a real skin. Dolls' furniture is particularly easy to turn out, and can be done with old cigarboxes, a fret-saw, and a bottle ;of glue. A box of pieces and odds and ends should be 4tept for the upholsterv. The toy-maker should make a point of collecting any insignificant trifles sho can find, as theY all come in useful. Photographic spools, for instance, make excellent "bales" for drapers' shops, and old reels are splendid for making wheels. Cork, clay, pieces of indiarubber, etc., are all usefui.