To solder handle A to B (Fig. 514). Thoroughly clean that part of B to which A is to be fastened, and handle A, rubbing the edges of A with emery-cloth. Place A on B and rub a little flux with a brush along the join. Dip the bit into the flux and drop a spot or two of solder on the edges by applying the heated iron to the end of the strip of solder. Apply the bit to the solder and trail the solder with the point of the hot iron round the join so that it is filled up.

A little practice will soon enable this to be done successfully, and the skill thus acquired makes the following toy possible.

A Steamer with a Screw Propeller. Fig. 515 shows the size and shape of the steamer. It should be about 4 inches wide amidships, 3½ inches deep, and hollowed out as thin as possible, according to directions given in Chapter XIV. Fig. 516 shows the measurements for the stern. The bows should be sharp.

This boat must be fairly large to take the tube which runs through it. Fasten a strip of lead 1/8 inch thick to the bottom of the keel. Paint the boat a suitable colour. When it is dry place it in the water and mark on the stern-post, A B (Fig. 516), the height to which the water comes, for the propeller must come just below this. Midway between this point and the end of the keel bore a hole, C, in the stern-post, through the boat in the direction of the top of the bow. This hole should be 3/8 inch wide and can be made with a red-hot wire.

A brass tube must now be bought from a gasfitter's, 3/8 inch

outside measurement, and long enough to reach from C to about 3½ inches beyond the end of the bow. Now cut a piece of tin ¾ inch wide and 2 inches long. Bend the middle of it round the tube and the ends outward (Fig. 517). Punch holes in each end. Solder this strip round the tube about 4½ inches from one end. At this end file four teeth, about 1/8 inch deep, as in Fig. 518. Now push the end that is not filed through the hole in the stern from the inside of the boat, so that it is flush with the wood, and fasten the other end to the stem of the boat by driving small nails through the holes in the strip of tin into the boat. To prevent water entering the boat put some putty round the tube where it passes through the wood. Before fastening the tube in the boat, round out the end of the bow slightly so that the tube will rest securely on it without projecting too much above the gunwale. Make the deck and fix it as described in Chapter XIV. Bore a hole, D, in Fig. 516, near the stern right through the deck so that it comes out under the counter about 1 inch from the stern-post. It should be large enough for a piece of stout wire to pass through. This is for the rudder.

To make the Rudder. Cut a piece of brass wire about 1/16 inch thick, 6¼ inches long. Cut the rudder out of tin and shape as in Fig. 519. Solder it on to the wire so that the end of the rudder is flush with the end of the wire. Pass the wire through the hole, D, and bend as in Fig. 519. Cut a strip of tin about 1/3 inch in width, punch holes in it, point the ends, bend them over and fasten them into the deck so that the strip is under the bend, E, of the tiller. Press the tiller over and into one of these holes; thus the rudder can be held firm in its required position for steering.

In the middle of the deck cut a hole about ¾ inch in diameter for the funnel, which is a tube of tin about 4 inches long.

The Propeller. Cut a circle of tin 2 inches in diameter and inscribe a hexagon; cut as in Fig. 520, the shaded portions being cut away.

Punch a hole in the centre and into this fix, by soldering, a piece of brass wire (1/16 inch thick), 2 inches long, to form an axle. Warp the fans of the propeller out of the plane of the circle about ¼ inch. Make two pieces of wood shaped as in Fig. 521. Bore a hole through each and by filing with a small round fret-saw file enlarge it to 1/16 inch.

Put a glass bead, F (Fig. 522), on wire of propeller, and put the wire through one of the pieces of wood, bend the end into a small hook. Take another piece of wire, pass it through the second piece of wood and bend it as in Fig. 523. Now take a piece of strong elastic, ¼ inch wide and about 3½ feet long; tie the ends together. This must be passed through the tube in the boat. To do this, tie a piece of string to the elastic, and drop the string through the tube from the stern end, and by means of the string pull the elastic through, first hooking one end of it to the hook on the propeller wire, Fig. 522. Then push the piece of wood, G, into the tube, so that the screw clears the rudder. Now hook wire, H (Fig. 523), into the elastic, and push wood, K, into tube. The wood must be cut away so that the handle, M, can catch in the teeth of the tube.

To make the boat work, hold the propeller steady with one hand and wind up the elastic by the handle, M; put the handle in one of the teeth to keep the elastic twisted; set the rudder, put the boat into the water, let go the propeller and the boat will go on until the elastic is unwound. Instead of one band of elastic, several thinner bands may be used, and more motive power can thus be obtained.

Toys worked by the Wind. Cut out of fret-wood (1/8 inch thick), or three-ply wood, a man reading a paper with one foot raised and resting on a box.

The man should be about 5¾ inches and his raised foot 1 inch from the ground, as in Fig. 524. The shoeblack is cut out in three pieces. First the kneeling portion, A (Fig. 525), is cut 2 inches high and a hole made at b; then the head with part of the arm to the elbow attached, as H in Fig. 526, about 1¾ inches high, and with holes at d and e; then the hand (with long shoe-brush) and arm to elbow, as K in Fig. 527; make a hole at f. Length of K 2¼ inches.

Now join K to H by wire or a rivet through holes f and e, so that it swings loosely, then join H to A by a wire through holes d and b.

Colour these two figures suitably.

The base on which the figures rest is a piece of wood about 12 inches by 3 inches. The next thing to be made is the mechanism that works the figures. First cut a piece of stripwood ¼" × ¼" × 7", A in Fig. 524. The fan or propeller, B, is made by cutting a small circular piece of wood or cork about 1 inch in diameter and securely fixing round it five wind flaps as shown. These flaps are best made of tin.

Now get a piece of stout copper wire (about 1/16 inch thick), D in Fig. 524, and bend it as in diagram. The best way to effect this bend is first to make a sort of elongated [**Symbol: U], as in Fig. 528; this can be done with pincers. Then put part A in a vice and bend B C and D E out at right angles. Cut it the right length so that the bend will come on a level with the shoeblack's brush and one end will come above post, A. The wire, D, should be pointed or well smoothed with a file at the lower end, so that it will turn easily on a piece of glass glued to the base.

Wire D is supported by two wire hoops or screw-eyes placed in post A. The holes through which it passes must not be too large or it will wobble and not turn smoothly. Now all the parts are ready for putting together. Glue the shoeblack on first, then opposite to him the man. See that the brush passes over the shoe. If for any reason this does not happen, a larger brush can be cut from wood or cardboard and pasted over the shoeblack's hand. Now fasten post A behind the man so that the bend of the wire, D, will be in the right position; pass wire, D, through the wire loops or hooks (these are best made of copper wire); glue the top of it into the hole in the propeller. Glue a piece of glass, E, under the other end. Connect by a thin piece of wire the shoeblack's brush with bend in D. The figure will now work well in the wind.

The shoeblack is the toy one most often sees worked in this way. A man sawing wood is another favourite model, and can be made in exactly the same way.

Two knights fighting can also be made; this involves, however, two propellers.

Toys worked by Convection Currents. These are less interesting toys because they do not admit of much variety. The toy is worked over a gas burner, where it acts as a ceiling protector. As the power available from convection currents is very slight, every care must be taken that the figure will work smoothly.

As the toy is exposed to heat, the soldering must be well done. Fig. 529 shows how the toy is made.

The little sailor is cut out of sheet metal (tinned plate); his limbs are fixed by means of rivets or eyelets (the latter are obtainable at a boot repairer's). Take care that they move freely. They will do so if the holes are very smooth. The wire used is steel wire about 1/16 inch; this is fairly easy to bend.

Wire A B is bent as already described in the shoeblack. It passes through loops in the wire at A and D. It is kept from slipping through at A by a ring of wire soldered on the top.

The propeller at B is simply a tin disc with radial cuts, each sector being twisted at an angle by a pair of pliers. The propeller is held by a turn in the wire and by a touch of solder. Notice that the feet of the figure are turned round the wire on which it stands. They can be soldered for greater security. The hand is also curled round the crank pin, but it must be free to turn on it.

The wire framework, E, is soldered to a circle of tin, C, which fits on the top of the lamp. As the figure has to be small it should be as long as possible.

A pair of scissors should be kept for cutting tin, or tinman's snips can be used; cutting pliers and centre punches will also be needed. Holes, however, can be punched in tin with strong round nails and a hammer. Round files are needed for making holes smooth.

Empty tin canisters form a supply of tin plate.

Adjustable cycle spanners are useful for bending wire at right angles; a hide mallet is a great convenience.

Before making a toy like one of those described it is well to practise bending wire with vice, hammer and mallet.

In the last toy, if tinned plate and tinned steel wire are used, the soldering is a fairly easy matter, because the tinning has already been done.

CHAPTER XXVII
BUILDINGS AT HOME AND ABROAD

A Farmhouse. Young children, having cut out of cardboard or fret-wood the animals and trees described in Chapter XX, having constructed a bridge, a well, a dove-cot, and other small models scattered through this volume, take considerable pleasure in arranging their toys into pretty groups and attractive combinations. At this stage the lack is often felt of some object of central interest, of something to 'pull the composition together,' as an art critic would put it: the farm scene requires a farm, the domestic scene a villa, the Eastern animals and trees an Indian temple, or some such building, to complete the picture.

With regard to home scenes, children may be advised at this stage to make for themselves any house or building that suits their fancy. The basis of the toy will always be the four walls plus a roof described in the Noah's Ark (Part I, Chapter X); more complicated cardboard work has already been studied in the castle (Part II, Chapter X), so children who are ambitious to achieve something more picturesque than the Noah's Ark may be advised to go out into the suburbs or the country, and sketch any simple building, or set of buildings, which they would like to reproduce. Such work, once attempted, becomes extremely fascinating, and leads to very picturesque and delightful results. To do really good work, however, children must accustom themselves to plan very carefully what they propose to do, and to convert their sketches into a set of drawings to scale, which, in the case of a building, should include at least a ground plan and a couple of elevations.

Figs. 530 and 531 show how to lay down the plan and elevations of a simple building of the 'Noah's Ark' type, to which have been added a front and a back door, with porches, bay and storm windows, chimney-stacks, and an outhouse at the back. Fig. 532 is the front elevation to half scale.

The addition of another entirely detached outhouse with wide door at one end, for a cowshed, to face the back of the main building and form the third side of a square, will give the nucleus of quite an attractive farm.

When once the plans have been drawn, a scale is plotted below to suit any size to which it is intended to build; all the dimensions shown in plan and elevation are then taken as required with dividers, read off on the scale, taken anew on a foot-rule, and transferred to the wood or cardboard.

The scale given on the figure is for quite a large house, the ground plan of the main building measuring 15 inches by 10 inches, and that of the outhouse 10 inches by 5 inches. These two buildings had best be constructed on separate bases, and need not be permanently joined; the roof of the outhouse can be carried rather further into that of the main building than is indicated by the line C H E, and the main roof alone cut carefully to the line C H E. If the main roof is made detachable, building A B C D will form a receptacle for the outhouses and the whole farm stock. The broken line surrounding A B C D and C E F G indicates the dimensions.

A house of this size is best built with a base and walls of wood obtained from some grocers' boxes.[2] If the scale be marked so that points 0, 10, 20 read 0, 7½, 15, giving a reduction to three quarters, the main building will measure 11¼ inches by 7½ inches, and may be built entirely of cardboard. If the scale be marked so that points 0, 10, 20 read 0, 5, 10, A B and A D measuring respectively 7½ inches and 5 inches, we shall have a small model that can be built of very light materials, such as stout cartridge paper on a cardboard base.

The bay window will, of course, be made separately, and gummed into position by means of flanges. The porches may be detachable, like the outhouse; the front-door porch is built of eight pillars of stripwood, nailed and glued to a wood or cardboard base and to cross-beams above; between the pillars may be fixed a couple of seats, one on each side of the door. The back-door porch is supported by four pillars. The roofs are of cardboard. The ground-floor windows, indicated at W, may be either painted or cut out; in the latter case they may be made to open or may be fitted with celluloid window-panes; these you can beg from any amateur photographer of your acquaintance; he is sure to have plenty of 'waster' films. The doors should, of course, be made to open.

The storm windows are easily made; the sides, K L M, are cut with angle L K M = half the angle K O P, the latter being in the present instance 72°. The shape of the window roofs can be arrived at by experimenting with a paper template, but more accurately by plotting them out to scale.

Thus: draw Q' R' V' = Q R V, R' T' = R T, Q' S' and V' S" = Q S; join S' T' and S" T'; then Q' V' S" T' S' (Fig. 533) is the exact shape (leaving the flanges out of account) to which the storm-window roofs should be cut. The roofs over the front porch and the bay window, the chimney stacks, etc., are thought out and plotted in the same manner, the solving of these little problems being excellent practice, which may be turned to good account in after life.

The village church, the village inn, if it is old and picturesque, should form good subjects for study and reproduction on the lines indicated above. For young people who have exhausted the possibilities of their immediate surroundings we give a few models from lands more remote.

The Taj Mahal, Agra. This is one of the most famous buildings in India, and was erected by the Emperor Shah Jehan over the body of his favourite wife. A very pretty model which closely resembles it can be made as follows:—

In Fig. 534 the dome, A, is a plain india-rubber ball, circumference about 11 inches. Four india-rubber balls, circumference about 6 inches, are needed as B B, and four, circumference about 4½ inches, for the four columns (C in Fig. 534) which surround the temple. Cut a piece of fairly thick cardboard, 7 inches square, for the roof of the temple. Cut off the corners as in Fig. 535. In the centre describe a circle with radius 1-3/8 inches, and round it four smaller circles of radius 7/8 inch.

Cut a strip of thin cardboard 9 inches by 2 inches. Cut as in Fig. 536, leaving flanges of ½ inch. Roll round and fasten together with seccotine and two small paper-clips, size 00. This forms the part of the temple marked D in Fig. 534. It is glued to the roof by the flanges, etc., and ball, A, is glued into it.

Before fastening it together, mark on it in ink the pattern indicated in Fig. 536.

Cut four strips of thin cardboard 5½ inches by 1¼ inches; mark off ¼ inch for flanges; cut each as in Fig. 537; bend them round and fasten together; glue the smaller balls, B, B, into them and glue them on the roof just over the smaller circles.

Cut four strips of cardboard 5 inches by 1 inch; cut and mark as in Fig. 537, and glue this round the smallest balls, C. Measure distances ha, ab, bc, cd, etc. (Fig. 535), on a piece of cardboard, and mark out as in Fig. 538. Make half cuts along the dotted lines and leave flanges as shown. Distance ak = ah and lb = bc = cm = nd.

Make and cut out the windows and arch.

Cut another piece of cardboard similar to this. These two bent round and joined together form the sides of the temple.

Now cut a piece of cardboard as in Fig. 539, leaving flanges all round.

Bend it round and gum it together. This is gummed underneath the roof, before fastening on the outer walls, and serves a double purpose; it helps to support the roof on which the domes rest, and prevents the temple from looking too hollow when the windows are cut out.

To make Tower, C E (Fig. 534). It consists of three rolls of thin cardboard, E F G, each about 2 inches high, circumference 4½ inches.

Circular pieces of cardboard, big enough to project about ¼ inch beyond the columns, form the platforms, H, J, K. Underneath each platform triangular pieces of cardboard are glued, as in Fig. 540. Four of these columns stand round the central building.

It is a great improvement if rings of cardboard, ¼ inch wide, are made and glued round all the smaller domes, as shown in Fig. 541.

Round the sides of the building strips of paper, L, M, N, O (Fig. 534), are gummed, rising about ½ inch from the roof, with patterns drawn on them as in Fig. 543. Little cardboard turrets (Fig. 542) are cut out and gummed in each corner, P and Q (Fig. 534). Little cones of paper, made by rolling together a circle cut as in Fig. 544, may be glued to the tops of the domes.

The whole should be mounted on a platform made of a piece of stout cardboard, X Y, about a foot square or a little larger, supported on match-boxes placed two together. A row of these across the middle will prevent the platform from sagging. Trees can be cut out as in Chapter XX, Figs. 431 and 436, to stand round the temple.

A Pagoda, or memorial tower, in the province of Quei Chow in China (Fig. 545). This is made of nine hexagonal prisms. The bottom one is 2 inches high, the sides being also two inches; the dimensions of the next are 1/8 inch less, the next another 1/8 inch less, and so on. The last prism has side ¾ inch, height ¾ inch. An ornament for the top can be filed from a cork or piece of round wood. The platforms project about ¼ inch beyond the prisms; the supports may be cardboard or pieces of thin wood. The prisms are fastened together as described in the case of the lighthouse (Chapter XIII). The whole should be painted to represent stones, and doors marked on as in Fig. 545.

Fig. 546 shows a Mosque in an oasis in the Sahara Desert. Here the dome, A, an india-rubber ball, is let into a circular hole in the roof. The towers or minarets are prisms of cardboard on top of each other, surmounted by a piece of dowel rod, one end being rounded to a point. Trees can be cut out as in the figure to form a background.

Fig. 547 shows a Japanese Pagoda. This is built up in a similar manner to the Chinese pagoda. Parts A B C D are square prisms about 1 inch high; E F G are truncated square prisms. They are made like the reservoir described in the models worked by sand (Chapter XXI), but the upper parts have been cut off; they are glued to the squares of cardboard which rest upon the tops of A, B, C and D.

A piece of cardboard is glued over the top of E so that B can rest upon it, and so on with the others; pieces of paper cut out as at H J are gummed round the edges. There are many interesting models that can be made in this way. Almost any good illustrated geography book will provide plenty of material from which pretty and interesting foreign scenes can be built up.

CHAPTER XXVIII
A THEATRE

This is a toy that will provide hours of happy play.

There are many effective ways of making a toy theatre, and the planning and designing of one is a pleasant piece of work. This chapter gives a few suggestions to future theatre builders, who must adopt those that appeal most to them. A large stage is the most necessary part, so that there is plenty of room to set up the scenes and room for the actors. A small stage limits the choice of plays considerably.

A pretty and useful theatre can be made thus. Get a wooden box 8¾ inches wide, about 1 foot long and 2¼ inches deep. (The theatre described in this chapter was made from a wooden box containing Fry's Nut Milk Chocolate—this box is exactly the right size.) This box forms the basis of the platform; stand it bottom upward, nail to the back of it a piece of wood, G H C D, which is 1 foot square (see Fig. 548). The platform, A B L M, is a piece of stiff cardboard or wood, A B is length of box, L M is 2 feet. This makes a fine large platform for arranging scenes.

Pieces of stripwood ¼ inch by ½ inch are glued across the platform, A L B M, each strip a little over a ¼ inch from the other (the ¼ inch side is glued to platform). About eleven strips can be thus glued across; their ends should project about ¼ inch beyond the platform.

The grooves thus formed are for running the actors up and down in.

A piece of wood, a b c d, is now cut 2 feet by 3¼ inches.

Holes are drilled along the top of it about ¼ inch in diameter, and red paper gummed at the back of them for the footlights. Panels or a pretty design of some kind should be painted on it, or it may have coloured paper pasted on it. This piece of wood is glued to K J E F so that its ends project equally on each side.

Now cut two pieces of stripwood ½" × ¼" × 16¼" (e b and f d in Fig. 548). Bevel the top ends to hold up cardboard roof e f G H (the measurements for which can be easily found). The roof is secured by a flap glued behind A G H B, the roof is also glued to the tops of the strips eb and fd. These posts are glued to sides of abcd. Before they are glued on, however, they must have holes drilled near their upper ends for pole, N O, to pass through. The curtain must be made of fairly thin stuff glued to pole, N O. It can be pulled up and down by means of pulley wheels attached on each side. (For making pulley see Part I, Chapter XIV.) Pieces of lead can be sewn in the corners to make the curtain run down more easily.

Saw cuts are made across the strips of wood that cover the platform along lines B M and A L. Into these slits the side scenes fit. These side scenes are cut out of cardboard and have drawings and painting on them according to the story that is being acted. They must have slits cut in them (corresponding to the grooves in the platform), the number of slits depending on the number of actors. For example in Fig. 548 side scene H f B M has an open door through which Red Riding Hood can be pushed. She is cut out of either cardboard or wood, and glued to the end of a piece of stripwood, ¼ inch by ¼ inch, by means of which she is pushed from the side along the groove in the stage and so off through the corresponding slit in scene G e L A. (In Fig. 548 the Wolf is looking through this slot.) The window in scene H f B M can be made to open and show the Grandmother inside. The cardboard scene, G H A B, is kept in its place by pieces of wire (h, h, h, h) fastened at the back and bent over.

Almost any story can be acted in this theatre. All the actors are fastened to lengths of stripwood by means of which they are passed in and out. Sometimes two, three or more may be fastened to one length. The number of openings in the side scenes will, of course, depend on the story being acted.

Trees, etc., can also be cut out as described in Chapter XX (Part II), and stood about.

A sea scene looks very effective. Waves can be cut out of cardboard and placed in every groove, as in Fig. 549, and a ship drawn across. A shipwreck forms an exciting scene. Indeed, there is no end to the scenes—soldiers marching past, stories and scenes from history and literature, etc., etc. The ingenious owner of the theatre will think of many, and add many improvements. It must not be forgotten that the stage is large enough to hold small objects—trees, etc.—to make the scenes look more realistic. Also holes or slits can be made in the roof if it is necessary to pull anything up or hang anything. Fig. 549 shows how a fringe of paper, A, can be fastened to the roof and bent over to hide the pole on which the curtain is wound.

Fig. 550 shows how the scenes are worked; as the Witch is pushed on from one side, the weeping Cinderella is pushed off; when she has quite gone and only the Witch remains, a radiant Cinderella comes on, followed by a coach, etc.

Lastly, Fig. 551 shows a proscenium, which may be built up of either cardboard or wood, and fixed to the front of the theatre. The sides should project sufficiently to hide the working of the strips by means of which the actors are moved on the stage.

Here, for the present, we take leave of the reader, having given him or her some insight into a subject both pleasant and profitable. The preceding pages are no more than an introduction to the art of making toys, and of making the most of simple tools and simple materials, and their real purpose is to encourage our young people not only to copy but also to create, or at any rate to copy not only from our book but from the world around them.

Dolls' houses and furniture, railways, boats and other vehicles offer endless possibilities of original and attractive design, and mechanical toys, whether driven by wind, water, elastic or the works of an old clock, offer an equally wide field for invention. At a later age girls will no doubt be ambitious to devise useful articles for the home, while boys may become interested in engineering and electrical models, optical toys, etc.; the deftness of hand, acquaintance with elementary principles, and self-confidence acquired through the simple work which we have described, should stand them in good stead.

Self-reliance and ingenuity are valuable assets with which to start upon the more serious tasks of life, and if our hints on toy-making contribute in any way to the development of these qualities this book will not have been written in vain.