Odin's Toy Factory

Short answer is it depends. Wooden Toy Car - Unfinished - 1932 Ford Sedan - Hot Rod Painted vs Bare Wood is a complex question with no easy answer. In my limited experience, kids go for colors every time. Adults go for wood. I get the same message from experienced sellers. I've sat with my grandson on my lap looking at photos of toys and asik which he liked best. Very nearly 100% of the time he picks the painted toy.  When he plays the bright colored toys are the ones he goes for. Kids are not surfing Etsy stores for toys. The listings in my store that get the most hits and the most favorites always seem to be the painted ones. I'm guessing that the color photos grab their eye and get them in the store. Sales are about half and half. This also holds true in my YouTube channel. The video that consistently gets the most views is the one that has an icon with the brightest color. Wooden Toy Car - Painted - Lavender - 1932 Ford Sedan - Hot Rod ...

I made a few of these yesterday from a pattern that was published in Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts magazine. I've got a bit of a soft spot for dragons and my grandson loves them. When I saw this one I knew I had to make some. They are made from poplar 1x6 and just barely fit. The first one I cut with a #5 reverse blade. It worked OK but the cuts were fuzzy aka woolly. I've seen this described but never encountered it. For the second one I switched to a #3 double cut and got a very smooth cut almost glossy in places.  However, I don't think I'm going to be doing any stack cutting with these blades. They cut on both the up and down stroke and they are a bit harder to control in the tighter turns. I used my sanding mop for the first time on an actual project. It's going to take some getting used to but it cleans up the fuzzies and gently rounds the edges as advertised.  I was skeptical of this when I first got it because it would eat up the pieces of pin...

I spent a couple of hours today trying to find an online source for poplar the was less expensive than Home Depot. I could not do an exact comparison because Home Depot sells S4S select lumber in standard dimensions and the online lumber dealers have random lengths and widths. I calculated the board foot cost of 20 BF of 1x6 and compared the to all the 20 BF project packs I could find. Lumber in the project packs had to be at least surfaced two sides. I factored in all costs including taxes, shipping, and any discounts.  What I found was a bit surprising. Not only were most of them more expensive that Home Depot but only one was lower cost per BF. There were some that were twice as expensive. When you include the fact that I can go to Home Depot and: pick out the board I want buy as little a 1 linear foot get it in standard deminsions 1/4 to 3/4 inch thickness it doesn't look so bad.

This Norm Marshall wooden toy Model Truck I essentially the same as the one in the previous post. Its a little newer and unfinished. I cut all of my parts with a bandsaw working on my patio with an extension cord run out the window. There was a lot of sanding done on these parts. Mostly with a 6x48 belt sander. At one time I was making the cab by using 60 grit sandpaper and sanding to the pattern. You would not believe how much dut it made. I work mostly indoors today and would never do that in my garage.  Size: Length: 8 inches Width: 4.5 inches Height: 7 inches Right Front - Handmade Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck - Version 2 Left Side - Handmade Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck - Version 2 Left Rear - Handmade Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck - Version 2 Rear View - Handmade Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck - Version 2 Right Rear - Handmade Wooden Toy Truck ...

I've made a lot of these trucks. Norm Marshall is my favorite toy designer. You can find this and many other toy plans by Norm Marshall in "The Great All-American Wooden Toy Book". It is out of print but easy to find in the used book market.  If you are a long time Shopsmith owner you probably remember seeing some of Norm Marshall's toys in the Shopsmith "Hands On" magazine. I think some of the plans are still available via the Shopsmith website. Size: Length: 8 inches Width: 4.5 inches Height: 7 inches Left Front View - Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck Left Rear View - Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck Rear View - Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck Right Rear View - Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck Right Side View - Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck Right Front View - Wooden Toy Truck - Norm Marshall Model T Pickup Truck Fron...

This was one of the first Play Pals I have made and the second one that I sold. the toy trucks body is made from poplar from a pallet. The wheels and dowels I purchased from  Woodworks LTD  . The finish is hand brushed satin polyurethane  Size: Length: 3.5 inches Height: 1.5 inches Width: 1.7 Inches This was one of the first wooden toys where I drilled the windows. In the thicker wood it can be much easier than cutting the widow with a scroll saw. I have trashed more than one body trying to cut the windows with my scroll saw. The round window works well with this truck but in many cases I find the the scrolled window adds character that you just can't get from a drilled hole. When I first started my Etsy store I really did not know what I was getting into I pretty much did everything wrong according to the SEO experts and yet it sold almost immediately. Right Front - Handmade Wooden Toy Truck - Play Pal - Pickup Truck Left Rear - Handmade W...

Blue I sure do like blue. The blue and black just works for me. All of the amber shellac finished toys are glossy but once in a while I get the lights just right right and the reflections pop out. I'm not good enough with a camera to do this on purpose.  Made from a piece of Home Depot 2x4 (white wood) and hand finished with amber shellac and acrylic paint.  Left Front - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Black Pipes - Metallic Blue Hubs Right Front - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Black Pipes - Metallic Blue Hubs Right Side - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Black Pipes - Metallic Blue Hubs Left Side - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Black Pipes - Metallic Blue Hubs Left Rear - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Black Pipes - Metallic Blue Hubs Right...

Right Front - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Black Pipes - Black Hubs Etsy Listing: https://www.etsy.com/listing/542920110/ The knot on this one adds a bit of character to the toy. I made this more as an experiment than anything else. I wanted to see how hard it would be to work with and what it would look like when finished. A handmade wooden toy Hot Rod car I made in my Toymaker's Shop using traditional woodworking tools. I hand-finished it with amber shellac and painted the trim with black acrylic paint. I make every effort to make sure my toys perform well. I carefully test each toy before it is listed for sale. My toys are made for play or decor. Approximate Size: Length: 6 inches Height: 3 inches Width: 2.5 Inches Other sizes and colors may be available via custom orders. Other Items You Might Like Hot Rods: https://www.etsy.com/shop/odinstoyfactory?search_query=Hot+Rod Toy Cars: https://www.etsy.com/shop/odinstoyfactory?sear...

I've made a lot of these experimenting with different materials, finishes and techniques. They keep getting better and I keep getting faster at building them. More than a few of them went into the trash. Left Side Front - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Metallic Green - Gray Right Side Front - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Metallic Green - Gray Rear - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Metallic Green - Gray Front - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Metallic Green - Gray Left Side Rear - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Metallic Green - Gray Right Side Rear - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Metallic Green - Gray Right Side - Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Sedan - Pine - Amber Shellac - Metal...