A handy farm vehicle is the all-purpose, utility wagon shown in Figure 4.15. The body, made up with 1/8 in. sides on ends and bed which are from 1/4 to 3/8 in. thick, may be any convenient size which can be maneuvered into the barn. The wheels are jigsawed from single pieces of plywood, mounted direct to the 3/8- or 1/2-in. axietrees on nails which pass through glued-on hubs as indicated. The single, pivoted shaft accommodates two draft animals for heavy hauling, and the seat is removable to permit the driver to stand or walk beside the team in case of maarintum loading. The wheels and seat are red, but the body is left natural. Animals. Figure 4.16 illustrates suggested outlines for a selection of farm animals. These, like the passengers of Noah's Ark, can be cut from whatever thickness the home craftsman prefers or has at hand. The f-in. scraps from the barn will in most cases require no bases; cigar box wood or other thin varieties can be cut in three thicknesses, with the feet of the inner "body" long enough to extend into slots in suitable bases. Instead of wooden bases, cardboard may be used, nailed to the feet of the animal cutout from underneath; or pieces of tin can be bent to form removable slotted bases for thin figures, as shown in the lower detail of Figure 4.16. Small separate feet are more appropriate for chickens, ducks, geese or other fowl, with short pieces of upright wooden match sticks inserted into the bodies. Other scraps of the f-in. plywood can be cut into fruit or shade trees, or pieces of ordinary sponge dyed green and impaled on lollipop sticks or twigs will make realistic trees.

Fig. 4.16. Farm stock.

For a large farming project two pieces of wallboard can be hinged together with glued linen like a folding checker board, and the top painted to represent plowed furrows, hayfields, a kitchen garden, and perhaps an orchard. If the wallboard is thick enough, holes can be bored in the orchard section for the tree trunks, and clumps of green sponge stuck into the garden. A duck pond can be painted in one corner; or, for added realism, a hole can be out to receive a green or blue painted saucer or can top in which whittled ducks may float on real water.