Not for Kids Only: Toy Farm Displays

By Bill Vossler
Published on May 1, 2008
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Chris used 1/16 scale for part of his farm display.
Chris used 1/16 scale for part of his farm display.
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Chris Burmeister puts finishing touches on his display at a recent toy show.
Chris Burmeister puts finishing touches on his display at a recent toy show.
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Harvey Wolff, Oakes, N.D., began building farm displays in his basement as a way to unwind after coaching basketball games. (Photo courtesy Harvey Wolff.)
Harvey Wolff, Oakes, N.D., began building farm displays in his basement as a way to unwind after coaching basketball games. (Photo courtesy Harvey Wolff.)
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The background for this display of Vindex farm toys created an early farm diorama (or farm display).
The background for this display of Vindex farm toys created an early farm diorama (or farm display).
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Bird's eye view of Mike's interior shed layout.
Bird's eye view of Mike's interior shed layout.
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North Dakotan John Becker detailed this farmhouse, a model of his boyhood home. The model is on display in the Dale and Martha Hawk Museum near Wolford, N.D.
North Dakotan John Becker detailed this farmhouse, a model of his boyhood home. The model is on display in the Dale and Martha Hawk Museum near Wolford, N.D.
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Jake Mehr works with some of the 1/64-scale toys in his layout.
Jake Mehr works with some of the 1/64-scale toys in his layout.
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Note the realistic details in this part of Mike Schlangen's farm display, including the plastic-covered bales.
Note the realistic details in this part of Mike Schlangen's farm display, including the plastic-covered bales.
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Lush green tones in Jim Willey’s displays give the sense of spring breaking out.
Lush green tones in Jim Willey’s displays give the sense of spring breaking out.
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Jim Willey’s displays are grounded in reality. The “Delhi Dairy” referenced on the tanker truck (front) is a real company.
Jim Willey’s displays are grounded in reality. The “Delhi Dairy” referenced on the tanker truck (front) is a real company.
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Chris Burmeister’s remarkably realistic farm display at the 2005 World Pork Expo at Des Moines, Iowa.
Chris Burmeister’s remarkably realistic farm display at the 2005 World Pork Expo at Des Moines, Iowa.
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Dave Konz’s John Deere dealership holds center stage in the middle of his machine shed.
Dave Konz’s John Deere dealership holds center stage in the middle of his machine shed.
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Chris made this wind tower for his latest farm display.
Chris made this wind tower for his latest farm display.

Farm Displays Grow Up

About 15 years ago, people attending farm toy shows began noticing a proliferation of farm displays: model displays of farmsteads and fields, buildings, crops and machinery, exhibited on tables. Truth is, farm displays have been around for decades. Recently, though, they have become common at toy shows.

Ev Weber, Lima, Ohio, remembers making his own displays as a boy. “Each winter during the Great Depression, my father took the car and trailer to a local factory, and for 10 cents he bought a load of scrap wood for the furnace,” he says. As a boy, Ev routinely appropriated a few scraps to use in making toy tractors and implements, using a saw and hammer, 7-penny nails for axles and a cigar box with wheels to pull behind the tractor. Thus equipped, he could pretend to farm.

Lloyd Jark of Sioux Falls, S.D., had a similar experience. “During the 1930s we made our toys out of blocks of wood, with wheels made of old thread spools or Mason jar lids with a nail driven through the center,” he recalls. Two blocks of wood nailed together made a tractor cab, shingle nails pounded through a board made a drag, and an old spoon became a plow as Lloyd and his brother played in the dirt. “To pull the implements we used little pieces of string attached to the tractor,” Lloyd says. “We thought it was great; we had a lot of fun. And we did it all by hand. We used a lot of imagination in those days.”

One of the first commercial farm displays appeared at about the same time. At implement dealerships, cast iron Vindex toys manufactured by National Sewing Machine Co., Belvidere, Ill., were staged in front of a traditional farm scene printed on cardboard, creating a diorama. The backdrop featured a red-roofed barn with cupola, house and garage, fields, roads traveled by cars and trucks, and even an airplane aloft in the sky. Those cardboard backdrops are extremely rare and difficult to find today.

Evolution of a hobby

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