Female Crafters Make Detailed Mini Replicas

Female Crafters Make Detailed Mini Replicas FARM HOME Toys/Games The 1/16-scale antique farm equipment at Martin’s Miniature Replicas began as metal ingots and chunks of wood With detailed precision they are handcrafted into detailed replicas by Annie Martin and four female part-time employees all part of a Mennonite community “We can’t compete with mass production since our replicas are all handcrafted ” explains Annie Martin who purchased the business in 2006 It took a lot of trial and error to learn the process she notes But their skills have improved at melting ingots to cast individual parts snipping and sanding off cast ridges assembling to make sure they fit disassembling to paint the pieces and then reassembling with solder tiny tacks and screws or glue That’s just for the metal parts The women also work with wood to create horse-drawn wagons and threshing machines which have as many as 100 parts “For the steam engine wheels each spoke is soldered separately ” Martin says “We have decals for some of the tractors but most toys have hand-painted lettering ” Her business offers dozens of models that replicate the original equipment They include horse-drawn steam and threshing equipment - and tractors built up to the 1950’s All are farm-related except for a couple of road graders Toys ship to U S and Canadian customers Grain binders corn binders and mowers have been popular lately and Martin’s has many Amish customers she says Prices range from $275 for Cockshutt McCormick and Co-op tractors and $280 for a horse and sleigh to $735 for a Waterloo 25 hp tractor Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Annie M Martin Martin’s Miniature Replicas 1404 Arthur St N Elmira Ontario Canada N3B 2Z1 ph 519-669-9837

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