by Back in 1998, I took about 25 of my hand-built toys to Dyersville Iowa. I brought along wagons, combines, and a potato harvesters among many other models. It was the largest display of my models I had ever shown together.
1st Place Award Winner
It was the first toy show I had ever been to displaying my toys so I was not planning to enter the contest. I didn’t know anything about how to enter or what they were looking for but so many people encouraged me to enter that I ended up doing so. To my surprise, I ended up winning first place! I was very shocked and excited! I was awarded the gold plated, John Deere 4230 1/16 scale. Today it still sits above my desk all these years later, reminding me of that first show and exciting moment.
More National Toy Shows
We went to Dyersville for eight more years after that initial show but I did not enter the contest again. I instead focused on selling my models. Over the years we met so many nice people. Many of them looked for us each year and it was always nice to catch up with them and their families. After a few years, however, I was no longer able to build enough toys to take to the show. The final two years we attended, all the toys we bought were pre-sold in advance so we decided to stop going. I just decided to build models and deliver them myself to the collectors.
Looking Back
I thought it would be fun to share the first 100 photos of people we met and had fun with. I will also add another hundred photos of friends from the Indy truck and Construction show and the DHS Diecast Toy Show in Cleveland over the next few weeks.
YouTube Montage of National Toy Show Photos
Are You Taking Orders?
I still get a request every day from collectors wanting a one of a kind handbuilt model. I appreciate the support and interest but I am slowing down as I am older now and I am not taking new orders. I just enjoy sharing my projects and my hobby. I took a seven year break from building models but last winter I did build five new ones. I still have several machines I want to build.
Where are Your Models and How Much Do They Cost?
People ask me a lot about where I keep all of my models and how much they cost. I do not have a collection as my models are all in private collections of toy friends of mine. As far as cost goes, collectors ask me to keep the price is private, so I do not share that information.
Thanks again for all the nice comments. I’ve been back online now for three months after being gone several years and I appreciate all of the positive feedback. I will still share my model building with everyone but I am not making as many as I did before.
Have a great weekend !
