Pull-along hopping rabbit

**Charleville** · 23rd July 2010, 06:12 PM

At exactly this time last year, I made a pull-along frog for a grand-daughter's third birthday. I described this toy on this forum at the time. https://www.woodworkforums.com/f174/jumping-frog-101030/

Much to my ongoing delight, it turns out that amongst the plethora of electronic toys that my grandkids have, complete with all of their flashing lights, sound effects and other whizz-bangery, the little kids still love wooden toys, and none more so than that jumping frog. Indeed, my son says that the frog's owner talks to it and gives it character and is always taking it on "shopping" trips around their home.

This childrens' delight with wooden toys was emphasized to me yet again last weekend, when my son suggested to me that it would be good - indeed very helpful - if I made another articulated pull-along toy for the younger sister to the frog owner as the kids are continually fighting over the frog.

The opportunity - or probably, excuse - to give the little girl something akin to the movement of the frog would not happen until Christmas because she has no birthdays between now and then. However, her older sister is having a birthday tomorrow so, since gift giving will be in abundance in the day, especially since a little girls' birthday party of friends and relatives is planned, I thought that I might quickly knock up a small and simple pull-along toy that I could give to the younger sister without causing competitive offence to the older sister.

Accordingly, using a design obtained from the same book from which the frog design came, and which is described in the thread mentioned above, I made this simple little hopping rabbit...

Click for full size - Uploaded with plasq's Skitch

A six second video of its movement is here ... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg_HXIFpWaA]YouTube - Hopping Rabbit[/ame]

To give you an idea of the scale of the rabbit, I should mention that the rear wheels were made using a plastic milk bottle top as the template.

It is a small rabbit but hopefully the two year old little girl will like it. I shall make her something a big bigger and with more movement for Christmas - probably a pull-along hound dog.

Materials used were just a scrap of unknown structural hardwood off-cut for the body and scraps of Tasmanian Oak for the wheels, using similar construction techniques to those used with the frog. Finished with satin Estapol (panti-hose filtered dregs at the bottom of a hardening can

) and some white gloss enamel to the tail.

'Twas a simple but enjoyable toy to make.

.

**munruben** · 23rd July 2010, 08:51 PM

Well done, sounds like you really enjoyed making that little rabbit, I;m sure the little girl will be highly delighted with it.

**artme** · 24th July 2010, 08:00 AM

Nother good little toy there Chaleville!!

How about a Kangaroo next time?

**Charleville** · 24th July 2010, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by artme

How about a Kangaroo next time?

OK. You have talked me into it.

In the previous thread about the jumping frog, Keith McCarthy said that he had made some very successful kangaroos. (By "successful", I don't mean that they had gone on to university and won Nobel Prizes.

It seems though that the kids love 'em.)

My concern is whether they might be a big top heavy and flip over if pulled too fast around a corner.

However, I guess that I shall never ever will know if they can take if I never ever make it. So I shall make one in the next month or so.

I have told my wife that I am having a holiday next week. ie instead of working in my garage workshop, I shall work in the garden instead.

.

**Charleville** · 24th July 2010, 03:42 PM

Well, the two year old little sister received her hopping rabbit this morning and there was an obvious instant delight with it.

Mission accomplished!

.

**tianakaesha** · 17th August 2010, 06:50 PM

Oh, it is BEAUTIFUL! my almost-five-year-old would love it... though she is very rabbit obsessed!

**Dave50** · 17th August 2010, 06:56 PM

I have that book of which you speak and built almost all toys out of it, I got my leather offcuts (for the doggys tail and ears) from a craft store, great delight is to be had from these toys,

**Charleville** · 17th August 2010, 09:17 PM

Originally Posted by Dave50

I have that book of which you speak and built almost all toys out of it,

Wow! That is some achievement.

I never thought that I would make many toys from the book but my son keeps telling me that the kids love wooden toys and indeed they basically love them to death. So who knows what my score will be someday. I only have grand-daughters at this time but if grandsons appear then that will open up a few more chapters of the book for me.

On the point of the kids loving them to death, because the toys end up in some strange places , I have had to repair the frog a couple of times, the latest being just this week because my son sat on it. Like I said, it turns up in some strange places under bedsheets etc.

So I have learnt a lesson from this and that is to make sure that when a person makes these articulated toys that they get excess quantities of the wooden pins. They are not available on the east coast and so I had to buy them from Timbecon in Perth. The minimum post and packaging cost was $11 so fortunately, I bought a plentiful supply but I was not really counting on having to use a few for repairs. 'Tis all good fun though.

Originally Posted by tianakaesha

Oh, it is BEAUTIFUL! my almost-five-year-old would love it... though she is very rabbit obsessed!

Thanks "t".

I think that it turned out quite well and my son says that it is being loved to death by its two year old owner as well.

.

Thread: Pull-along hopping rabbit

Thread Tools

Search Thread

Pull-along hopping rabbit

Follow-up.

Similar Threads

How do i joint a rabbit

The Rabbit

the rabbit

In the rabbit house

white rabbit

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions