Vintage Hobbies Toy Farm No.249 Special & Assorted Lead Animals, etc.

 

This set of three rather lovely vintage wooden farm buildings built from a Hobbies Model Farm Kit No.249, and array of assorted vintage lead animals, etc. went up for sale on KT Miniatures yesterday. I know this is nothing to do with dolls houses but to those of you out there who like anything miniature, then this little farm set may appeal to you. It is  bursting with nostalgia!

 

 The three farm buildings have been delightfully homemade from a Hobbies kit which,  as far as I know,  first appeared in the c1954 Hobbies Annual as a  three page feature of instructions, plus full cutting plans.

 

I believe that this kit and plans were available for a number of years, right into the mid/late 1960s. 

The farmhouse is exquisite. It consists of one main wooden house with two additional removable outhouses each end, plus a hinged lift up roof panel at the back.The roof paper is the instantly recognisable red version of the Hobbies roof tiling paper which was so often used on our old dolls houses. However, interestingly the walls are papered in what is described in the handbook as "concrete block paper". There are windows front and back, so too a front and back door, both hinged and opening.

The windows are glazed with what is described in the handbook as transparent material. 

All the windows have hand painted glazing bars and yellow painted curtains. 

The farmhouse interior is an empty shell. 

The combined dairy, piggery and cowshed is also exquisite. 

 

The dairy room has a hinged opening door.

 

The piggery has a half opening door and low wall. 

The area inbetween is the cowshed.

The stable block is particularly exquisite too.

 

 It has all four half stable doors, all hinged and fully opening.

 

 In the plans it shows instructions for a large barn too and fenced base, but sadly they are long gone.

There are 31 lead figures, animals, etc. that are accompanying this little farm set. Obviously someone has collected these over a long period of time as they appear to range from the 1930s right through to the 1950s. The manufacturers include Taylor & Barrett, FGT & Sons, Britains and John Hill & Co. Antique and vintage dolls house collectors will recognise those names I'm sure. I personally am a massive fan of all things 1930s so I do have a number of Taylor and Barrett items amongst my own dolls house collection.

Meanwhile, I have had great fun setting up the farm with all the lead animals, etc. for the photographs. It has brought so many memories back as being a young child from the 1960s, although we did not have lead animals, we did have plastic animals and I spent hours of fun playing with my brother's plastic animals...(and cowboys & indians come to think of it).

 

At the time of writing this blog, the above is for sale and can be found on the following page:

ktminiatures.com/vintage-hobbies-model-farm