Christmas Toy for a little boy

A friend from the local community asked would it be possible for me to make a little tractor for her nephew as all the store stuff is rubbishy plastic. 

So of course Papa Smurf and Handy Smurf said YES, we can do it.

I did the research for a simple little tractor and found an old plan in July/August 1989 "The Woodworker's Journal".

That's when the trouble started as I wanted to "personalize/enhance" the toy.

Eventually I won both  Papa Smurf and Handy Smurf over making the tractor/trailer combination.

The bigger engine parts, the radiator, the steering front axle, the tow connection, the dash gauges with extra width in both the tractor and the trailer.

Overall the combination is 23" [585mm]
Tractor is 9.5" [240mm] long x 5.75" [145mm] wide and 5.25" [135mm] high at the exhaust stack.
Trailer is 9.5" [240mm] x 6" [150mm] and 3.5" [90mm] high.

The timbers are a mixture of bits and pieces from my shed including the "pre-coated Merbau Floor" on the deck of the trailer, American Oak, Cypress Pine, Camphor Laurel, Blackheart Sassafras, Tassie Oak, Merbau decking, plus other Aussie Hardwoods.

The wheels, axle pegs, steering wheel, nylon washers & stainless steel washers are all store bought.

The front wheels can be moved to steer and the trailer front axle also steers with the drawbar able to move up & down.

The finish is 3 coats of my "homemade wipe-on-poly".

Definitely a fun project.