How to Make 1:12 Scale Toys

Toys for a dolls house nursery

For the nursery of my Edwardian dolls house, I needed to make lots of 1:12 scale toys, suitable for that time in history. Toy soldier skittles were easy and quick to do.

To make the skittles you'll need:

• 6 wooden toothpicks with carved ends
• red, white, blue and black paint
• a square of balsa wood
• a pin with a round black head
• black paper rounds from a hole punch, cut in half

1. You paint just the carved end of the skittles. Do not cut that end off - leave the toothpicks whole so you have something to hold on to while painting them. Undercoat with white paint. Stick the toothpicks in a sponge or polystyrene tray to dry.Then paint blue trousers and red jackets and black helmets. When paint has dried, dot on black buttons, eyes and mouth. I use a toothpick to do this part. Finally, cut the painted, carved ends of the toothpicks off and voila! - toy soldier skittles!
2. Paint the square of balsa wood white. When dry, stick the black paper semi-circles on, in this pattern - 3 at the back, 2 in the middle row, 1 at the front. Stick the skittles on to them. I like to leave one skittle lying down so it looks as if it has been knocked over.
3. For the ball, cut the head off the pin, leaving a length of a few millimetres so you can stick this into the balsa wood. Then the ball won't roll away.

And there you have it, made in about half an hour, set of skittles for your dolls house or toy shop.