Townsman, 1991-11, Page 16Bruce County toy maker keeps
big kids happy with his toys
Hidden back off a country road
in Bruce county sits a tiny workshop,
where Bill Ireland magically trans-
forms pieces of metal into classic
durable toys, that arc equally as pop-
ular with collectors as with children.
When the devastating economic
timcs ended the livelihood of this
Teeswater-area farmer, he concentrat-
ed his efforts into a unique hobby that
has since developed into a full-time,
lucrative business.
Bill is one of the few Canadian
manufacturers of 1/16 scale hand -built
replica farm toys. He began making
them in 1986 as a favour to a friend,
who owned a store in Minnesota. "His
business had gradually grown to the
point where he was getting behind on
orders, so he called and asked me if I
could help pick up some of the slack,"
said Bill.
Though Bill was working his
farm at the time and had no experi-
ence as a toymaker, he agreed. It
turned out to be an opportune deci-
sion, for when hard times hit, Bill,
like so many others, was unable to
hang on to the farm. When this hap-
pened he was quick to recognize the
potential of his hobby, and began
throwing himself into it wholehearted-
ly. From that day, the enterprise con-
tinued to grow to the point where Bill
began to run it full-time last April and
has hired a part-time employee as
well.
His notoriety has spread, he
says, primarily by word-of-mouth,
though his constant attendance at
steam and toys shows throughout the
area has gained him recognition in the
market as well.
Everything Bill does is custom
work or mail order. He doesn't build
too much stock ahead. "You can't
afford to in Canada as there is no
backing here for a business of this
kind," Bill explains.
The toys Bill makes are replicas
14 TOWNSMAN/NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1991
of every known manufacturer, with
the exception of John Deere, which he
is not permitted to replicate due to
licensing constraints. The two most
popular farm toys on the Canadian
market, says Bill, are the Cockshutt
and the Massey -Harris.
The mold work Bill uses when
making his pieces is very expensive.
"For every part there is a pattern origi-
nally, then the mold is made from
there," he says. These are the pieces
Bill cleans and assembles before he
handpaints what now resembles a tiny
Bill Ireland of Teeswater has turned the art of building replica 1/16 scale trac-
tors from a hobby into business.