A model world for Dougie

TOYMAKER: Dougie Hornigold with two of his latest creations, which will be on sale at the Henley Men's Shed gate sale. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Retired Masterton man Dougie Hornigold, 81, doesn't like to be idle.

When he is not at the Henley Men's Shed making toys, you are likely to find him in his home workshop. He also throws himself enthusiastically into any combined Shed projects. Lately he has been restoring signposts for the Henley Trust, to be erected around the lake.

Mr Hornigold, an Englishman who proudly traces his ancestry back to buccaneer Benjamin Hornigold - "a good pirate" - has been flat out making toys for a big gate sale outside the shed on Colombo Rd, Masterton, on Saturday, June 21.

Several Shed members regularly make toys and other items, and stocks have steadily accumulated, to the point where they need to be turned into cash to help meet running costs.

The group has had a stall at the car boot sale a couple of times but members decided to see if the public will come to them, rather than the other way around.

Mr Hornigold's latest productions have included crickets, with moving limbs and eyes, and diggers. He makes all the parts himself, including the wheels, which he turns at home on a small lathe. A trained maintenance fitter, this sort of work is right up his alley. His secret to remaining active and productive in old age: "Sheer luck."

Products to go on sale at the gate include walking sticks, bird feeders, weta motels, logfire tongs, aeroplanes and helicopters, hose holders for the garden, dibbers for planting out seedlings, chopping boards, cheeseboards, folding tables, duckboards for the shower and even a model truck.

The gates open at 8am.