Fun Ho!

Fun Ho! toys was a Kiwi success story when Jack Underwood started making lead toys in his Wellington basement as a hobby.  Several years later production had boomed so much that he set up a factory in Inglewood, which eventually employed 200 workers.

My name is Robin, and I used to play with Fun Ho! toys

We returned to Inglewood today to visit the Fun Ho! museum, starting our visit watching a short film about the history of the business.  The small theatre was decorated like a hay barn, and we sat watching the film perched on blue tractor seats. 

Inside the theatre

There were casting plates galore around the walls, and many of the heavy pieces of machinery were on display.  Lead toys were banned from sale in the 1940s for health reasons, and are now a sought after collectable.  We saw how sand casting was done to produce the components, and  by the 1960s gleaming chrome midget toys were offered for sale.  Competition from cheap imported plastic toys brought closed the Inglewood factory in 1982.   Luckily, the collection was purchased in 1999 by the Inglewood Development Trust, and has a permanent home in the centre of town.

Collection of dies

A Bedford van sits in the middle of the museum with a secret inside.  The seats have been removed and it is fitted out with a working model railway track.  We peered through the windows in fascination at the trains going round and round.  

Bedford van with a secret

Look what’s inside

Display cases lining the walls contain examples of the entire collection of Fun Ho! toys.  There is everything from cars, tractors and trains to many tiny little models, soldiers, footballers and animals.  There was even a selection of dolls house furniture for little girls.  Robin was in his element, pointing out which cars and tractors he had owned as a boy.

Plenty of models on display

It was great to hear that there is still one toy maker working away producing Fun Ho! toys.  All toys are made from the original dies, and most sales come from overseas customers through internet orders.  Any surplus toys are sold through the museum shop.

Train set circles the museum

This was a fun museum to visit and boys of all ages would love it.  At only $6 for the entry fee, very reasonably priced too.  Don’t miss it if you are passing through the Taranaki region.