Wire toys are model vehicles, animals, or figures made from bent wire — often combined with bottle caps, wheels salvaged from broken toys, and small pieces of tin or plastic. Children build elaborate model cars, motorbikes, planes, and pushable cattle from wire and reclaimed materials, and the best examples are collected as folk art.
The technique is intuitive — the maker bends and twists wire into shape, joining pieces by wrapping. No welding, no glue, no formal training. Wheels turn, doors open, steering works. Adult wire-toy makers apply the same techniques to larger, more elaborate pieces sold as folk art. The craft is a genuine example of a tradition that originally arose from children's improvisation and has become a recognised folk-art form.
Explore this craft by country
Each country page describes how this tradition is practised there — its own names, materials, workshops and living makers.