I have it nearly done now. All I have to do is make a new harness. My local shoe repair guy had a scrap of black calf's leather. VERY NICE. Also it's thin and will drape well on the plastic horse and be easy to stitch together. My shoe repair guy tells me it should stay supple for a very long time. Still, I will treat it with saddle oil to infuse it and help it age well. I have a picture of a horse's harness for a wagon. Of course I cannot make one that is as detailed or true-to-life. I will have to "cheat" to keep it simple, but still get the essence of it. I should be able to get the critical elements right without too much trouble. If I am happy with it, I have enough leather to remake mine in a similar fashion.
My son tells me I have another trophy in the craft skills...he plays a lot of video games, can you tell? This has been a wonderful adventure so far. I cannot wait for it to be complete so I can post a picture of the refurbished wagon on this blog. The only problem I could not resolve to my satisfaction so far is one of the front wheels is not as round as I would hope. The splice has an outward deformation that was inherent in the bamboo. Even reforming it several times didn't cure it. It kept reverting back to it's old shape. The "bump" is small, but a permanent part of the wheel. At least the brass bands are firmly in place and will keep them all from deforming more or the splices from coming undone over time. If this is the worst issue, I can live with it. I know I did what I could to correct it.
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