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When Barb Meyer, of Tripoli, went to her first toy show as a vendor in 1990, she had a little problem.

"We had to borrow stuff to fill a table," she said.

Saturday, at the annual Fort Dodge Toy Show, at the Webster County Fairgrounds, that was not an issue.

She filled six tables with items that included bags of miniature corn cobs and goats, various pieces of farm equipment and even children's books filled with friendly John Deere tractors.

"We try to hit all age groups," she said.

Meyer explained that she started out collecting with her husband Rich, and they became vendors when they decided to sell off some duplicates. The collection has grown a bit.

"Our whole basement is loaded with toys," she said.

Meyer said that many collectors set up their farm toys in realistic scenes they refer to as layouts. The scenes can be quite elaborate and once completed, have everything in miniature that a working farm would.

She also finds that many collectors are in it for the nostalgia.

"Grandpa had them, Dad had them, they have them," she said.

Curt Cline, of Callender, brought his two sons Jaden, 11, and Breyton, 7, to the show.

The two sons share their collection of about 30 tractors, mostly without fighting over them.

"There's plenty there," Curt Cline said, "They work together and they share together."

The collection apparently got its start from Dad.

"I started to collect them," he said. "Then the kids got hold of them."

While many of the toys for sale at the show are brand new and in the box - the condition preferred by collectors - others are older toys in various conditions ranging from barely played with with to nearly wrecked.

Duane Farr, of Golden Valley, Minn., has taken some of those in the last category and restored them to like-new condition.

Farr began doing restorations after looking at some of the items in his own collection.

"I'm gonna try to bring some of these back to life," he told himself.

With painting tips from a friend, he set to work. He does about 75 vehicles a year.

Whether or not to restore an old toy is a decision made on a piece-by-piece basis. Some rare toys are more valuable if left alone even if they are in bad condition.

"It's a fine line," he said. "You gotta know what you can sell."

Alvin Sollie, of Callender, was attending the show on the hunt for model railroad items and remote controlled airplane items. He scored an HO-scale covered hopper from one vendor.

"I'm on my fourth layout since 1960," he said. "I'm messing with another one."

He did collect farm toys though,

"I used to dabble," he said.

He provided evidence that in every grown man attending the show, there is still a little kid with an active imagination and toys to go along with it.

"I'm Casey Jones during the day," he said. "And Charles Lindberg at night."

The show continues today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Webster County Fairgrounds. Admission is $2 for adults. Children 12 and under are admitted free.

Contact Hans Madsen at (515) 573-2141 or hmadsen@messengernews.net