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Works with Gypsy Wagons

Original and Exclusive to makeCNC

Our gypsy wagons are based on authentic wagons from differnet parts of the world and were drawn using the highest quality CAD software they make wonderful Doll Houses as well as Models to display and some have furniture included

Reading Gypsy Wagon

The Reading or kite wagon is so named due to its straight sides that slope outwards towards the eaves, high arched wheels, and relative light weight; there is no other vardo that epitomizes the golden age of Romani horse travel. It dates from (1870) and is synonymous with the original builder Dauton and Sons of Reading where the vardo takes its name. The wagon was highly prized by the Romanies for its aesthetic design, beauty and practicality to cross fords, pull off road and over rough ground, something smaller-wheeled wagons like the Burton were unable to do. The Reading wagon is 10 feet long, with a porch on the front and back. The rear wheels were 18 inches larger than the ones on the front. At the start of the 20th century the design incorporated raised skylights. On either side of the bed space, quarter-inch thick bevelled mirrors were common, and were lavishly decorated. Cupboards and locker seats were built in to prevent movement whilst travelling. Side and back windows were decorated and shuttered, and the body of the vardo itself would have originally been made from beaded tongue-and-groove matchboard, painted red picked out in yellow and green. As with other vardo, the extent of the elaborate decoration reflected the wealth of the family, boasting carved lion heads and gargoyles. These would have been painted gold or extensively decorated with gold leaf.
Today, surviving Reading wagons are prized exhibits in museums or private collections.
Caravans have only been used by Gypsies for 150 years. Before then, they walked on foot, used carts to convey their
possessions and slept in tents called "benders" made out of hazel twigs covered with canvas. Lacking tents, they would
sleep beneath the tilt (cover) of the cart. Wagons built to live in, not just to carry persons or goods, developed
about 1810 in France. In England these were probably first used by showmen traveling between fairs and with circuses in
the 1820's. Gypsies only began living in them about 1850. The Gypsies name for their wagon is a Vardo. It was highly
cherished, but they rarely built their own. Instead, newly married couples commissioned them from non-Gypsy coach
builders. Building a Vardo took them between 6 to 12 months and used the wood of oak, ash, elm, walnut and pine. They
were ornately painted, decorated with carvings and often enriched with goldleaf.


Comes in three imperial and three metric thicknes scales

1/8th -1/4 and 1/2 inch
as well as 3mm -6mm and 12mm
comes with both Laser and Router versions
as well as a full color assembly guide
and a number coded DXF file for easy assembly


These products are original designs and are copyright to makeCNC.com
Please make only 50 models from this pattern before repurchase of pattern