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Erector Set Turns 100

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the dirty-puns-obvious-and-therefore-redundant dept.

GospelHead821 writes: "It's been one hundred years since the first Erector Set was patented in Europe under the name of Meccano (It is sold under this name in Europe to this day). Unfortunately for Erector, the advent of plastic Lego bricks in 1958 spelled misfortune for the more complex, metal frame construction kit. Erector fans should keep an eye out, though! The Brio Corp. may be looking to reintroduce the Erector Set to the United States sometime soon. I remember playing with an old Erector Set when I was a kid, but I haven't seen one in quite a while. Here's hoping it makes a comeback. As versatile as Legos are, there's just something unconvincing about a Martian Destroyer Robot made out of plastic." My ranking is Capsula > Erector > Tinker Toys > Lincoln Logs > Lego.

61 of 239 comments (clear)

  1. Lincoln logs lego? by SlamMan · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh come one, lincoln logs aren't good for anything. Ohh, I made a log cabin. Big whoop. I made a moving plastic dog that shased my car around with legos.

    --
    Mod point free since 2001
  2. E in E by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Has anybody used an Erector Set in an engineering course in the last 10 years?

    1. Re:E in E by caffeineboy · · Score: 2

      Yes, we used those back in my "Gateway Engineering" year at OSU. This is now called "Honors Engineering" One of the elements of this year long integratedengineering first year is a robot design project in which you have to build a robot with an erector set and a handy-board.

      There is information and some pictures of erector set based robots
      here

      Mine was the first year to use erector sets, which were chosen since they were cheaper than lego. I think that my group was the one that fried a handy-board on the robot's frame, then came up with the mandatory cardboard shielding for the boards (non-conductvity would be an advantage of Lego)

      --
      +++ ATH0 +++
  3. Ah, Erector... by Old+Man+Kensey · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Somewhere tucked away at home is my dad's old Erector Set from when he was a kid (60's, early 70's). That was a very cool toy. The interesting thing about it is where Lego gives you exploded diagrams of where every single piece goes, Erector gave you unit assembly pictures with some detail pics of how hard-to-see stuff fit together. You had to figure out what you needed, and if you didn't have it handy, what you might use in its place.

    Some professor over in Britain blames the decline in British engineering on the steady growth in dominance of Lego over Meccano. I can believe it -- Meccano/Erector makes you figure out how to build it and Lego doesn't.

    Lego is like a prefab model kit, Erector is more like the further projects in those 180-in-1 breadboard electronics kits.

    --
    -- Old Man Kensey
    1. Re:Ah, Erector... by Mwongozi · · Score: 2
      180-in-1 breadboard electronics kits.
      I loved those as a child! Ah, memories. I built an AM radio transmitter, and even an electronic "roulette" game with a pile of LEDs out of one of those kits. :)
    2. Re:Ah, Erector... by DoubleD · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Erector sets are cool, i recall my mom letting me play with them when i was 3 (i think) and i was too interested in playing with them to bother putting them in my mouth. Great fun. Overall though I remember lego being the toy that attracted me the most. The range of representation afforded by legos greatly surpassed that of the erector set IMHO. I think part of the lack of popularity of Meccano / Erector could be that it was too realistic. By that point in my life I would go take something important apart :) or work with my dad fixing something. Lego on the other hand depends a great deal on imagination and using a bunch of funny looking blocks to build the world's greatest space ship or a fort of Indestructability.

      Along this line of reasoning the decline of British engineering would be more accuratley attributed the trend away from do-it-yourselfism. This itself a symptom of our increasing consumerism. The decline of Erector with respect to lego is more likely a symptom of the decline of British engineering rather than its cause.

      Now excuse me i am going to go take apart my roomate's cd player :).

      DD

      --
      "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose."
    3. Re:Ah, Erector... by tylerdave · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I don't know about everyone else, but I never used the assembly instructions from a Lego set. I chose which sets I would get for my b-day / x-mas based on the cool parts included, not the suggested assembly. I totally disagree that Lego is a like a prefab model kit. The only people that I know that do use the instructions are adults who wish they were still imaginative children but just aren't. Besides, who claims that Lego is supposed to make you a better engineer? I think Lego helped my creativity and my sense of spacial manipulation more than my mechanical engineering. Is this a bad thing?

      I will admit that it was pretty cool when my dad gave me the left-overs of his Erector set, and that I would have probably gotten more out of it if I had more components.

    4. Re:Ah, Erector... by ncc74656 · · Score: 2
      I had a few different sizes of those electronics kits, the 300-in-1 (the biggest, I think) is still in my closet. I killed one of the smaller ones (either 200 or 180) by hooking all the batteries in series straight to the 3 LEDs in series to see how bright they'd get (at least I was smart enough not to just use ONE light).
      I started with the 200-in-1 kit...never got the crystal-radio circuits to work, but one of the amplified ones was able to pick up a station or two. I blew out the speaker by literally plugging it into the wall. I figured 60 Hz ought to make some noise. What I didn't figure was that 120 volts into an 8-ohm load is much more than a quarter-watt speaker can handle. (Ohm's Law? What's that?)

      A 300-in-1 kit (with more of a digital-logic orientation) was added on a couple of years later, along with the computer kit (a smallish console with a 4-bit microcontroller with a built-in 128-word memory, some LEDs and switches, and a speaker). AFAIK, my parents still have this stuff, along with an Erector set or two. At least I hope they still have it. (The Legos and Tinkertoys are long gone...probably lost the smaller bits to the vacuum cleaner, and the bigger bits by themselves aren't that interesting.)

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
  4. Meccano still around by Mwongozi · · Score: 5, Informative
    Meccano is still pretty popular here in the UK. I never even realised that it had a different name anywhere else.

    There's a good web page here which has some plans for some cool models (dinosaurs, airplanes, diggers, etc.), and some photos of some pretty weird things made out of Meccano, too. :)

    1. Re:Meccano still around by gwernol · · Score: 2

      Meccano isn't really the same as Erector. Take a look at this site which details the history of Meccano in the United States and its relationship to Erector. Meccano was the toy that budding civil engineers played with, I think most software engineers played with Lego. At least when I was growing up in the UK.

      --
      Sailing over the event horizon
    2. Re:Meccano still around by chadmulligan · · Score: 2
      A variation was sold in Germany for many years (starting in the early 20s I believe) by Märklin, known more for model trains.

      I got the largest one when I was like 4 or 5, and bought all expansions when I turned 21 :-). I still have it and on occasion use it now, over 40 years later.

      Unfortunately they apparently stopped making them. There are some photos at http://home.t-online.de/home/HGFinke/metall/engl.h tml.

    3. Re:Meccano still around by GregWebb · · Score: 2
      Hey, Chris' website has appeared here again! He seems to get a lot of traffic from Slashdot...

      I've been, on and off, a member of the West London Meccano Society (featured somewhere in the link above) since I was ooh, too young to do anything serious with Meccano, as opposed to now being too busy... Introduced by my Dad, who's built more Meccano trucks and cranes than I care to remember, along with writing many modelplans for them and various texts on particular areas of model construction - a review of how to build different types of vehicle suspension system, for example. Sorry, no URL for his work but they're sold by MW Models under the Everything Automotive banner.

      Anyway. I was fortunate enough to be at this year's SkegEx show in Skegness, England for a little while. Some absolutely stunning models were on show - if anyone wants to see more photos (though no plans I'm afraid) of some really, really good models, I can heartily recommend John Thorpe's page though there's a lot of photos so it's a little slow to load :-) Always difficult to call a favourite, but three stick out in my memory:

      Very, very impressive, all of them.

      --

      Greg

      (Inside a nuclear plant)
      Aaaarrrggh! Run! The canary has mutated!

  5. Do Legos rank that low? by Valdrax · · Score: 2

    Personally, having had all of those toys as a kid (with the unfortunate exception of the Erector set), I'd rank Legos above Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs.

    I made a lot more interesting and creative things with Legos than I ever did with the other two toys. I mean, there's only so many buildings and fortesses you can make with Lincoln Logs, and I ran into limitations with Tinker Toys really quick thanks to the limited supply of sticks in the sizes I needed.

    However, I made an endless array of neat things with Legos. When I was five, I made a robot with moving arms and legs using just basic Legos and the wheel-and-axle Lego bricks which had pegs at the center of each wheel. They made perfect articulation points. I was also fond of space ships and castles long before I ever saw the specialized sets come on the market. (Plus, a space ship with ramparts and stone edifice gave me a lot of amusement after I got those sets.)

    Personally, I'd rate it as:

    Erector Set > Capsula > Legos > Tinker Toys > Lincoln Logs

    --
    If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
    1. Re:Do Legos rank that low? by tjgrant · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I moved to the States from England in April of 1969. We came on a Danish freighter (which we pretty much had the run of).

      As one of only two families, and the only small children on board, the crew loved my brother and I. I can still vividly remember building Lego cars and trains with the crew members and using the really cool battery-packs and motors to run them all over the ship.

      I still love lego. My oldest son (8) is starting to get into some of the Technic stuff. My middle son (4) is just starting to express his creativity with Legos.

      When a four-year-old is silent for long periods of time you tend to worry. Last night I went and checked on him. I quietly peeked into his room and he was busy playing with his Legos. It didn't take long before he came out to show me the plane that he had built. Extremely rudimentary, but yes it was a plane and I was proud of him.

      There are a lot of cool toys on the lists being made. I could probably still find my old Erector set at my parents house. But Lego allows younger children to participate than any of the others (except for maybe Lincoln Logs).

      --

      Stand Fast,
      tjg.

  6. Re:Capsela by firewort · · Score: 2

    Yes, but the dang gears inside the robot capsela kit weren't made of hardened plastic, and the lousy thing broke. My parents and grandparents spent so much money on the things... cool concept, bad production.

    Now erector, that was awesome!

    --

  7. capsella, I believe. and ZOIDS! by CamelTrader · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's capsella, not capsula, though I guess they could both be right..

    I sure loved my capsella sets. The only place I could find them in town was the local independant-slightly-more-expensive-yet-educationa lly-oriented toy store, where they sold all sorts of educational gidgets and gadgets. Erector sets were among the construction toys they had, but no legos. Without putting legos down, I always felt that my capsella and construx sets allowed me more creative flexibility. Especially if I wanted to make things that "did things". A search for construx on google produced some neat pages, as did capsella. I may go to ebay right now and buy all those wonderful toys from my past! (Until I see them selling for 300 bucks, that is.)

    I have to say though, I loved ZOIDS best. They weren't multifunction like construction sets, but they were unbelievably cool. I had some of the very small originals, but I remember being amazed at the huge (and expensive!) zoids at the toy store.

    --
    Your .sig is important to us. Please hold.
  8. Odd ranking there, Timothy... by sparcv9 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    My ranking is Capsula > Erector > Tinker Toys > Lincoln Logs > Lego.
    Are you sure your angles are facing the right direction there, Timothy? I had four of the five of those as a kid (no Erector set, but I had something that was essentially plastic Erector that used rubber pop-rivets to hold the pieces together -- It was called Rivetron.) Also, the Tinker Toys I had weren't the little wooden ones. They were the HUGE ones you could build jungle gyms and cars and swingsets out of. I was always awestruck by some of the creations people were able to make with their Erecto/Meccano sets, and would definietly drop a ton of cash on them if they were re-released in the US.

    Just for the record, here's my ranking of the construction toys I had:
    1. Rivetron
    2. Construx
    3. Lego
    4. Robotix (a little limited in what you could make because of the lack of variation in structural parts. The motors, claws and jaws kicked ass, though.)
    5. Giant Tinker Toys
    6. Capsela (way too limited in what you could make, and they were always bulbous contraptions. The floats for making watercraft were nice, though.)
    7. Lincoln Logs (Oh, look! I made another log cabin!)
    --

    This is not a Fugazi .sig
    1. Re:Odd ranking there, Timothy... by Gnight · · Score: 2, Funny
      7. Lincoln Logs (Oh, look! I made another log cabin!)

      Well what else do you expect the army men to use as their base!

      Armymen + Lincoln Logs + Fire crackers = FUN!
  9. here's a link by geekoid · · Score: 3, Informative

    meccano

    you have to view the french pages, al other under contrustion, but you can see some pretty nifty stuff.
    disclaimer:I hated erector sets as a kid. I prefered building radios.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  10. Erectors in USSR by dvk · · Score: 4, Informative
    In USSR there were no Legos when I grew up (late 70s-80s), but Erector equivalents were VERY popular, and my favorites.

    Hmm... after seing comments (and reading an article a while ago about Engineering vs. Lego/Erector use by kids in England) I feel that this theory has some confirming data in fUSSR - the popularity of such toys might be among the factor explaining the fact that many more people chose engineering/technical specialties, and that many fUSSR immigrants in USA easily find themselves a career in programming even if they had no previous education/experience in any related field.

    All I can say is - my future kid(s) will definitely get to play with Erector set equivalents, be they boys or girls (ok, gotta post quick while wife is not watching - she'd rather see a daughter playing with dolls :)))

    Cheers, Daniel

    --
    "The right to figure things out for yourself is the only true freedom everyone shares. Go use it"-R.A.Heinlein
  11. What the??!? by Tsujigiri · · Score: 2


    Right, I just have to make a quick complaint here, from the article: The Lego people seem unruffled by Sir Harry's criticism. "Lego bricks are about more than engineering," says Lego spokesman Michael McNally. "They're about creativity." This guy obviously knows nothing about engineering or he'd know that creativity is half of engineering. You gotta be creative to overcome many of the problems faced by engineers every day.
    </rant>

    Anyway, now that's out of the way, I have to agree with the majority of the comments here and post up a healthy "ME TOO" comment. We had a whole plethora of those sorts of toys in our familiy (along with a museum full of ancient computers, and my dad was a lawyer) and in some ways I feel sorry that those sorts of things are found less in the shops around here. Those multi electronic kits were great too.

    --

    "I'll take the red pill. No! Blue! AAAaaaahhhhhhhhh"
    - Monty Python meets the Matrix

  12. FischerTechnik by zauber · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What??? Sorry, but Erector Sets really didn't do it for me. Great for static stuff, but not really there for things that actually move. How can anyone who likes programming not enjoy the modularity of a Lego set? And the pneumatic kits kicked some serious butt.

    However, my first love was FischerTechnik. They hurt your fingers, they went together in only the most illogical configurations, but they came with enough gears and actuators to keep a young soul busy for years. The frustration of trying to assemble/disassemble the stuff was just part of the fun. So, sell your car immediately and use the proceeds to buy a kit or two!

    Thusly: FT > Lego > Capsela (with an E!) > Clay> Dirt> Erector Set.

  13. Awwww come on.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    How come no one's mentioning Fischer Technik? A German company which made (makes?) kits of nylon parts with interlocking knobs... Neat stuff with motors, etc... Think my uncle got it for me at Marshall Fields - expensive stuff but super cool

    I used to have all their kits when I was about 8 or 9... think I built a working elevator model...

    Also had the erector, capsela, lego, and lincoln logs at one time or another...

    After you're past 5, the lincoln logs are kinda lame until you turn 15 and discover that they can be fired out of a mini propane cannon with a 3/4" PVC launch tube :->

    Capsela floated nicely - didn't do too well in the burning pit of gasoline ;- Although the erector survived quite nicely...

  14. I loved robotix myself by evilned · · Score: 2

    Robotix was my personal favorite of the construction toys, although it was fun to build a boat with those strange looking yellow floaters on capsela. I really liked the big walker legs on robotix, and the fact that all of the motors were independantly controlled. Although I used to build a robotic arm with it, with that counter weight on the arm, those tiny motors sure didnt sound like they could handle it.

    --

    "My head hurts, My feet stink, and I dont love Jesus." -Jimmy Buffett

  15. Rivetron rules by kallisti · · Score: 2, Informative
    Too bad some stupid kid choked to death on the Rivetron rivets and they had a recall. When my Mom got the recall letter, she refused to send it back since she knew it was on of our favorites.

    I'm concerned about the general demise of building toys, they're mostly what I had as a kid: Lego, Brix Blox (a cheap Lego knockoff), Girder and Panel (bridges and buildings), Tinkertoy, Erector (newer plastic version), Erector (MUCH cooler 1940's version with metal pieces and a 120V AC motor!, found at an auction for a steal), Micronauts (a bit of a stretch, but the city expansion definitely qualifies), Lincoln Logs (what's so bad about cabins?), probably others. Now, almost all of these are gone...

  16. Robotix by mrdisco99 · · Score: 3, Informative

    My ranking is Capsula > Erector > Tinker Toys > Lincoln Logs > Lego.

    You forgot Robotix!

    Unique features: slotted connectors for cable management, dinosaur jaws, astronaut action figure, weighted piece for adjusting center of gravity, rough terrain wheels
    --

    +++
    NO CARRIER

  17. Haiku by 575 · · Score: 2

    Legos still abound
    Erector sets will return
    What about Construx?

    1. Re:Haiku by NonSequor · · Score: 2

      You've got nine syllables on the last line.

      --
      My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.
    2. Re:Haiku by 575 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Ignore the brackets
      Slashdot shows domains for links
      Post preview does not

    3. Re:Haiku by NonSequor · · Score: 2

      Bah! I won't be impressed until you start writing sonnets.

      --
      My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.
    4. Re:Haiku by 575 · · Score: 2

      There once was poet, there's said
      Wrote haiku for postings he read
      When demanded a Sonnet
      Requestor then got it
      In the form of a limerick instead!

  18. Re:Lincoln logs lego? by motherhead · · Score: 2
    Does anyone remember "Girders and Panels"? damn I loved those, I think it was 1975 or so, I was like 5 or 6 me and my brother used both of our kits to build (what we thought looked like) the Chicago skyline.

    It consisted of interconnecting "girders" that looked like the real deal and allowed you to build a lattice either of squares or Xs. Then they supplied these thin plastic panels that either looked like skyscraper windows or some other architectural glass panes.
    When we were don we took out giant "Voltrons" (I think it was Voltron, maybe a Voltron precursor... all I knew was it was a huge plastic Japanese robot that allowed you to shoot misses that could choke babies, funny I never knew of any one choking and any of them... but more importantly, you could launch their fists! Really far and hard, it hurt like hell!) and proceeded to level our mini city Godzilla style...

    Hmmm. After that I don't think we ever played with it again, no wonder they're gone...

    Hey remember Micronauts?!....

  19. Lincoln Logs by JohnG · · Score: 2
    Lincoln logs were probably my favorite. If you aimed just right you could destroy your creations (or for much more fun, your friends creations) with the great projectile toys of the 80's, such as He-Man's Battle Tank. :)
    I remember having great fun racing with friends to destroy the other guys building first. We would have needed MUCH more powerful projectiles to destroy a lego or erector set building! hehe.

    1. Re:Lincoln Logs by Grab · · Score: 2

      "Crossbows and Catapults" for a legitimate version of this, ie. the purpose of the game was to cause destruction and mayhem! Uprate the weeny elastic bands, and you can get some real distance with those little plastic poker-chips.

      Grab.

    2. Re:Lincoln Logs by JohnG · · Score: 2

      I also had a G.I. Joe toy that had rubber and styrophoam projectiles on a base (base as in fort, although base as in foundation applies as well). The base had cardboard pieces setting on a mouse trap type deal. There were two of them and the purpose was to shot your missles and destroy the other guys base. It was a pretty fun game, but we usually just ended up using the launchers for attacks on Lincoln Log houses. It's much more fun when it isn't "legitimate"! :)

  20. Legos and creativity by w1kL3f · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If you think Legos aren't up to your level of creativity, just check out Eric Harshbarger's Lego Grandfather Clock, which includes working mechanics: http://www.ericharshbarger.org/lego/clock.html I got to play with leftover Erector sets given up by older kids. I liked them, but they were going out by the time I was old enough to get that creative. The original Legos, though...you could really get creative with those. I hate the new kits, what's the point of having 25 pieces in a box with a figure? No fun there...someone at Lego said they were for little kids, but why not just make 'em pre-formed? Plus, they have pieces small enough for tykes to swallow, and that's a big P.C. no-no.

    --
    We got some
  21. Any kid can tell you... by CdotZinger · · Score: 3, Funny


    ...what's good about Lincoln Logs--the taste. Mmmm...creosotey.

    chewin' nasty brown logs since 1974

    --
    Your mouth is like Columbus Day.
  22. I'm an American who had Meccano... by rebelcool · · Score: 3, Insightful
    they sold them at the local toys r us. I had several sets.

    I didnt like them as much as my legos though... the nuts frequently came loose and the contraptions just didnt seem as sturdy as legos.

    I was one of the kids who liked building things with legos, then knocking them apart and then rebuilding.

    Capsela was okay...got bored with them quickly. I still have a capsela hexagonal piece tied to the end of the light string in my old closet.

    --

    -

  23. Aw, I loved Meccano! by Tim+Doran · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It was sold as Meccano in Canada too. My set included an electric motor and - best Xmas ever - I got a *working* steam engine!

    It was amazing. Had a little boiler that held about 150cc's of water with heat supplied by burning rubbing alcohol in a tray under the boiler. Steam pumped out to a little piston that would *really* fly under pressure.

    Damn that thing was dangerous! They'd never make a toy like that today! It was really quite powerful, there was always the danger of steam burns and the rubbing alcohol was almost invisible when it burned.

    I'm gonna have to find that thing now that I have sons of my own ;)

  24. ???Plans??? by wowbagger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There are plans for Lego?

    When I had my Lego set, I just got a pile of blocks. The only "plans" were those I created. I created spacecraft, forts, lighthouses (with pieces of a flashlight). As I grew older, I used Lego to build frames for motors, apparatus to work with my 100 in 1 kit from Radio Shack (that dates me, considering they are over 200 in 1 now) (really dating myself - my 100-in-1 kit had an "IC" that was nothing but a ceramic substrate with printed film resistors and a transistor on it).

    It's like anything else - games, toys, video tapes. When you give the kid a definition of what they are supposed to do, you stunt their imagination. If you give them the tools, and turn them loose, they develop their imagination. Don't buy the "Lego StarFortress", just buy a bunch of Lego. Buy an [erector|mechanno} set, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, [1-n]00 in one kits. Let the kid read books, not watch Disney. When they are older, get them playing D&D, not Stupid Moron Brothers by NonMindO.

    (Of course, my earlier experience with small, modular components might account for my being a big OOP fan. Use at your own risk.)

    --
    www.eFax.com are spammers
    1. Re:???Plans??? by wowbagger · · Score: 2

      You had walls? We had to make do with the side of a tree. Well, we called it a tree, actually it was a ravinous cave bear. And WE LIKED IT.

      (to the other responder - You have to REALLY go for the absurd when playing the Old Soldier game).

      --
      www.eFax.com are spammers
  25. Ranking construction toys by MarkusQ · · Score: 2
    My ranking is Capsula > Erector > Tinker Toys > Lincoln Logs > Lego.

    I was partial to the 7400 series myself.

    -- MarkusQ

  26. everyday uses for an erector set by Archfeld · · Score: 2

    I modified a network rack using standard erector set pieces from my childhood to include my linksys switch and a desktop PC. If I wasn't under the influence of a controlled substance I get off my butt and take a picture , but too much effort now sorry.

    --
    errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
  27. Someone help.. by SubtleNuance · · Score: 2

    Since were all talking about our childhood toys, can ANYONE remeber a toy like this:

    It was a red vs blue team 'game. YOu were given blocks, which you used to construct a castle - anything you like - your aim was to build something that would withstand, and protect your set of 'targets' - from your opponent who would use a small catapult to attack you. It was like a game of siege with two players.

    Anyone remember this one?

    As for Mechano, forget it, Lego was it - more modular, more variety, less direction dictated by the toy itself, you really could build any model with Lego.

    1. Re:Someone help.. by Lord_Pall · · Score: 2

      There were 2 variants of this.

      the one you're talking about was crossbows and catapults. It had blocks, and disks you fired using a crossbow and catapult(duh)

      The other competing/more recent one was weapons and warriors. Less blocks, more coherent plastic castle, and it had a cannon and catapult that fired red plastic balls.

      You can still find weapons and warriors at kaybee and other closeout stores.. Dunno bout crossbows and catapults.

  28. Just wondering... by broken · · Score: 2, Funny

    Erector + Viagra = Metal Gear Solid?

  29. Re:Lincoln logs lego? by Jonathan · · Score: 2

    Does anyone remember ?Girders and Panels [ultranet.com]??

    I had totally forgotten about those. Yeah, I had got the "Bridge and Highway" set for Christmas in 1977.

    Hey remember Micronauts

    Yep, far more interesting than Star Wars figs, but without a movie tie-in, they were doomed.

  30. A place to buy Erector by WillWare · · Score: 2

    I've never had dealings with these people and therefore can't vouch for their reasonableness, but it's good to see that at least Erector sets are being sold again:
    http://www.iqkids.net/erectorsets.html

    --
    WWJD for a Klondike Bar?
  31. Dynamic Meccano, Objected Erector by xixax · · Score: 2

    Now sure you can architect non-objected Meccano (Erector in US-speak), but no-one forces you to. You can also attach wheels, pulleys and bits from dot-matrix printers.

    1. Meccano (erector) == C?
    2. Lego Technic == C++?
    3. Capsela == ???

    Anyone else want to comment on the system architectures of other geek toys?

    For the record, I coveted Capsula and Meccano, but had to make do with having the run if dad's workshop (bench grinders, drills etc. etc.). My best Xmas was when I got the Lego Techni car (when I was already in junior college I think)

    Xix.

    --
    "Everything is adjustable, provided you have the right tools"
  32. erector by British · · Score: 2

    I had the Maxx Steele erector set as a kid. For someone who was a whiz at Lego, I never did complete building of that Maxx Steele robot. I had difficulty with the instructions of which piece(since some were remarkably similar in size) whent where, and just gave up.

    Now, I spend my time trying to design Lego car transmissions and I'm 25 years old. I have no life.

  33. Anyone else remember Ringamajigs? by phillymjs · · Score: 2

    I amazingly never had an Erector set when I was a kid, but I still have all of my Lego stuff. Also had a ton of Tinkertoys, Lincoln Logs, Bristle Blocks, and Ringamajigs, which looked a lot like the thing they stick into the middle of your pizza so the box doesn't get crushed down into the cheese, except the circular part was (obviously) a ring instead of a solid circle. There were 4 nubs on top of the ring, 90 degrees apart from each other, and the rings sat on legs about an inch or so high that had hollows in the bottom that the nubs snapped into. They were kind of limited, but made for some pretty colorful structures. A quick Google search uncovered the rather impressive resume of their inventor.

    ~Philly

  34. Meccano vs. Erector by Animats · · Score: 4, Informative
    Meccano and Erector weren't the same thing. Erector sets came from A. C. Gilbert, had stamped and punched beams that looked like trusses, and were scaled in English units. Meccano came from England, had flat punched beams with holes and had nonstandard sizes. (To this day, Meccano has nonstandard bolts.)

    Both A.C. Gilbert and Meccano of England are defunct, but a company in France bought both names and sells Meccano under both names. The Erector system is dead, except as a collectable.

    1. Re:Meccano vs. Erector by Ella+the+Cat · · Score: 2, Informative

      To this day, Meccano has nonstandard bolts.)

      11/32 inch BSW (British Standard Whitworth)

      http://www.boltscience.com/pages/screw4.htm

    2. Re:Meccano vs. Erector by david.given · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yep. I have a 30-year old set of Meccano, and it's impossible to find any new trusses for it that will fit. (I have a set of trusses that *nearly* fit --- which is about as useful as having *nearly* all four wheels on your car.)

      But damn, that Meccano was good. I had Lego as well, and the clockwork motors for both. The Lego motor was plastic and broke within six months. The Meccano motor was steel, sandwiched between two slabs of 1mm steel, had a forward/neutral/reverse integral gearbox, and was completely indestructible.

      BTW, yes, the nuts tended to come loose on parts that vibrated a lot. Simple solution --- use locknuts. (Two nuts on each bolt.)

    3. Re:Meccano vs. Erector by Animats · · Score: 2
      Whitworth threads? It's been a long, long time since I heard those mentioned. It makes sense, though; Meccano (not Erector) is a century old, and Witworth threads were common in the late 19th century.

      Of course, they probably retain them so you have to buy their special fasteners.

  35. Re:oh my f-ing god... by ncc74656 · · Score: 2
    i had an erector set in the early seventies! im i that old?
    They were still available into at least some time in the '80s...mine probably go back to '82 or '83. Some of the parts were different (semi-pneumatic tires and a wired remote control that controlled two motors in two directions at variable speed), but it was still primarily nuts, bolts, and girders.

    I don't know if they're still available...can't say that I've been in a toy store anytime recently.

    --
    20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
  36. You need both an Erector set and Lincoln Logs by Chris+Siegler · · Score: 2

    If you owned an erector set you've built a crane. Which inevitably gets a wrecking ball. Which is pretty useless unless you have a nicely crafted log cabin your little sister built to knock over.

  37. FischerTechnik by mj6798 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    May I put in another plug for a German engineering toy, Fischer Technik (US distributor) and Fischer Technik (parent company)? No, I don't own their stock or get any kind of bonus, I just think it's a great system that deserves to be more widely known. The picture you see on the US distributor's site is pretty typical of what kids used to build with it: highly functional designs that don't try to imitate looks. It's the ultimate geek toy for the budding engineer.

  38. completing the analogies by plastik55 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    1. Erector : C ::
    2. Lego Technic : C++ ::
    3. Capsela : Visual Basic ::
    4. Tinkertoys : Javascript

    Lincoln Logs are not Turing complete and are therefore not listed.

    Ultimately I prefer a mill, lathe, drill press, and some aluminum stock.

    Fully stocked machine shop > Lego Technic > Erector > Capsela > Tinkertoys > Lincoln Logs. (if I wanted to deal with erector, i'd be just at well off machining things from scratch. However, I find Lego Technics are quite good for prototyping mechanisms.)

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    I have a positive modifier on Troll. When I mod someone Troll their karma should go UP!

  39. 100 years old? by Old+Wolf · · Score: 2, Funny

    I hope I can still get an Erector when I'm 100..

  40. Re:A. C. Gilbert and miniature electric motors by nagora · · Score: 2
    Before he invented the Erector Set,

    Err, before he copied the Erector Set (and added motors)...

    TWW

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    "Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"