Eero Ahonen wrote:
> Larry Hudson wrote:
> 
>>I was born in '37 so I'm also a grumbling old man (more of a curmudgeon
>>actually).   ;-)   So my childhood was also pre-plastics.  My equivalent
>>nostalgia is for (all metal) Erector Sets.
> 
> 
> I have a strange feeling that that name would be considered somewhat
> weird and/or unsuitable for children's set.
> 
LOL

Nevertheless, "Erector Sets" as they were called, were very well known 
and popular toy construction sets at that time (late 40's, early 50's or 
so).  I had great fun with mine -- a mid-range set.  Always dreamed of 
having their biggest set, but could never afford it -- or rather, my 
parents couldn't.  ;-)  Of course, earlier than this were the all-wood 
Tinker Toys, also very well-known and popular at the time.

Tinker Toys consisted of a bunch of wooden wheels and rods (dowels) of 
various lengths.  I don't remember any other shapes, but there might 
have been.  The wheels had a hole in their center and eight more around 
the rim where the rods could be inserted to connect them.  The ends of 
the rods had a slight taper and a narrow slit.  This slit gave tnem a 
slight springiness, and could also take other things like strings as 
additional ways of connecting them.

Going by my very imperfect memory, they looked somewhat like the 
attached picture.

Tinkey Toys were more for toddlers and Erector Sets more for "budding 
engineers"  ;-)  Of course, sadly, these days something like an original 
Erector Set could never make it to market -- too dangerous.  Lots of 
nuts and bolts and stuff that could be swallowed, and the pieces were 
thin sheet metal which could cut or poke an eye.  I really pity the 
current younger generation for being so coddled and overprotected.  "In 
my day", sure we got hurt, but that was just a normal part of growing 
up.  And we learned a lot on the way.

      -=- Larry -=-

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