Erector sets, American Bricks, Skyline building kits and Block City...anyone using them on your layout?

No. They are way too basic. Lego's make these items look like their from the 1950's...

Another reason is they are easily purchased on the secondary market. Like O gauge trains, they were overproduced and demand has dropped.

I used to love the kenner Building sets: Bridge & Turnpike, Girder & Panel. They were great toys for their time.

Peter

They would sell at my house, I love those sets!

Jim, in my opinion if sold today they would probably be purchased only by us old retreads.  I don't think the current generation would have the patience to construct anything with an Erector set.  Too much time and effort.  I watch my Grandchildren and they are virtually obsessed with computer games like Mine-craft and Roblox where things can be made and or destroyed in a manner of minutes-instant gratification. 

American Bricks were a great item and my wife and I still construct buildings with them for our Christmas layout each year.  We have had them for decades and enjoy them but the finished products are very fragile and easily toppled.  Today's snap together toys like Legos are much sturdier when put together.  Again, I think the patience of this generation  would wear thin very quickly with American Bricks so I doubt they would sell very well.  The other two products you mentioned, Skyline building kits and Block City, I really can't comment on since I'm not familiar with them.  Anyway, if someone would produce new Erector sets and new American Bricks I would buy them but then again I'm and old retread.

Putnam Division posted:

I used to love the kenner Building sets: Bridge & Turnpike, Girder & Panel. They were great toys for their time.

Peter

I've got mine  (11th birthday present from Sears)

Lou N

I would like to see the Skyline building kits brought back. I love the look and relative simplicity of them. 

John

Spent a ton of time with the plastic bricks, would go for another set or two.

jim sutter posted:

If someone would reproduce these toys from the 50's and 60's would they sell today?

For what its worth....

Over the youthful years I had two smaller Erector Sets.  They are missing parts from much usage.

This past summer the A.C.Gilbert Heritage Society had their annual convention in Akron Ohio.  My wife and I went and my prize for the day was a complete Erector 8 1/2 set for 50 bucks!  It was a good time besides.  

So to your question Jim, would something like that sell today, even at $50???  I tend to doubt it; we've lost our stimulating industrial arts programs in high schools (wood shop, drafting, print shop, metal shop, and electric shop).

On the other hand, after 45 years in the electronics industry I am now teaching.  The degree program is called MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems).  I have 24 very engaged students who are learning the inner workings of the electronics that is so popular today.  The lecture for the course is about the small components and what they do.  The lab is hands on application of these devices.  So there are still folks that consider building and learning how to manufacture something, only at a smaller scale.  

Regards,

Lou N

Putnam Division posted:

I used to love the kenner Building sets: Bridge & Turnpike, Girder & Panel. They were great toys for their time.

Peter

I was more of a Lego kid, but my brother had a Girder & Panel set which I occasionally got to play with. While the panels were a bit flimsy, the girders (as far as I remember) were sturdy and pretty prototypical - I think they would sell for people who want to add a building under construction to their layout.

Tonkanut, Whatever kit built that Piasecki whirlybird is something many an aviation enthusiast and old pilot would enjoy finding. I flew the Boeing Vertol follow on CH-46 A/D/E for 15 years and had a blast.

As far as Erector/Meccano sets go, the market for the sets is niche but strong. My set was the basic one as a kid but I built more project toys with that, found I enjoyed the abstract designing ability and learned a lot about engineering as played. My grandkids, only 4 and 3, enjoy helping Gramps build simple things for their Brio train. It may not last but the memories are priceless. I am actively planning to build several animated scenes using the motors from a set of  erector parts and belts.

Add Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys. I wonder if Erector set helped develop my mechanical aptitude?

Ron_S posted:

Tonkanut, Whatever kit built that Piasecki whirlybird is something many an aviation enthusiast and old pilot would enjoy finding. I flew the Boeing Vertol follow on CH-46 A/D/E for 15 years and had a blast.

As far as Erector/Meccano sets go, the market for the sets is niche but strong. My set was the basic one as a kid but I built more project toys with that, found I enjoyed the abstract designing ability and learned a lot about engineering as played. My grandkids, only 4 and 3, enjoy helping Gramps build simple things for their Brio train. It may not last but the memories are priceless. I am actively planning to build several animated scenes using the motors from a set of  erector parts and belts.

Hi Ron...the Whirlybird is a ready-to-run Remco product from the early '60s. Two onboard D cells power a motor that drives an array of features as shown in this neat vintage TV ad:                 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5vX8uivsuI

It sounds like you had a neat past and are building a fun future!

TJ

Their might be a small selective market for these toys today, I had an Erector Set, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, American Bricks and Block City. These toys let us use our imagination and skills as children to built steel structures, houses,etc., many of us benefited from these learned skills in choosing work careers.   

My brother and l had Gilbert Erectorbrik sets, loved them, and played with them for years, including building structures for our Marx trains.   I managed to find a couple of small sets, but look for others.  They are a heavy mineral and look and weigh like real bricks. Had American logs and Tinkertoys, as well as a small Erector set, but nothing held our interest like Erectorbrik.

American Plastic Bricks: see these pages, updated in 2009, but still on-line:

http://americanplasticbricks.blogspot.com

I built this building, using them:

I don't think any "toy", that did not give instant gratification, would find much interest today.

brr posted:

No. They are way too basic. Lego's make these items look like their from the 1950's...

 

I agree.  It appears the flexibility of Lego's has surpassed all of these.

Rusty

Boy, does this bring back memories. I had an Erector set, the Whirly Bird (and remember the TV show), the Kenner skyscraper set, and the Tinker Toy & Lincoln Logs. I know the Logs were still made when my daughter was little (her first set was a give-away from Dinty Moore Beef Stew, "Just send in three labels, etc.") , and the new Erector/Mechano sets were still around a while back because I built a turntable before the Atlas model came out, and a small (manually operated) Bascule bridge. 

But Joe is probably right. It's not fast enough for kids today. Even the Legos come in sets that are made to build pretty much ONE item. 

No wonder we live in a throw-away culture. Nobody knows how to make or fix things anymore.

TonkaNut posted:

They would sell at my house, I love those sets!

Jim thanks for this topic and TonkaNut thanks for the pics to refresh my memories.  For such a long time I couldn't remember the "American Plastic Bricks" brand name and each time I'd see a Lego display or commercial would think about the "other" building bricks that I received from Santa and played with as a child.  I would agree w/ the comment that the "American Plastic Bricks" structures are "fragile and easily toppled" since the interlocking connecting nubs were not that deep, but they provided many hours, days and years of fun.  I think I eventually had 2 tubes of bricks which were later passed on to a younger cousin. 

Also had the Tinker Toys and a small erector set.  Later years in the early autumn we would tie a long string through 1 or 2 Tinker Toy wooden wheels and swing them up into the many nearby chestnut trees so that we could shake the branches to drop the spiny chestnut pods to the ground and open.  It was a neighborhood competition as to which kid could collect the most number and pounds of shiny brown chestnuts.  However, it was not that popular with our parents weeks later after finding several large paper grocery bags full of chestnuts that were starting to rot or be full of worms.  This parental discontent combined with someone in the group getting a slingshot eventually and led us to the next use of the chestnuts.  Truly a model of youthful creativity/ingenuity with simple toys.