Dear Buddha

[41magsnub]

Please bring me a pony, and a plastic rocketship.

http://etadyne.com/product_ff.htm

[Boomhauer]

Once again Legos are proven to be the best toys ever. (no toy held my attention during childhood like Legos)

[Hawkmoon]

Once again Legos are proven to be the best toys ever. (no toy held my attention during childhood like Legos)

This is only because you are too young to have know A. C. Gilbert Company's Erector Sets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erector_Set

[Regolith]

Please bring me a pony, and a plastic rocketship.

http://etadyne.com/product_ff.htm

Screw plastic, I want a real one. 

This is only because you are too young to have know A. C. Gilbert Company's Erector Sets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erector_Set

http://www.eliwhitney.org/new/sites/default/files/erector-ferris-wheel_0.jpg

He's not much younger than I am, and we had Erector Sets. The remnants of mine are around here somewhere...I think after I outgrew it for a toy most of the pieces were repurposed to fix random stuff.

[Hawkmoon]

Screw plastic, I want a real one. 

He's not much younger than I am, and we had Erector Sets. The remnants of mine are around here somewhere...I think after I outgrew it for a toy most of the pieces were repurposed to fix random stuff.

They still sell something called "Erector Sets" today -- but they aren't the same thing, they are toys made in Italy and sold in the U.S. under the Erector Set name. Don't know how old you are, so I don't know if you had the original, or the Euro version (which is vastly inferior in just about every way).

[Boomhauer]

This is only because you are too young to have know A. C. Gilbert Company's Erector Sets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erector_Set

Not a fan.

[brimic]

They still sell something called "Erector Sets" today -- but they aren't the same thing, they are toys made in Italy and sold in the U.S. under the Erector Set name. Don't know how old you are, so I don't know if you had the original, or the Euro version (which is vastly inferior in just about every way).
 
 
 

I played with one as a kid- it was in my grandparents basement, leftover from the previous generation. I remember that it came in a big metal case.

[Fly320s]

Not a fan.

Nope. It is a Ferris wheel.

[Regolith]

Nope. It is a Ferris wheel.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Did the erector bits and peices make for as painful landmines for parental bare feet?

Also, how many times has this been posted? Maybe it should just be stickied for posterity.

[brimic]

Did the erector bits and peices make for as painful landmines for parental bare feet?

The parts pretty much lacked the caltrop-like properties of Legos. Most of the pieces were flat, or tiny screws and nuts.
A few pieces were shaped like angle iron or the gear box assembly could potentially do damage though.

[HankB]

I remember getting one of the Gilbert Erector Sets when I was very young - girders, screws, nuts, washers, even a motor to power some of the projects. The box it came in (metal, IIRC) was printed on the outside to look like a factory building of some sort.

The balance of the erector set itself was outgrown and discarded a long time ago, but it wouldn't surprise me if some of the screws and nuts that came with it were still in my accumulation of fasteners out in the garage.

[brimic]

This is only because you are too young to have know A. C. Gilbert Company's Erector Sets.

They have something much much more awesome than Erecor sets now, its called 'Lego League.'

We have a pair of engineers who run the 'Lego League' program at our school on weekends.
The kids start out by learning simple machines, how to build sturdy structures, gear ratios, then  how to put several simple machines together to build more complex machines. At the 5th grade level, they start building and programming robots to negotiate obstacle courses.

The only downside is that the Lego kits for this program cost about $750/ea.

[bedlamite]

Did the erector bits and peices make for as painful landmines for parental bare feet?

Also, how many times has this been posted? Maybe it should just be stickied for posterity.

As previously noted, legos were better caltrops. However, Erector sets worked much better for building medieval siege weaponry. Mine were taken away. 

[Hawkmoon]

Did the erector bits and peices make for as painful landmines for parental bare feet?

Oh, yes. The original Erector Set could never be sold today unless aimed at college-age students because the various beams were assembled using very small nuts and bolts, which the Consumer Product safety Commission today would demonize as being a choking hazard for small children. Which makes one wonder how it is that so many of us from the Erector Set and Red Ryder BB-gun era ever survived to adulthood.

[41magsnub]

This reminds me of last year when my little brother and I built and RC car from a simple kit.  He was 11 and I had to explain EVERYTHING..  how nuts and bolts work, how a screw driver works, and etc.  EVERYTHING.  Very good session, but my patience was sorely tested in the process.

[Tallpine]

Whoa, good Legos