Late in the year 1969, I got a Gilbert erector set. I even know the model that it was, but not from memory. But Gilbert, who by then had been purchased by the Gabriel Co., only had a few different sets on the market.
I had a Senior Powerline set. It had a battery-powered motor so you could make amazing creations like rotating ferris wheels, a lift drawbridge, a crane, and many more acts of engineering.
The concept of the erector set sprang into the mind of A.C. Gilbert as he watched a skyscraper being built in 1911. He pictured a simple toy, a collection of miniature girders, beams, wheels, gears, and metal plates, all designed to be held together with small nuts and bolts.
Gilbert had the money to create and produce the toy, and also launched a national advertising campaign in 1913. Interestingly, that decade would also see the introduction of two other construction toys, Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys.
The erector set was a wonderfully heavy gift for a child to unwrap. It was full of real metal parts, and you knew that this toy would last considerably longer than your plastic ones.
And what you built was up to you! The bigger projects took more time and work, so if your time was limited, you might make something small. The included manual contained a massive collection of projects running the gamut form the simple to the complex.
However, one thing I could not do was freelance.
If I tried to make something up out of my imagination, it would never work. I would end with a collection of metal parts bolted together that looked like a random collection of metal parts bolted together. I guess that proves I don't have the mind of an architect or engineer. I was certainly never tempted to pursue either career path.
However, when I followed the plans, I was capable of making extraordinary creations. I beamed with pride as I would carry in things like wreckers, windmills, and hoists and show them to my parents. I don't know if they were really impressed or not, but they sure made me think so.
An erector set taught a kid the importance of committing to a cause. It might take hours to make something really big and elaborate. It wasn't like playing with your other toys. Commencing to build a motor-powered crane didn't allow walking away from the project before completion, at least not if your mom insisted on you keeping your room clean and picked up. So you stuck with it until it was finished.
Ah, but the reward! When you're ten years old, and frustrated because your artistic endeavors look like they were created by a ten-year-old, it filled you with pride to look at your erector set creation that looked just like the plans!
The nature of a toy consisting of lots of little parts meant that some of them would inevitably get lost. And when enough parts vanished, the set itself became a lot less fun to play with. So eventually, it would be discarded.
But the memories live on forever of how satisfying it was to build impressive structures. And so does the idea of making a solid commitment to a cause that requires time and effort to see through to completion.
Comments (5)
I had these sets and remember building the ferris wheel and other projects. I wonder if my parents wanted me to go become an architect or something similar.
Posted by David S Paleg | May 9, 2007 11:32 AM
Posted on May 9, 2007 11:32
These were a "real boys toy" i spent thousands of hours with my Rocket launches set. I can still remember the pain when you got your fingers caught in the gears. To impatient to unplug it.
Still have them.
Posted by David Chapman | June 13, 2009 10:29 AM
Posted on June 13, 2009 10:29
I also lusted for one of those erector sets. Never got one. But it occurred to me that I might have been inclined to want to keep whatever I built, even as I glued puzzles to keep them. But it seems to me that with such appeal, kids could be taught to build things of useful value and enjoy working and using their abilities. These are the best kind of toys and maybe we do not exploit this tendency to want to build and create.
To David;
I, too, built plenty of Estes rockets. There was another company, too, but I never got around to buying some of those. I built the simple ones. I built the shuttle one with the glider that sails far off away one time, stage rockets, Mars Lander, the whirly copter rocket and others. Yeah, that was a great time and real skill needed and your work tested as a result. Great stuff. Of course, I was about 15, too.
Posted by Scott Irv | June 14, 2009 5:32 PM
Posted on June 14, 2009 17:32
This is a true classic that I never had? I guess because the lincoln logs and tinker toys were cheaper I guess? I knew of erector sets as I had seen them in many of the department store catalogs in the toys section. I see these things in antiques now. I missed out on this!
Posted by Rivers End | June 14, 2009 11:54 PM
Posted on June 14, 2009 23:54
Even though I commented long ago, a few more thoughts came to me. Ron mentions the concentration and long term commitment. The video games are more immediately gratifying, I suppose but concentration and persistence are extremely important things to learn and like body building or weight lifting, it takes time to strengthen and develop those qualities. I think we are losing some of that today. As well, it seems to me like kids are not the same anymore. Parents are not as good, either. Pollution, toxins, poor diet! Who knows what might be hurting us. But it deserves more consideration by us all.
Posted by Scott I | July 19, 2010 1:13 AM
Posted on July 19, 2010 01:13