James May's Toy Stories

[Arch]

Looking forward to the bridge made from meccano, was produced in Liverpool, i know an engineering student (from Liverpool Uni) who won the chance to help out on the build!

A bridge made of Meccano? Haven't they already done that, over the Forth?

Interesting thought: will there be any of 'today's'* toys that can be used like this in 40 or 50 years time? Games consoles will be obsolete (think laser discs!), and anyway, all you can do with a games console is play the games on it, you can't really scale it up...

*of course, lego et al are also toys of today, I mean newly invented ones.

Best simple toys of the past: we had a set of Galt wooden building bricks, which gave hours of enjoyment. Squares, rectangles, triangles, columns, arches and the semicircles out of the arches, all to the same set of dimensions so that they worked together howeer you combined them. They came in a duffle bag, the rubberised inside of which perished over the years so that every time you tipped the bricks out, you got a shower of rubbery bits....

 

[Amanda P]

Best simple toys of the past: we had a set of Galt wooden building bricks, which gave hours of enjoyment. Squares, rectangles, triangles, columns, arches and the semicircles out of the arches, all to the same set of dimensions so that they worked together howeer you combined them. They came in a duffle bag, the rubberised inside of which perished over the years so that every time you tipped the bricks out, you got a shower of rubbery bits....

I have exactly that same memory!

 

[Arch]

I have exactly that same memory!

Wow, they must have been more common than I thought!

Part of my childhood was mixing and matching toys. Galt bricks could make the walls and pens of a farm inhabited by Britains farm animals. Playmobil people lived in my dolls' house. Matchbox cars dodged landing airfix planes. Lego worlds were inhabited by an esoteric mix of small dollies and creatures off keyrings. Action Man rode a Cindy horse (but it was a least black). All slightly odd scales, but that didn't matter.

 

[Over The Hill]

THAT never occured to me! Ever!

Although I did paint the Airfix skeleton in a luminous grey/green colour!

I had one of those too! I rigged up a light bulb inside the skull. Kept my sister out of my room.

 

[Over The Hill]

Best was the Spitfire of course. Worst was a submarine; No details on it and probably only made of 10 bits.

Then there were the Dogfight Doubles !

They were hanging all over my bedroom ceiling on cotton thread pinned into the ceiling tiles. You dont get ceiling tile now either.

I grouped them in different eras.

Also had a Mayflower ship which had a strange design with rows of coloured triangles |/|/|/ like this all around the back end which was really tricky to paint.

 

[NormanD]

Model kits ... well I have something like 600 / 800 (haven't done a count recently) boxed kits of all descriptions in my loft at this moment (makes good insultation) and a dedicated model room too.

http://www.menden.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/1b.html

Not sure if the link still works but heres my web page with some builds on it.

http://www.menden.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/1.html?submenu=0

 

[mr_cellophane]

Model kits ... well I have something like 600 / 800 (haven't done a count recently) boxed kits of all descriptions in my loft at this moment (makes good insultation) and a dedicated model room too.

http://www.menden.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/1b.html

Not sure if the link still works but heres my web page with some builds on it.

http://www.menden.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/1.html?submenu=0

Those bikes are quite good. Making them must have taken some care.

 

[Over The Hill]

Is this really the right colour? It looks a bit Gay (in the second meaning of the word).

 

[Dayvo]

Is this really the right colour? It looks a bit Gay (in the second meaning of the word).

Is that made out of squeezy washing-up bottles?

 

[NormanD]

thats the base colour for this finish

Japanese home defense scheme

I've just watched that james may program on BBC I player .... loved it

 

[Noodley]

I've just told Mrs Noodley that I am heading out in the next few days to buy an Airfix model. I don't think she 'gets' it

She also didn't 'get' why I bought a second hand Subbuteo set from the 1970s earlier this year with 7 full original teams, extra 'diving' goalies, balls, pitch, and goals

 

[Alan Frame]

I've just told Mrs Noodley that I am heading out in the next few days to buy an Airfix model. I don't think she 'gets' it

She also didn't 'get' why I bought a second hand Subbuteo set from the 1970s earlier this year with 7 full original teams, extra 'diving' goalies, balls, pitch, and goals

There were several very serious injuries on the pitch when I had my first Subbuteo set aged 6 or 7... I knelt on my own team whilst pursuing the ball.

And what about blow football ? Seem to remember play was often stopped by heavy precipitation.....spit out of the end of the tube !

 

[darkstar]

thats the base colour for this finish

Japanese home defense scheme

I've just watched that james may program on BBC I player .... loved it

Wow that looks awesome and judging by the pics on your website, bloody detailed as well. Don't think i would ever have the patience to do models to that standard, made a few as a kid but soon gave up...

 

[brockers]

Airfix were always a bit pants though, because the moulds had churned out so many kits that they'd gone out of shape, hence I remember the fuselages or other interfaces would never seem to form a perfect join, and the company never seemed to have enough money to make new moulds either. The better kits were Revell, but the absolute best were Tamiya - especially the tanks. Ooh. Think I might have to treat myself.

 

[TheDoctor]

I currently have a Revell 1:96 scale Apollo kit awaiting assembly
It's got gold foil to fit to the LEM and everything.