Brickplayer

Here is an old British toy that had a lot of good intentions, but also some unanticipated drawbacks.

Buildings were constructed on allegedly waterproof waxed card bases. The bricks etc. were stuck together with a mortar made from a mixture of flour and chalk powder. It required a great amount of skill to erect buildings accurately, very time-consuming and beyond the patience of most of the children it was aimed at (8 to 14 years). Especially so in cold houses (as most British homes then were) it would take several days for the building to 'set'. Reusing the components involved a process of dunking the entire model in a large bowl of warm water. After the model fell apart the bricks and plaster pieces required lengthy rinsing to remove all organic traces to prevent mould growing on them.

I wonder how well they sold in the USA, as touted in the ad below, from Boys Life for September 1948.

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Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 20, 2015
Category: Buildings and Other Structures | Toys | Children | Europe | Twentieth Century

Comments

Never heard of it. I used to build plastic models until my grandfolks got me a kit of a Mississippi river paddle wheeler where each and every picket in the railings of all 3 decks were individual pieces.

Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 09/20/15 at 09:32 AM

It does have drawbacks but I am sure some kids loved it. Wonder if the person who invented Legos played with this toy.

Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/20/15 at 09:55 AM

We had Lincoln Logs. They went together and came apart with no mess.

Posted by GFnKS on 09/21/15 at 09:35 AM

THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.

And therein hangs a tale...

Posted by KDP on 09/21/15 at 09:54 AM

I love Poe!

Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/21/15 at 02:50 PM

If you want to know more about Spears Brickplayer have a look at my website;

brickplayer.co.uk

Dave

Posted by Dave on 10/08/15 at 07:53 PM

@Dave: You mean these things are still being produced and sold? Or, are what you have 'left overs'?

Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 10/08/15 at 11:26 PM

Production of Brickplayer ceased in 1963.
I have the largest collection of Brickplayer built models and unused kits in the world.
Lots of information on my website;

http://www.brickplayer.co.uk

Dave

Posted by Dave on 10/09/15 at 04:42 AM

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