Construction sets / meccano etc

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StevieB

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Slightly esoteric heading but let me explain!

As a child I had much fun with meccano, both plastic and later metal. I also had a set of wooden blocks and a friend had a type of wooden meccano, not by meccano by the same idea - wooden pieces with big plastic nuts and bolts. I have now been looking for something similar for my son - big pieces for little fingers etc. Making a set of building blocks is easy but can I find anything resembling a construction set? Not a chance. I can find Knex, and plastic meccano in tiny kits at extortionate prices to make a single specified model but no large free form set for imaginative play. The best I can come up with is a big build set from the early learning centre - but these are out of stock :roll:

So my question is - anyone know of anything like this? It doesn't have to be wooden, although if you know someone that supplies large plastic nuts and bolts I guess I could make wooden spars fairly easily. It has to be large pieces for a two and a half year old to use, and if possible expandable so it can be added to as he grows.

Eventually I am sure he will graduate to metal meccano and knex etc, and perhaps he should stick to duplo lego for a while, its just that he loves playing with my screwdriver etc and has his own plastic toolkit - it seems there is a space in the market for something to actually do with it though!

I know a few of the members have children, and several more young grandchildren, so figured it was worth a try in case anyone else had the same problem.

Cheers,

Steve.
 
Stevie, you could make the knobs and bolts from a hardwood such as beech or maple. Threading them would be easy enough with this sort of kit.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... at=1,43000
44j2310g1.jpg
 
Steve,
have you had a look at the meccano web site? There are 100 & 150 piece construction sets available.
I bought the 100 piece set in a hypermarket in France at what I thought was a reasonable price but I forget how much.

A guess alocal toy shop should be able to order them as I have never seen them in the larger toy sheds

Andy
 
Thanks all for the replies :D Nice idea to cut my own threads but I dont think SWMBO is going to swing for the cost of the kit just to make a few nuts and bolts :cry:

Chiba - cracking website, makes me wish I was a child again. think I am going to be enjoying my son growing up! The Brio builder stuff is exactly the sort of stuff I was after, thanks. Although thats a US website several online retailers in the UK are linked from the Brio website.

Andy - I did see those but was slightly cynical as to how many of the 100 pieces were actually nuts and bolts and how many were useable bits rather than fastners. I might try and track one down in the flesh and have a look - there is a big Toys'R'us nearby I could try.

Cheers,

Steve
Reliving his childhood instead of working!
 
StevieB":1voz2tsf said:
Thanks all for the replies :D Nice idea to cut my own threads but I dont think SWMBO is going to swing for the cost of the kit just to make a few nuts and bolts :cry:
No, no, no! That's not the way to think of it at all. Think of all the clamps you could make yourself, saving countless hundreds of pounds. Sheesh, talk about missing the opportunity. :roll: :wink:

Cheers, Alf
 
Steve said: "friend had a type of wooden meccano, not by meccano by the same idea - wooden pieces with big plastic nuts and bolts"

Bilofix? Great stuff. Think the lenghts were made of beech with blue and red plastic nuts and bolts.

Noel
 

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