Do our toys affect our modelling now?

[Guest jim s-w]

Just curious if having constructional toys as a kid (such as Lego) affect the way we model now.

[Andy Y]

I never did Lego really but Meccano was more of an influence so I'd be Option 1 but substituting Meccano for Lego.

[dave_long]

A 1 for me Jim, but sadly my lego building was quicker than my model building. Although I never had any lego railway stuff.

[Welly]

Loved Lego but I remember resenting it's inflexibility! Anyway I gave it all to my 5 year old godson last Summer.

[rope runner]

A firm yes from me.

 

Paul A.

[DaveF]

 

 

I never did Lego really but Meccano was more of an influence so I'd be Option 1 but substituting Meccano for Lego.

Me too, I think Lego hadn't arrived when I was young so I had Meccano.

I still prefer to make things (especially locos and stock), usually from kits, rather than have ready to run in larger scales.

David

 

Edit: I still can't spell - its taken me over 2 months to notice the  error here.

David

[Pennine MC]

We couldnt afford Lego. We 'ad it tough.

[BlackRat]

Cant beat Lego, (never had it as a kid apart from school had Meccano tho!).

 

its surprising how many bits of Lego find a use in railway modelling!

 

The 'square fours'....great for corner blocks on scratch buildings, useful for making up the hulls on scratch built boats or canal barges. Also useful with a piece of plasticard on top as a 'raised floor' for 16 tonners as a basis for loads etc.

 

The pole thingies.......handy as a basis for platform canopy supports

 

I bought two great tubs of 'useful' little bits from the mega store in Downtown Disney!

 

Honestly, it was for the kids!!

 

Both Meccano and Lego gives a useful base for creativity and problem solving.

[Coombe Barton]

I;m too old for Lego - but son had it - and there's still a mountain of it around.

 

I grew up with Meccano, Dublo 3 rail and Bayko (http://www.melright.com/bayko/)

 

Modelling then grew up into metal bashing via plasticard.

 

I do remember my mother telling me to put a Bayko building on the layout. I wouldn't as "it's the wrong scale"

[Guest Natalie Graham]

I loved Lego as a child and had quite an extensive set of railway things when they first started, at that time it was blue plastic rails, some flanged wheels and the motor in a large blue lego block. I also ingerited some Meccano from somewhere, the old red and green stuff, but never liked it as the things you made were always full of holes with nuts and bolts sticking out and, because of that, didn't look like what they were supposed to be. I am not sure whether this influenced my modelling or was indicative of a liking for things to be as realistic as possible in the same way as my inclination towards the 'finescale' ara of model railways.

[m0rris]

I've gone for the first option. However, whilst liked Lego and I have attempted to scratchbuild some buildings and I build plenty of plastic kits, I find my modelling is alot more about creating a "scene" with as much atmosphere as I can get right and consequently if I can source items that are better than I can do I will get them as they allow me to focus more on items that I can do well.

 

That said it is very satisfying to pull apart a model and modify it and end up with something that looks much better and is "your" work.

[Rivercider]

I never had Lego, but had something similar/smaller called Bettabuilda (?), anyone remember it?

 

After daily watching the sad distruction of Exmouth Junction shed as I walked home from junior school

I determined to build a (much) smaller version of it, then also built a tower crane, with wrecking ball made from plasticine

to recreate the demolition in my own home, how sad is that?

 

cheers

[Invicta]

Yes, I was a big Lego fan when I was a kid- I dabbled in Meccano as well, but Lego was the interest that reigned for longest.

 

The other big childhood influence on my railway modelling I suspect is Airfix- I spent a lot of my childhood and teens building Airfix Spitfires, tanks etc, and certainly the Airfix influence shows through in my attitudes to kitbuilding- I'm definitely more confident of my skills working with plastic kits than I am whitemetal or etched brass

[Pennine MC]

I never had Lego, but had something similar/smaller called Bettabuilda (?), anyone remember it?

 

Yes, that was what I had. Like I said, we wuz poor

[Re6/6]

Meccano all the way. Never made it to set 10! Always wanted to build the block setting crane that featured on the instructions.

 

Still got it all but haven't built anything for over 20 years.

[jamie92208]

I grew up with Meccano and learnt a lot of basic things about how machines work etc from it. I was also too early for Lego but had Minibrix, which was a bit like LEGO but made of rubber. For me I would go with Andy Y's answer 1 but substituting Meccano for Lego. Modelling progressed from those. I still occaisionally use meccano to try things and some bits are to be incorporated in the turntable drive on Green Ayre.

 

Jamie

[The Stationmaster]

You hardly saw Lego in the shops when i was a lad but I had Bako and inherited my dad's pre-war Meccano set. then there were Airfix and Kitmaster kits at just the right sort of time for my age. So effectively No.1 but with far more interesting things than Lego.

[Ramrig]

I grew up with Lego. I had the battery loco and track (early 1970's). My mother kept it when I out grew it and my own children played with it years later. I suppose it will again appear for our Grandchildren but not yet a while I hope

 

Any body remember this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BAYKO-No-12-BUILDING-SET-MECCANO-1960s-/160752431853?pt=UK_Construction_Toys_Kits&hash=item256d9772ed#ht_4091wt_1185

 

I have some lurking in the loft somewhere. Given to me by a relative when I was young, it had been there sons in the 1950's

[Guest Natalie Graham]

I never had Lego, but had something similar/smaller called Bettabuilda (?), anyone remember it?

 

I had some of that before I had Lego. It didn't hold together as well as Lego did but the roof tiles were brilliant.

[Pennine MC]

[bettabuilder] roof tiles were brilliant.

 

Oh yes B) Red and green IIRC, with little angled holes to latch them on with?

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Count me in for Bettabuilder too. Lego was for toffs.....

[Guest Natalie Graham]

Oh yes B) Red and green IIRC, with little angled holes to latch them on with?

 

They were the ones. There were internal and external angled ones too for valleys and hipped roofs.

[Andy C]

Meccano here as well so its A1with that in mind!

 

Funnily enough I never had Lego although both my younger brothers did. I suppose i did stuff with theirs, but cannot say it made or left a great impression though. Meccano was always so much better, As an 18 year old I couldnt have made a new battery clamp for my rotting Vauxhall HA Viva out of Lego!

[PaulRhB]

A mixture of 1 & 2 for me too, I use the rtr for those projects that are well supported and can concentrate my own building efforts on some of the more obscure interests.

I had the blue plastic Lego track and when I stopped using it for toys even used the motor bogie in an early attempt at O gauge when I was a student as it had a Buhler motor. The Hornby axles were chopped in the middle and the wheels were a press fit into the Lego unit. I disposed of the plastic case and built a Sentinel around it. It ran happily alongside Underhill and Vulcan kits with people suprised at its origin. There are some good bits in toys

Lego was quite flexible even in the 70's if you went up to large scale although the colours were very limited. I'm amazed at the parts available now to build locos to Lego gauge that are easily identifiable as real locos like Bulleids.

[Huw Griffiths]

Definitely Lego for me, when I was a nipper.

 

Although mine was given away to a cousin, when I was a bit older, I really enjoyed using Lego - easy to handle (and the stuff always seemed to have a nice "feel" to it) - and it didn't take long to see all manner of interesting structures appear, with very little effort on my part - basically, very satisfying to use.

 

Saying that, I was never into the "L Gauge" trains - and the "Lego Technic" stuff all came a bit late for me - but it all seemed like great fun.

 

I'm afraid I never really got on with Meccano (personal preference).

 

 

Fast forward to now - I'm in my mid 40's, still with fond memories of Lego (and what the stuff taught me about spatial awareness) - but, these days, I'm more likely to look at kits that don't need any special techniques. I'm also mocking up some straightforward "freelance" railbuses and "critters" on my computer.

 

Who knows - in time, some of them might even get built!

 

Huw.