Top Toys

[Bush Tucker Man]

Did anyone see the great programme that James'Top-Gear' May fronted last night?

It was a homage to some of the older toys & the story behind them.

First off was Meccano & the story behind it. frank Hornby (yes, he of the 00 guage trains) invented it.
In the 1950's, the top #10 box (4,000 pieces) cost about £46. Doesn't sound a lot a lot until you're told that it's almost £2,500 in todays prices :shock:
One father & daughter shown own over 50,000 pieces :shock:  :shock:
Enough to to have working lift shaft & motors, a tram, a 9foot long locomotive (& lots more)

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/dms/meccano/

Then we had Airfix, & the superb early artwork of Roy Cross, which was all heady stuff with anything remotely liked to the axis powers getting a 'good stuffing'.
Until (a surprisingly PC) Australia asked for non-violent boxes, so the rest of the world got the same to save printing costs.
Scalextric featured, as did Dinky, Matchbox & Corgi

He also covered Triang-Hornby trainset  :(biglove): & Pete Watermans (pop producer?) worlds largest privately owned 'O' guage layout

You missed a real treat
I'm sure it will be repeated, so look out for it, or perhaps on BBC3 or 4??

[v8kenny]

You are just showing your age now - but I must agree it was a cracking program - oops I'm showing my age now ! :D

[landraver]

about 1970 my grandad bought my brother & I a huge set of meccano & an early scalextric (the cars looked like torpedos with wheels, you know the ones) between us. In about 1990 my brother sold them both for a pittence. I'll never forgive him!!!!

[Bush Tucker Man]

You are just showing your age now - but I must agree it was a cracking program - oops I'm showing my age now ! :D

I'll tell if you do

I was 40 in October.

I wonder, was that really Mays attic, or a studio rig-up :? ??

That was his wife(?) at the end talking about him buying her a train as a pressie.
He was a guest on Johnnie Walker on Monday?/Tuesday? evening talking about the show

[Priglet]

When my grandad moved house we cleared out his shed and found my Dad's 1950's clockwork trainset in original box, we kept it and I played with it now it's waiting for my kid(s) to play with it. It might be worth a few quid but it's not for sale - just like James May showed it's a toy and it's going to get played with :P

[The Fat Controller]

i've still gt my tain set that was bought for me when i was an ankle biter,still in it's origional box the only thing missing is the transformer.it is marked on the box TRIANG-HORNBY

[Bush Tucker Man]

There's my (Hornby '00') Flying Scotsman on a shelf down in the 'sung', still in the original (torn) box.
I think, without going to look at it, it's still got a price label on it that says £8.95 or some such (or that might be the LNER 4-6-0 in my parents loft?)

[prowler]

I loved it when he won that train at auction, then asked the girl behind the counter if she had a BIN to put the train set  BOX in, Great program, down to earth bloke.
Wish I had kept all my Meccano, had loads of it, but built things with it then DESROYED them with fire/hammers/anything really { too destructive as a kid to keep anything for long } I am now 40 and still pull things apart, but can build new things out of the old bits now.