|
| |
|
|
|
| 1o2 Piece Jumbo Construction Set
|
This TINKERTOY set features easy-fitting, durable, real
wood and plastic pieces for creating all kinds of great designs. Build
structures using the enclosed design guide, or use your imagination to
make lots of new and different creations.
- Creative and educational building set comes with
102 pieces
- Build the included designs, or create new designs
of your own
- Includes 48 rods, 20 spools, 8 connector clips, 2
flags, 10 end caps, 6 couplings, 2 tubes, 1 length of string, face
plate, 2 robot arms, 2 rail holders and design guide
tt102set $34.95 |
| 66 Piece Classic Tinker Toy
|
Comes with 66 classic wooden and plastic
Tinkertoy pieces to build big fast! Kids can easily build lots of
structures that swing, roll and spin! Kids will thrive on the creative
freedom to build what they want, when they want. Every Tinkertoy Classic
building set comes in a sturdy canister package with a metal lid and
bottom. All pieces, except green flags, are made of 100% real wood.
24.99 |
(OddzOn wishes to acknowledge and thank Mr. Craig
Strange, author of A Collectors Guide to Tinkertoys. Much of the
historical information that follows was directly referenced from his
works.)
"1914 - Good then, 1935 - Good now, 2000 - Good
always". These were the prophetic words written inside the back
cover of a 1935 Toy Tinkers catalog. Charles H. Pajeau and Robert
Pettit, the founders of The Toy Tinkers of Evanston, Illinois, and the
creators of the TINKERTOY construction set, knew that the "Thousand
Wonder Builder" would continue to inspire the imaginations of
children because of its easy-to-use, yet versatile construction system.
Charles and Robert met while commuting by train from
Evanston to Chicago for work. Charles, a stone mason, and Richard, a
trader at the Board of Trade, were drawn to each other by their mutual
dislike of their chosen professions. Determined to make a change, they
soon formed a partnership that would last almost 30 years.
The inspiration for the TINKERTOY construction set
came to Pajeau while he was watching children play with pencils and
empty spools of thread. He noticed that children would play for long
periods of time by mixing simple household items with lots of
creativity. Charles also observed that children had a natural curiosity
about the world around them and enjoyed taking things apart to see how
they work. Most importantly, he noticed that they enjoyed disassembling
and re-assembling the same parts and creating whatever their imagination
could dream up. With these fundamental principals in mind, Charles and
Robert set out to create a toy construction set made out of sticks and
spools that would inspire the imagination of children everywhere.
|
| Charles thought of drilling 8 holes around
the perimeter of the
spools and one through the center. This cornerstone
piece, when combined with sticks of varying lengths, formed a construction
system based the Pythagorean Principal of the progressive right triangle.
This means, a triangle composed of sticks and spools could become the
sides of an even bigger triangle, and a three dimensional object could be
built with infinite possibilities.
Knowing they had a hit product, they quickly set out to
manufacture and market the toy. Charles and Robert started their company
and named it "The Toy Tinkers of Evanston, Illinois",
appropriately named because of the way they "tinkered" with
creating toys. Since their first product inspired kids to
"tinker" with the spools and sticks to create objects, they
decided to name their first product "TINKERTOY".
The now classic packaging and graphics were created to
serve two main purposes. First, the bold graphics and canister package
made the product stand out from its competitors. Second, it allowed the
toy to be mailed easily and efficiently through the U.S. Postal System,
thereby saving the consumers money.
In 1914 Charles and Robert introduced TINKERTOY to the
public. Unfortunately, due to a slow economy and a glut of product in the
toy industry, they found little interest in their creation.
In order to create interest in their product, they set
up TINKERTOY Ferris wheels and other displays at stores in the Chicago
area. These eye-catching displays used electric fans to keep the
constructions turning. The displays were so successful, they quickly
created a demand that outpaced their supply.
|
|