Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Build a Skyscraper

I recently reclaimed another toy I had as a child. The Build a Skyscraper set is a building toy that was made sometime in the early 1960's. There's no manufacturer information at all on the packaging, instructions, or the blocks themselves. Just a note (in a bad translation) that ti was made in "Western Germany."



As you can see, the set's pretty small -- and entirely self-contained. In addition to providing a variety of blocks to make one very elaborate or several simple city structures, you also get pieces to make a bridge, and three autos.

The set assembled -- just like the box art!

The original price on the bottom is marked 50 cents. I've seen them on eBay for about $30.00, which seems about right. The blocks aren't precisely cut, and the windows aren't printed exactly center -- so this isn't the highest level of German toy manufacturing.

Or I could build one of these other designs.

Still, there's a certain charm about the set, especially when I put the pieces together. I just need to be sure to assemble them on a perfectly flat surface, though. Because, as you can see from the photo below, those blocks weren't cut exactly square!

Or just create something on my own. Beep, beep!

2 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! I had this toy too when I was a small child! My German grandparents had gotten it for me. I loved it because it was soo tiny! :) I didn't care that the lines weren't straight..but I did notice! Thanks for the memory!

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    1. You're welcome! I ran across this at my dad's house a while ago and he was happy to let me have it back again. I think I got it when I was about 6 or 7 -- when my fingers were MUCH smaller. 8-)

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