My grandpa gave me a mini carpenter tool set, and they were real tools, for xmas or a birthday when I was 4 years old. I took everything apart that I was curious about the insides of, and nailed any two or more pieces of wood together. I quickly got the tools taken away.
@katbyter@pmarin Several of our cats chew the tape into submission, and two of them bite chunks off of box flaps. All of them will shred an insufficiently-guarded box, be it empty or not.
I had a game called “Multiway Rollaway” which was a set of wooden blocks, ramps and cubes with tunnels in them that let me build complex structures and roll a metal ball through the whole thing. I spent countless hours building around the house, downstairs and integrating all manner of things to make it bigger – Lincoln logs, standard ABC blocks and LEGO among them.
It was great fun. There’s been lots of newer versions of this concept over the years, mostly all plastic now, but the sound of that ball hitting and rolling on hardwood still has a wonderfully nostalgic memory for me.
Loved and wanted LEGOs but could only enjoy them at school during in-door recess. When I was in high school my stepdad worked at PlaySkool toys; he brought home a literal barrel of tiny plastic blocks very similar to LEGO.My whole family spent hours playing with them until I started separating them by color and discovered that they were mostly white! I started building the Standard Oil building a Chicago landmark. My stepdad brought another barrel full of bricks home so the building could be finished. It stood 4&1/2 feet tall! I didn’t count how many blocks it took but it was massive! It took 1-2 months to complete. We took a picture of it. Sadly I don’t have a copy. Knockoff LEGO fun!!
@Aetherwizard
When the kids were small (35 plus years ago) we had Rubbermaid tubs full of LEGO blocks that they accumulated over the years. As the grandkids came along they were allowed to take home anything that they built from those blocks. Upcycling at its best!
LEGO, not Legos.
@zhicks1987 I came here to say that, but I was going to type “LEGOs.”
@DonBirren @zhicks1987 I was in my 30s before I caught on that the proper term was “LEGO.” My brother and I spent hours building stuff out of Legos.
Barbie.
@milstarr I guess Mr Potato Head and Cootie would also be in that general class.
@phendrick Still love Mr Potato Head.
@milstarr @phendrick
Got a whole new lease on life in the Toy Story movies.
My grandpa gave me a mini carpenter tool set, and they were real tools, for xmas or a birthday when I was 4 years old. I took everything apart that I was curious about the insides of, and nailed any two or more pieces of wood together. I quickly got the tools taken away.
TinkerToy(s)
@llangley I had a lot of theses.
@llangley Shoulda been on the poll list.
Cardboard boxes and tape
@katbyter Cardboard boxes are also a favorite of cats. Not the tape, though. The tape confuses them when it attacks.
@katbyter @pmarin Several of our cats chew the tape into submission, and two of them bite chunks off of box flaps. All of them will shred an insufficiently-guarded box, be it empty or not.
LEGO and K’Nex! Still building LEGO today, on occasion.
Do we have ro have grown up to participate in the poll?
/showme old people playing with Erector sets, Tinker Toys, and Lincoln Logs
Scrap wood and nails/screws in the shop
K’nex
I had bristle blocks. Everything else was apparently too expensive.
I had a game called “Multiway Rollaway” which was a set of wooden blocks, ramps and cubes with tunnels in them that let me build complex structures and roll a metal ball through the whole thing. I spent countless hours building around the house, downstairs and integrating all manner of things to make it bigger – Lincoln logs, standard ABC blocks and LEGO among them.
It was great fun. There’s been lots of newer versions of this concept over the years, mostly all plastic now, but the sound of that ball hitting and rolling on hardwood still has a wonderfully nostalgic memory for me.
omg found it
@ACraigL The people who make mini Rube Goldberg devices love those! I’m thinking especially of Pythagora Switch Mini, a Japanese program for kids.
Loved and wanted LEGOs but could only enjoy them at school during in-door recess. When I was in high school my stepdad worked at PlaySkool toys; he brought home a literal barrel of tiny plastic blocks very similar to LEGO.My whole family spent hours playing with them until I started separating them by color and discovered that they were mostly white! I started building the Standard Oil building a Chicago landmark. My stepdad brought another barrel full of bricks home so the building could be finished. It stood 4&1/2 feet tall! I didn’t count how many blocks it took but it was massive! It took 1-2 months to complete. We took a picture of it. Sadly I don’t have a copy. Knockoff LEGO fun!!
Lego before it got so specialized. Though I did love the late 90s clear green chartreuse spaceship pieces. Just before branding got started. https://www.toysperiod.com/lego-set-reference/space/m-tron/lego-6989-mega-core-magnetizer/. Whatever that green space glass series was.
@Aetherwizard
When the kids were small (35 plus years ago) we had Rubbermaid tubs full of LEGO blocks that they accumulated over the years. As the grandkids came along they were allowed to take home anything that they built from those blocks. Upcycling at its best!
My family lived in poverty, we didn’t have builder toys. My brother and my toys were “go outside and play.”
Brix Blox, the cheapskate’s LEGOs
Girder N’ Panel was my favorite
@btreth that looks like a great one.
Make infrastructure fun again!
@btreth I had that set’s smaller brother, lacking the motorization.
I had this and several others when I was a child. By far my favorite. The closes when my kids were growing up was Kinect.
@btreth not this Kinect, I hope
It was actually cool hardware but with little purpose in the end because Microsoft’s plans failed.
/image Xbox Kinect
Knex!