Who had an electric set when they were a kid?

[unclebilly]

I don't mean an electric train set.

Remember these?



We had several of these sets as kids. Now you can't find them anywhere. I guess it is a sad state of society when all of this is done virtually with apps like Crazy Machines.

My brother and I spent hours playing with electric sets, lego, capsela, Meccano, later it was small engines and then cars. Both or us are now professional engineers. I just want the same for my kids.

[GH85Carrera]

I had a chemistry set with some cool chemicals and a Bunsen burner. We had an erector set but never a electric set like yours.

[recycled sixtie]

Unclebilly it looks like you were a spoiled brat when you were a kid. However it looks like it paid off with your career choice! I did not have any exotic toys. Meccano was fun and yes as mentioned above the chemistry set. I was fortunate or good and did not lose parts of my body during experiments.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

I don't mean an electric train set.

Remember these?



We had several of these sets as kids. Now you can't find them anywhere. I guess it is a sad state of society when all of this is done virtually with apps like Crazy Machines.

My brother and I spent hours playing with electric sets, lego, capsela, Meccano, later it was small engines and then cars. Both or us are now professional engineers. I just want the same for my kids.

I had a small one that wasn't quite as cool as that.

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I had a chemistry set with some cool chemicals and a Bunsen burner. We had an erector set but never a electric set like yours.

I think mine was this or very similar.

[stevej37]

I don't remember ever seeing an electric set like that. We had the chemistry set, and microscope with dissecting tools. Has lots of fun with the chemistry set!

[red-beard]

I had both the Electric set (Radio Shack) and a Chemistry set.

I had the "75 in 1" set

[legion]

I still have both of mine. I'll get them out when the kids are a little older. My 5 year old has a set with several motors, batteries, and switches. He can build things like a bubble machine, a fan, or flying top. He ditched the instructions after the first month and builds his own stuff now.

[recycled sixtie]

One of my best toys was a crystal set which was a radio without a battery. The fun part was the long wire that was placed as high as possible such as a tree. The higher the tree the better the signal. We are talking 1950's so for most you it was before your time....

[sand_man]

I once satisfied my "childhood curiosity" about electricity by sticking a house key into an outlet. HHHMMM, come to think of it, that explains a lot....

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by red-beard

I had both the Electric set (Radio Shack) and a Chemistry set.

I had the "75 in 1" set

We had that same one and later got the 200 in 1 kit.

After posting this I did find a source and plan to order one.

[gwmac]

Would have had vacuum tubes when I was a kid, +1 on the crystal set.

[BK911]

Wow, you guys are geeks!!
Lego, erector, but my favorite was girder and panel.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by red-beard

I had both the Electric set (Radio Shack) and a Chemistry set.

I had the "75 in 1" set

:::

My brother and I shared one of these as kids. I especially remember bending the springs to connect the wires.
After it had been used for a while you had to twang them so they would connect properly.
The base board was thick cardboard from memory. You had to be careful not to bend the springs too far because they could work loose.

We had hours of fun using this kit. Great memories. Thanks.

[NutmegCarrera]

Yes on the electric set here.
Also really enjoyed my erector set.
Of course lots of models - both plastic and balsa/tissue.

Good thing we didn't have smart phones back then.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

One of my best toys was a crystal set which was a radio without a battery. The fun part was the long wire that was placed as high as possible such as a tree. The higher the tree the better the signal. We are talking 1950's so for most you it was before your time....

I didn't have that, but I did build a crystal radio from scratch from parts for a science project one year in school.

[wdfifteen]

We had mud and some sticks.

[OK-944]

In 1990 I designed and built a house for our then-young family. From the time that I handed my then two year old son the end of a 250 ft roll of 12/2 romex and said "now, take this wire and pull it through those holes," he never looked back - flash forward to a masters in engineering (Carnegie Mellon) and he's already pulling down, at 28 yrs., more than I ever have in my life. Guess I shoulda pulled more wire as a kid!

[1990C4S]

I had a small steam engine kit, a chemistry set, Meccano, and a Lego gear set.

And a small box of mercury.

[Pazuzu]

Crystal radio (listened to the Space Shuttle crew!), erector set, train sets, chemistry sets (melted sulfur for the win!), microscopes, telescopes, electric sets, magic sets, plastic models, pewter D&D figurines, pet insects, pet garden snakes, pet brine shrimp, and 40 million legos.

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

We had mud and some sticks.

We were too poor to afford sticks.