Erector Set

Basic Erector parts included various metal beams with regularly spaced holes for assembly using nuts and bolts.

Hardened steel rods and screw clamps allowed the construction of hinges and the transmission of mechanical power via rotating parts such as pulleys, gears, wheels, and levers.

The Gabriel company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, bought the Erector brand name and continued to market the recently redesigned system, though by the mid-1970s most plastic parts had been removed (or replaced by laminated fiberboard, for panels) as a savings measure due to the oil crisis.

It focused on Gilbert's successful appeal to the Council of National Defense to reject a proposal to ban toy production in favor of wartime related materials during World War I.

An extensive collection of A.C. Gilbert Company scientific and educational children's toys is housed at the Eli Whitney Museum, in Hamden, Connecticut.

[citation needed] Over the years, Erector Sets have been used to prototype a variety of devices, including: In 1990, Meccano S.A. built a giant Ferris wheel in France.

The model, the largest in size[clarification needed] at the time, is 6.5 metres (21 ft) high, weighs 544 kilograms (1,199 lb), was made from 19,507 pieces, 50,560 nuts and bolts, and took 1,239 hours to construct.

At this mass and size[clarification needed], some deviation from Erector by Meccano-only parts was a necessity, to prevent it collapsing (mainly in the structural spokes).