Brickplayer
Encyclopedia
Brickplayer was a British construction toy with four sizes of sets (1 to 4) made by J. W. Spear of Enfield
in North London
, later supplementary sets like a Farmyard version were introduced. They were designed in the same scale as '0' gauge
model railways. The preference for 'HO' scale
railways and the easy to use Lego
type plastic toys saw it disappear by the mid 1960s. Its popularity suffered due to its complexity and dated pre-war Metroland style houses.
The sets comprised baseboards, terracotta bricks and lintels, plastic door and window frames, card doors and roofing. The bricks were about 1 inch long in scale proportion to regular house bricks. Building plans were accurate architect's blue prints.
Buildings were constructed on allegedly waterproof waxed card bases. The bricks etc. were stuck together with a mortar made from a mixture of flour and chalk powder. It required a great amount of skill to erect buildings accurately, very time-consuming and beyond the patience of most of the children it was aimed at (8 to 14 years). Especially so in cold houses (as most British homes then were) it would take several days for the building to 'set'. Reusing the components involved a process of dunking the entire model in a large bowl of warm water. After the model fell apart the bricks and plaster pieces required lengthy rinsing to remove all organic traces to prevent mould growing on them.
When well made, models were very realistic and many high road estate agent
s (realtors) would place a model or two in their shop windows. http://ndyarrissaykoaugeodelsallery.fotopic.net/p55285342.html
For lots of information and photos please visit; www.brickplayer.co.uk
London Borough of Enfield
The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. It borders the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey and Waltham Forest...
in North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, later supplementary sets like a Farmyard version were introduced. They were designed in the same scale as '0' gauge
O scale
O scale is a scale commonly used for toy trains and model railroading. Originally introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scale in the United States and remained so until the early 1960s...
model railways. The preference for 'HO' scale
HO scale
HO or H0 is the most popular scale of model railway in the world.According to the NMRA standard S-1.2 predominantly used in North America, in HO scale, represents 1 real foot ; this ratio works out to about 1:87.1. According to the MOROP standard NEM 010 predominantly used in Europe, the scale is...
railways and the easy to use Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
type plastic toys saw it disappear by the mid 1960s. Its popularity suffered due to its complexity and dated pre-war Metroland style houses.
The sets comprised baseboards, terracotta bricks and lintels, plastic door and window frames, card doors and roofing. The bricks were about 1 inch long in scale proportion to regular house bricks. Building plans were accurate architect's blue prints.
Buildings were constructed on allegedly waterproof waxed card bases. The bricks etc. were stuck together with a mortar made from a mixture of flour and chalk powder. It required a great amount of skill to erect buildings accurately, very time-consuming and beyond the patience of most of the children it was aimed at (8 to 14 years). Especially so in cold houses (as most British homes then were) it would take several days for the building to 'set'. Reusing the components involved a process of dunking the entire model in a large bowl of warm water. After the model fell apart the bricks and plaster pieces required lengthy rinsing to remove all organic traces to prevent mould growing on them.
When well made, models were very realistic and many high road estate agent
Estate agent
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent...
s (realtors) would place a model or two in their shop windows. http://ndyarrissaykoaugeodelsallery.fotopic.net/p55285342.html
External links
- http://www.brickplayer.co.uk/Default.aspx?page=2
- http://www.lookandlearn.com/children's-newspaper/CN551210-009.pdf
- http://www.architoys.net/toys/toypages/brickpla.html
- http://www.trademe.co.nz/Toys-models/Vintage/auction-203019861.htm
For lots of information and photos please visit; www.brickplayer.co.uk