Out of all the toys I remember from being a child, this has to be one of the favourites.
Before the Danes took off their horned helmets and stopped pillaging long enough to think up Lego (and Danepak bacon), this was the building toy.
You had a green base plate with holes in it and you stuck thin metal rods (oh my word, how dangerous!) into the holes and then slid the plastic bricks down between the rods.
I must have spent hours and hours playing with my Bayko set.
Apart from bricks there were the usual array of other building bits - doors, windows etc. It has to be said that the buildings you could make with Bayko tended not to be the terraced houses most of us lived in at the time but still...
In fact it was only the bigger sets that you could build more than one design of house if I remember rightly. I think I had three different types of roof - one house-sized roof, one L-shaped roof for bungalows - well I can't remember seeing an L-shaped two storey house anywhere round us so always built bungalows L-shaped. Then there were two flat pieces that you could build shed roofs with.
I gather the sets are much in demand now and I do remember reading about some enthusiast who was trying to make a model of Buckingham Palace with Bayko pieces! Hope he doesn't poke his eye out...
Hi John, I too remember spending hours and hours building my houses. I was thrilled when I managed to get 'opening windows' I still have my wonderful sets, tucked away safely like a precious love, in my loft. I never allowed my children to even touch it. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi all,
ReplyDeleteThere are some of us out there who still do play with the world's first and finest plastic construction toy - and it's still great fun.
You'll be able to see the results at a fabulous exhibition which is scheduled to take place at the Museum of Liverpool, May 16th to 19th, 2013.
Come along and enjoy the nostalgia.
Pete
http://www.baykoman.com