Ideally, I want to buy a Tinkertoy set, see
http://www.hasbro.com/tinkertoy/, or a number of them. The application
is a set of models for use in teaching 3D computer graphics.

From Hasbro's website, there is no obvious UK or European retailer; but
maybe uk.diyers know of sources.

Or, can anyone suggest an alternative product?

Failing those two, I would have to (reluctantly) fall back to DIY. I
already have metre lengths of 4mm threaded rods, so the posts are taken
care of. I would need to make the hubs. I suppose a 50--80mm circular
hardwood post would be good raw material -- sawing and drilling to be
done. Plastic might be nicer -- or whatever you call that milky
coloured plastic used for chopping boards.

What I want to construct are 3D coordinate axes (x, y, z) and simple
wireframe models, e.g. a very simple 'house' -- the main aim of the
latter being to demonstrate various projections. The use of Tinkertoy
for this purpose mentioned in the textbook Foley at al, Computer
graphics, 1996 ed.

Any suggestions?

TIA,

Jon C.

On 21 Dec 2005 03:24:18 -0800, wrote:

Ideally, I want to buy a Tinkertoy set, see
http://www.hasbro.com/tinkertoy/, or a number of them. The application
is a set of models for use in teaching 3D computer graphics.

From Hasbro's website, there is no obvious UK or European retailer; but
maybe uk.diyers know of sources.

www.andytoys.co.uk have a toyfinder service for hard to find toys.
Obviously they'll add a mark up on the final price but it'll cost you
nothing to find out.

sponix

On 21 Dec 2005 03:24:18 -0800, wrote:

Any suggestions?

I think I remember seeing something made out of drilled rubber balls
and metal sticks, possibly in a garden centre for constructing netting
frames.

Perhaps you could devise somnething similar?

sponix

On 21 Dec 2005 03:24:18 -0800, wrote:

Ideally, I want to buy a Tinkertoy set, see
http://www.hasbro.com/tinkertoy/, or a number of them.

So order them from the USA. They're not heavy, shipping shouldn't cost
too much. Isn't this Intaweb thing wonderful?

Or else make your own. Tinkertoy doesn't have much to it. The sticks are
just dowel, the bobbins can be made from broomhandle, crossdrilled in a
V-block in a drill press, then sawn into slices. Find a woodturning
lathe (and an eccentric jam chuck) if you want neatly chamfered edges on
the bobbins and the 5-hole bobbins.

In article .com,
writes:
Ideally, I want to buy a Tinkertoy set, see
http://www.hasbro.com/tinkertoy/, or a number of them. The application
is a set of models for use in teaching 3D computer graphics.

From Hasbro's website, there is no obvious UK or European retailer; but
maybe uk.diyers know of sources.

Or, can anyone suggest an alternative product?

Tinkertoy is brilliant -- my brother and I had it as
young children, but we were living in the US at the time.
I wonder if it's still made of wood nowadays?

Failing those two, I would have to (reluctantly) fall back to DIY. I
already have metre lengths of 4mm threaded rods, so the posts are taken

I don't recall the rods were threaded -- just push-fit.

--
Andrew Gabriel

On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 12:14:20 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:


Or else make your own. Tinkertoy doesn't have much to it. The sticks are
just dowel, the bobbins can be made from broomhandle, crossdrilled in a
V-block in a drill press, then sawn into slices. Find a woodturning
lathe (and an eccentric jam chuck) if you want neatly chamfered edges on
the bobbins and the 5-hole bobbins.

You are talking a load of bobbins!



sponix

[Andrew Gabriel] :
Tinkertoy is brilliant -- my brother and I had it as
young children, but we were living in the US at the time.
I wonder if it's still made of wood nowadays?

We had a set too as kids, brought back from the USA. Came in a big
cardboard tube IIRC

Failing those two, I would have to (reluctantly) fall back to DIY. I
already have metre lengths of 4mm threaded rods, so the posts are taken

I don't recall the rods were threaded -- just push-fit.

They were plain dowels with cuts in the ends to allow them to be
pushed into the bobbins.

But your secret is out:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-GABRIE...NKERTOY-200-PC
S_W0QQitemZ6023415801QQcategoryZ19014QQssPageNameZ WD2VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

"THIS SET HAS A COPYRIGHT DATE OF MCMLXXIX (1979) BY GABRIEL INDUSTRIES"

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk
Free SEDBUK boiler database browser http://www.sda.co.uk/qsedbuk.htm
[Latest version QSEDBUK 1.12 released 8 Dec 2005]

On 21 Dec 2005 12:42:09 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

In article .com,
writes:
Ideally, I want to buy a Tinkertoy set, see
http://www.hasbro.com/tinkertoy/, or a number of them. The application
is a set of models for use in teaching 3D computer graphics.

From Hasbro's website, there is no obvious UK or European retailer; but
maybe uk.diyers know of sources.

Or, can anyone suggest an alternative product?

Tinkertoy is brilliant -- my brother and I had it as
young children, but we were living in the US at the time.
I wonder if it's still made of wood nowadays?

Failing those two, I would have to (reluctantly) fall back to DIY. I
already have metre lengths of 4mm threaded rods, so the posts are taken

I don't recall the rods were threaded -- just push-fit.

I had some as well, made by the original manufacturer and bought for
me in the U.S. by a friend of my father's who was an airline pilot.
He also bought me some of the other classic American wooden toy,
Lincoln Logs (for making log cabins).

Anyway.... Tinkertoy got a lot of use and I remember that it all went
into a cardboard container with metal bottom and lid - rather like a
larger version of an Ovaltine package. I think that it was what they
now call the Colossal pack based on the number of pieces.

The rods were coloured and in different lengths. There is a slot cut
into the ends of the rods so that they form a good but removable
interference fit in the spools. There weren't plastic flags as I
recall.

If you look at the history of Tinkertoy, thay have now returned to
wood from the crappy plastic version of a few years ago. Good thing
too. Plastic. Honestly.




--

..andy

In article ,
Tony Bryer writes:

But your secret is out:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-GABRIE...NKERTOY-200-PC
S_W0QQitemZ6023415801QQcategoryZ19014QQssPageNameZ WD2VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

"THIS SET HAS A COPYRIGHT DATE OF MCMLXXIX (1979) BY GABRIEL INDUSTRIES"

I'm afraid my set would have had a much older copyright date.
The wooden bits look identical, but I don't recall those
plastic pieces in my day.

--
Andrew Gabriel

Andrew Gabriel wrote:

In article ,
Tony Bryer writes:

But your secret is out:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-GABRIE...NKERTOY-200-PC
S_W0QQitemZ6023415801QQcategoryZ19014QQssPageNameZ WD2VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

"THIS SET HAS A COPYRIGHT DATE OF MCMLXXIX (1979) BY GABRIEL INDUSTRIES"

I'm afraid my set would have had a much older copyright date.
The wooden bits look identical, but I don't recall those
plastic pieces in my day.

A few years ago, as a Xmas present, my son bought me the biggest TinkerToy
set he could find - it came in a large cardboard tube. It was all wood -
unpainted, slot-ended dowels and brightly painted hubs, and great fun. I
first played with TinkerToys in the 1950s.

Sheila

In message .com,
wrote:

Ideally, I want to buy a Tinkertoy set, see
http://www.hasbro.com/tinkertoy/, or a number of them. The application
is a set of models for use in teaching 3D computer graphics.

From Hasbro's website, there is no obvious UK or European retailer; but
maybe uk.diyers know of sources.

Or, can anyone suggest an alternative product?

Would K'NEX do the same thing? Also by Hasbro:

http://www.hasbro.co.uk/knex/products/index.asp

Has a lot of things you possibly don't want - wheels and motors and
things - but can certainly build 3D models in a similar format to that
hub & spoke tinkertoy. Very available in this country.

Hwyl!

M.

--
Martin Angove: http://www.tridwr.demon.co.uk/
Making sense of technology: http://www.livtech.co.uk/
.... "Bother", said Pooh, as he fell into the nitric acid bath

wrote:
Ideally, I want to buy a Tinkertoy set, see
http://www.hasbro.com/tinkertoy/, or a number of them. The application
is a set of models for use in teaching 3D computer graphics.

Would these do the job?

http://tinyurl.com/cr7ey

Dave

Martin Angove wrote:
In message .com,
wrote:

Ideally, I want to buy a Tinkertoy set, see
http://www.hasbro.com/tinkertoy/, or a number of them. The application
is a set of models for use in teaching 3D computer graphics.

From Hasbro's website, there is no obvious UK or European retailer; but
maybe uk.diyers know of sources.

Or, can anyone suggest an alternative product?

Would K'NEX do the same thing? Also by Hasbro:

http://www.hasbro.co.uk/knex/products/index.asp


Yes, that looks good, many thanks. Maybe better than Tinkertoy.

That opinion in spite of their website, but eventually I found some
information at:

http://www.hasbro.co.uk/knex/helpful...lpfulhints.asp

Thanks a lot,

Jon C.

david lang wrote:
wrote:
Ideally, I want to buy a Tinkertoy set, see
http://www.hasbro.com/tinkertoy/, or a number of them. The application
is a set of models for use in teaching 3D computer graphics.

Would these do the job?

http://tinyurl.com/cr7ey


Thanks, maybe K'NEX better (see previous post), but nonetheless I'll be
buying a set as soon as they are back in stock.

Many thanks.

And thanks to all who replied.

Jon C.