Bayko

Bayko was a construction toy sold in Britain over the period from 1934 to 1967. more...

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The name derived from Bakelite, the plastic used to manufacture many of the parts.

Bayko was primarily intended for the construction of model buildings. A square Bakelite base had a square grid of holes into which thin metal rods of various lengths could be placed vertically. In order to make larger models, two or more bases could be joined together by means of metal links secured by screws into holes on the bottom surface of the bases. Bakelite bricks, windows and other parts could then be slotted between pairs of rods in order to create the walls of the building. Other commonly used parts included floors (thin sheets of plastic with the same square pattern grid of holes as bases), and roofs of various types. There were also a large number of other more specialised parts. In the original sets bases were coloured green, walls were red or white, windows were green and roofs were red.

The main advantage of Bayko over its rivals is generally regarded as the high standard of realism of the models constructed with it. The main disadvantage often quoted is the fragility of Bakelite which frequently led to bases and window parts breaking. Some safety concerns have also been expressed regarding the suitability of using thin metal rods in a toy for children.

The Bayko system was invented by Charles Plimpton. In 1960 rights to manufacture Bayko were purchased by Meccano Ltd, who changed the plastic used for the parts to polystyrene. Meccano also changed the colour scheme and introduced some new parts while dropping others.

By 1967 sales of Bayko had fallen and manufacture was discontinued. Suggested reasons for this include the growing popularity of the simpler and more resilient Lego system.

Original Bayko sets are sometimes offered for purchase by previous owners. In addition, Bayko parts - both original and newly made equivalents - are available from various sources.

Read more at Wikipedia.org