Girder and Panel building sets
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Girder and Panel Building Sets were a building toy that was created by Kenner Toys in the 50's. This came about when Kenner President Albert Steiner witnessed the construction of a new office building in Cincinnati. This girder and panel construction method inspired Kenner to introduce their Girder and Panel Building sets. These sets were categorized with their familiar Brown bordered panels and red colored girders on a green Masonite board. The success of this toy inspired Kenner to introduce the Bridge and Turnpike sets. From there Kenner introduced their all-time best selling set – The No. 8 Motorized Girder and Panel, Bridge and Turnpike Building set. Kenner even offered a Motorizing Kit to let kids who owned the earlier Girder and Panel and Bridge and Turnpike sets motorize them. Kenner then introduced their Hydro-Dynamic sets; these sets allowed kids to be hydraulic engineers as these sets pumped water through plastic pipes into tanks and back into a plastic tray with a small reservoir. You could actually control the flow of the water with plastic valves.
Other Kenner Building sets were the Skyrail sets, which introduced yellow girders and beams, different colored window and door panels and which had battery powered Sky Cars that ran on monorail steel rails from building to building, and the Hydrodynamic sets, which consisted of motorized pumps that moved colored water through pipes and tanks that you could control in a large plastic tray. As new subdivisions started to spring up around cities beginning in the 1950s and after, Kenner Toys reflected the trend in their Build-A-Home Building sets which could build brick or colonial-clapboard homes, with patios, swimming pools, TV antennas, barbecues, dog houses, trees, vines and shrubs. Later, Kenner upgraded their Girder and Panel, Bridge and Turnpike sets by changing the design to the Modern-As-Tomorrow and Freeway USA sets, which introduced grey colored girders and beams, new panels, newly designed and colored roofs, roadway pieces, realistic road signs and other items such as toll booths, sign and lamp posts. The last sets Kenner made before they sold to General Mills were the Girdermatic sets, which seemed to be based on mechanical structures, rather than buildings. These sets introduced many new parts which are unique to Girdermatic sets, including a new green colored motor and battery controller, round platforms, cog belts, truss assemblies, giant beams, and Ferris wheel rings, with which you could build moving cranes, observation towers, several different types of bridges, industrial plants and mills with conveyors, and amusement rides such as a Ferris wheel, incline ride and whirling swing.
Contents |
[edit] Kenner Toys
| Kenner Toys set name: | Date | Pieces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Girder and Panel Building Set | 1957 | 104 |
| 2 Girder and Panel Building Set | 1957 | 189 |
| 3 Girder and Panel Building Set | 1957 | 287 |
| 4 Bridge and Turnpike Set | 1958 | 214 |
| 5 Bridge and Turnpike Set | 1958 | 330 |
| 6 Bridge and Turnpike Set | 1958 | 543 |
| 7 Combined Girder and Panel, Bridge and Turnpike | 1959 | 613 |
| 8 Motorized Girder and Panel, Bridge and Turnpike | 1960 | 640, later 675 |
| 9 Motorized Girder and Panel, Bridge and Turnpike | 1960 | 860, later 921 |
| 10 Motorizing Set (adds 1 motor, esp. for sets 1-7) | 1960 | 100 |
| 11 Hydrodynamic Building Set (1 motorized pump) | 1961 | 437 |
| 12 Hydrodynamic Building Set (2 motorized pumps) | 1961 | 634 |
| 14 Build-A-Home Set | 1962 | 111 |
| 15 Build-A-Home Set | 1962 | 200 |
| 16 Build-A-Home Subdivision Set | 1962 | 410 |
| 17 Skyrail Building Set (Flat Box - 1 Skyrail car) | 1963 | 481 |
| 18 Skyrail Building Set (Flat Box - 2 Skyrail cars) | 1963 | 753 |
| 21 Modern-As-Tomorrow Girder and Panel Building Set | 1964 | 137, later 141 |
| 22 Modern-As-Tomorrow Girder and Panel Building Set | 1964 | 234, later 242 |
| 23 Modern-As-Tomorrow Girder and Panel Building Set | 1964 | 376, later 381 |
| 23C Modern-As-Tomorrow Building Set (Vertical Box) | 1964 | 381 |
| 24 Freeway USA Bridge and Highway Set | 1964 | 246, later 249 |
| 25 Freeway USA Bridge and Highway Set | 1964 | 369, later 374 |
| 26 Freeway USA Bridge and Highway Set | 1964 | 736 |
| 26C Freeway USA Building Set (Vertical Box) | 1964 | 736 |
| 27 Combined Modern-As-Tomorrow/Freeway USA Set | 1965 | 472 |
| 28 Combined Modern-As-Tomorrow/Freeway USA Set | 1965 | 675 |
| 30 Skyrail Building Set (Vertical Box - 1 Car) | 1963 | 481 |
| 31 Skyrail Building Set (Vertical Box - 2 Cars) | 1963 | 753 |
| 32 GirderMatic Building Set (1 motor unit) | 1965 | 687 |
| 33 GirderMatic Building Set (2 motor units) | 1965 | 945 |
By about 1968 the production of Girder and Panel sets had stopped and did not start up again until about 1974 when Kenner, now owned by General Mills, produced the larger 1100 piece Sears Tower set #72001 with black girders and panels which could make a five-foot tall model of the Sears Tower.
Kenner Toys then revived the Girder and Panel line with a series of inexpensive sets. The green Masonite base boards were replaced with interlocking plastic plates. The panels were now flexible printed acetate sheets.
[edit] Kenner (when owned by General Mills)
The following list of sets were made when Kenner was owned by General Mills:
| 72000 Girder and Panel Building Set | 1974 | 340 pieces |
| 72001 Sears Tower set | 1974 | 1100 pieces |
| 72011 Little-Learners World Famous Buildings | 1975 | 700 pieces |
| 72030 Girder and Panel Building Set | 1977 | 225 pieces |
| 72031 Little-Learners version of the 72030 set | ||
| 72050 Skyscraper Set with Working Elevator | 1975 | 520 pieces |
| 72051 Little-Learners version of the 72050 set | ||
| 72052 JC Penney version of the 72050 set | ||
| 72070 Bridge and Highway Action Building Set | 1977 | 400 pieces |
| 72071 Little-Learners version of the 72070 set | ||
| 72080 International Airport Action Building Set | 1977 | 325 pieces |
| 72081 Little-Learners version of the 72080 set | ||
| 72090 Action Bridge and Skyscraper Building Set | 1977 | 800 pieces |
| 72110 KENSTRUCT Building Set | 1979 | |
| 72120 KENSTRUCT Skyscraper Set | 1979 | |
| 72130 KENSTRUCT Interstate Highway Set | 1979 | |
| 72140 KENSTRUCT Super Set | 1979 |
Kenner Toys ceased production of the 72000 series of Girder and Panel sets in 1979, ending the long run with their four "KENSTRUCT" sets. The Girder and Panel trademark seems to have been abandoned by the company. In 1992, Irwin Toys of Toronto, Canada applied to the US Trademark Office for the assumption of the abandoned trademark. Irwin then began an entire new line of Girder and Panel sets unlike any that were made before. There were new blue/grey girders, beams, and new diagonal beams for slanted roofs along with new wall panels and some new plastic items were also added. Initially they produced three sets, called "Town Centre," "Cityscape" and "Deluxe Skyscraper." All sets now had an internal light run by two AA batteries. Beginning in 1996, Irwin produced a second line of speciality sets beginning with the Gas Station set listed below. These sets had very little U.S. distribution and were mainly sold in Canada.
[edit] Irwin Toys Girder and Panel sets
55000 Town Centre 213 pieces 55120 CityScape (called The Architect, in Canada) 298 pieces 55130 Deluxe SkyScraper 550 pieces 55101 Gas Station 133 pieces 55102 Fast Food 133 pieces 55201 Police Station 299 pieces 55202 Fire Station 299 pieces 55301 City Centre 591 pieces 55302 Emergency Centre 589 pieces
Beginning around 2005 and to the present the Girder and Panel sets are again being produced and now sold in some speciality shops and on the internet by Bridge Street Toys. They have produced number of different sets along with matching parts for the older Kenner Toys and Irwin Toys sets, These are much more durable than the original sets and some are listed below:
[edit] Bridge Street Girder and Panel sets
| Tekton Bank | 109 Pieces |
| Tekton Fire Station | 103 Pieces |
| Tekton Tower Building | 263 Pieces |
| Tekon Plaza Building | 515 Pieces |
| Tekton Truss Bridge | 255 Pieces |
| Tekton Bridge Mania | 465 Pieces |
| Hydrodynamic Starter Set | 180+ pieces |
| Hydrodynamic Deluxe Set | 300+ Pieces |
