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  • Betta Bilda/Building sets

    Hi to All, have just found this site and registered after spending ages searching the net for the name of a building set I had many years ago. I originally thought that it was called "betta build" but have managed to find some info about this and am now wondering if I had something different! Vague recollections of a grey base with holes to place steel rods into and white plastic panels of bricks that slotted down into the gaps between the rods, with windows and doorframes of a similar nature. As for the roof I am not sure but the "betta builder" type of roof sounds very familliar!!!!! Any suggestions would be appreciated to put me out of my agony. Many thanks in advance - Al.

  • #2
    I found a lot of betta bilda on ebay. Believe it or not that is how they spell it. (The guy who invented it was probably from New York) hee hee Anyway, what decade was the toy from?

    Have you tried looking at the K'nex line?
    I'd rather hear the bad truth than a good lie

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    • #3
      Hi, not tried K'nex line but I will, I think it would be from the late 60's - Al.

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      • #4
        Bayko kits fit the discription you made, are they what you were looking for.

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        • #5
          Was this the toy where the white square "frames" were seperate from the actual inners that you put in them?, that way you could swap a "brick" surface, for say a glass (plastic) one. I seem to remember a blue plastic "dome" was one such inner.
          The inners clipped to the frames by small plastic lugs on the frame's inner surface IIRC.
          Is this what you were on about?
          I'm sorry I cannot remember the name, but my cousin had such a set and I know he got lot of presents from his aunt in America, could this be a USA only imported toy?
          This would be late sixties early seventies.
          Clive.

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          • #6
            Building set ?????

            Betta Builder was a cheaper version of Lego with little white bricks and small squares of plastic that you clicked together to make "slate" roofs. Although Lego took over the universe, I personally preferred Betta Builder as the small bricks enabled you to make more detailed models.I remember seeing a model in Woolworths of Big Ben that was about 8 foot tall. Although I never managed anything needing so many bricks I did build a cathedral. Although suitable for children of all ages, Betta Bilda sets were notoriously challenging and instructions recommended that you got used to how the bricks worked together to provide the best 'structural support' before endeavouring to set out to construct a bigger object. Betta Bilda was part of the Airfix range. House and vehicles, like lorries were the most popular sets.

            More...
            Do You Remember the 70s, 80s and 90s?
            http://www.DoYouRemember.co.uk

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            • #7
              Re: Betta Bilda

              sigpic

              Splitters!

              Visit us here:

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              • #8
                Betterbuild? - Tiny Lego

                I don't know if anyone remembers this or can help me.

                As a child I had something very similar to lego but it was on a much smaller scale. The bricks were all white, although I may have had some clear ones. It came with a board, and also green tiles that you put together to make roofs. I think you could only make houses with it, but it may be that my set could only be made into houses. There were also little windows and doors that you fitted in.

                Does anyone remember this, because to date, I have not found anyone who does. I'd love to find some to show my children.

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                • #9
                  Betta Bilda ??


                  Taken from M/S thread.
                  Last edited by Heather74; 02-08-2008, 18:13.
                  Heather

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                  • #10
                    Re: Betterbuild? - Tiny Lego

                    Oh thank you Heather. You have no idea how excited that has made me.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Betterbuild? - Tiny Lego

                      Betta Bilda range

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                      • #12
                        Re: Betta Bilda

                        I've just acquired a good batch of Betta Bilda for nostalgia purposes, ands was searching to see it it had already been mentioned...

                        My parents picked Betta Bilda rather than Lego, and Airfix racing cars rather than Scalextric. As far as I was concerned they got both wrong!

                        As far as the Betta Bilda went, the bricks lacked "cling" compared to the Lego, and the roof tiles hurt the fingers to assemble and you were always afraid of breaking them.
                        A recent trial has confimed this memory.
                        A glimpse at the clunky cranes and lorries made with BB showed why they struggled against Lego. There are incredibly badly conceived and engineered wheels and a motor block in the set I've acquired.

                        Ah, but it does bring back memories. Just not always good ones!
                        Betta Bilda range

                        The best build was probably castles (no or little roof!) with the special arrow slit bricks and the crenellation tops. A good size for 1/72 Airfix soldiers.
                        "It's never too late to have a happy childhood."

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                        • #13
                          Linking bricks that aren't Lego

                          When I was young one of my friends had a set of Foley's Bricks, these were a lot like Lego but slightly larger in size & made from a softer plastic.

                          It came from a relative who thought they were near enough to Lego to pass for a present.

                          The mascot on the box was of a boy in a space suit. I've never seen anything like them before or since, & can't find anything on a Google search.

                          Another type of brick system that Kellogs used as a special offer was made by Tente.

                          Both me & the above friend sent off for them.

                          They were similar to Lego but the studs were larger & had a small hole in the centre.

                          The free model came with a catalogue of other Tente products, but I never saw any in any toyshop I looked in.

                          Accoriding to Wikipedia the company is Spanish & specialise in scale models http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tente_%28Toys%29

                          Does anyone else have any experiance of the able systems?
                          The Trickster On The Roof

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                          • #14
                            Re: Linking bricks that aren't Lego

                            Sounds like Duplo

                            tulip

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                            • #15
                              Re: Linking bricks that aren't Lego

                              Originally posted by tulip View Post
                              Sounds like Duplo

                              tulip
                              It isn't I'm afraid, I hade some Duplo which a Lego product. My sister used it for a few years after me & my brother were deemed too old for it.

                              Both the above were only slightly larger than standard Lego.
                              The Trickster On The Roof

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