Big Dj Meccano
James May’s Timeless Toys
Will our children reflect on the toys and computer games that they have today with the same enthusiasm that James May exhibits for Plasticene, Meccano and Scalextric?
In the new TV series ‘James May’s Toy Stories’ we se Mr May blowing big chunks of the BBC’s budget building huge structures using toys from yesteryear. They’ve concocted a series in which Mr May builds a full-size plastic Spitfire plane, a full size house from Lego bricks, a full size bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool canal built entirely from Meccano and a 3 mile replica of the Brooklands banked racing circuit built entirely from Scalextric.
Mr May clearly likes toys that involve building something. They come from a time when toys were inspiring and didn’t involve a blasting virtual adversaries into oblivion with a range of improbable weaponry.
His TV series comes at a time when many of us are thinking about gifts for our children. For some years now these have been dominated by the latest games consoles and computer games. Last year it was the Wii fit and Guitar Hero. This year they are hoping that Santa will bring them DJ Hero.
I’ve found myself thinking about which form of toy is actually the most beneficial for a childs education and development? Computer games consoles or creative construction toys like Meccano, Lego and Scalextric.
I belong to the same generation as Mr May. I grew up with Airfix model kits, footballs and bicycles. It baffles me why computer games have grown to become as popular as they are today. Personally, I would get a lot more enjoyment and satisfaction from building a model railway circuit than I would from pretending to be a disk jockey or pretending to play guitar. But I suppose that by building a model railway I’d be pretending to be a railway construction engineer and train driver. Choo choo!
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