Line Mar Match Box Construction 100 - Regulator

I found a Line Mar Match Box Construction Set from the 1930s, complete and with instructions. The box claimed the set made 100 different toys. I decided to test that claim -- one toy at a time. You can read all the posts for the Line Mar construction project at 100 Toys.

100. Regulator

The final toy in this series proved relatively easy to build. And I could build it with the pieces that came with the set. If you've been following the series, you know that was not always a given. 

Although it's called a regulator, it looks more like a governor to me. The idea's the same, of course. If this were a working model the assembly with the two hanging dowels would spin around. The dowels would pivot outward, siphoning excess energy out of the system. 

Final Thoughts

This building set was very much of its time. As such, it gave me some insights into that time.

I had always thought cheap Japanese imports a post-WWII phenomenon. The U.S. actively encouraged Japanese manufacturing to rebuild the economy. America was the primary market for the goods produced.

This set was produced by Line Mar, the Japanese subsidiary of Louis Marx Co. in 1936. So even before the war, Japan was a source of inexpensive toys and goods. 

This Line Mar construction set simply couldn't be sold today. In 1963 the United State began enacting child safety regulation for toys. This one has too many small parts that can be easily swallowed. The corners those bent metal boxes could scratch the skin.

The toys illustrated reflect the world of the 1930s. The buildings echo the modernist city structures of the 1920s and early 1930s. Many of toys are hand-cranked machines. These machines -- or ones like them -- were common in small shops and factories throughout the country. 

And one more thing. This building set would be considered inappropriate for children today. Yet it is very much a child's toy. My fingers were often too big to manipulate the pieces. I often used jeweler's tools to slide collars into place or hold a dowel steady as I added pieces to it. 

Overall, it was a satisfying project. This set had never been used. It had sat forgotten in a stock room until it was found and put on eBay. It's a toy. And it was meant to be played with. I'm glad I did.