Tog'l facts for kids
Tog'l was a cool building toy made by the company Mattel. It was sold from 1968 to 1970. Think of it like Lego, but with some unique twists!
Contents
What Were Tog'l Blocks?
At the heart of the Tog'l system was a cube-shaped building piece called a "Tog'l Block." Each side of these blocks had a special hole or a pin. These pins could snap right into the holes on another block. This allowed you to connect blocks together easily.
How Tog'l Blocks Connected
One big difference between Tog'l blocks and other building toys like Lego was how they connected. Lego bricks usually connect only on their top and bottom. But Tog'l blocks were special! You could connect them on all six of their sides. This gave builders a lot more ways to create different shapes and structures.
Special Features and Parts
The name "Tog'l" came from another cool feature: some blocks had a hinge on one side. This hinge let your models bend and move, making your creations more lifelike.
Besides the main blocks, Tog'l sets came with many other parts. These included:
- Wheels and axles to make vehicles
- Gears for moving parts
- Tubes and girders for structures
- Air bellows, windows, and doors
- Different types of pins, like blue pins, green "hemisphere" pins, and red double pins
- Fun character parts like clown heads, pig heads, hands, and feet
All these pieces let you build all sorts of things, from simple models to complex moving machines.
Making Your Tog'l Toys Move
Tog'l also offered special motors to bring your creations to life! You could buy these motors separately.
Types of Motors
There were two main types of motors:
- A wind-up motor: This motor ran for a longer time once you wound it up.
- A rubber band "elasti-motor": This motor ran faster, powered by a rubber band.
These motors added an exciting element, letting kids build toys that could actually move around!
Meet Tog'lman
Near the end of Tog'l's time, a new character was added to the toy line. This was a 6-inch tall bendable figure called "Tog'lman."
Tog'lman's Characters
Tog'lman figures came in three different colors, each representing a different character:
- Blue Tog'lman: Represented an engineer.
- Green Tog'lman: Represented a fireman.
- Red Tog'lman: Represented a racer.
Tog'lman figures were similar in size and flexibility to another popular Mattel toy from that time, Major Matt Mason.
