Super Octons construction set

Selected because there is a lead and people may well remember it.

Super Octons construction set
Case number - AIBDC : 003181
Super Octons construction comprising multiples of five different shaped pieces, these are all translucent pink, yellow, green, red or blue and slot together to make 3D sculptures
View more images on the MoDiP site
DesignerUnknown - Wanted
ManufacturerUnknown - Wanted
CountryUnknown - Wanted
Date1970 - 1979 (circa) - Wanted
Dimensionslength 60 mm, width 60 mm, depth 3 mm
Materialsplastic, PS, polystrene
Methodinjection moulded
Colourmulti-coloured
href=" http://www.10most.org.uk/artefact/super-octons-construction-set"

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Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert
07/05/14

Super Octons construction set AIBDC : 003181 So much we need to know: designer, manufacturer, country of manufacture and a precise date - were you around in the seventies? Follow the search here: www.10most.org.uk/artefact/super-octons-construction-set

Kubla Bear
Kubla Bear
07/05/14

An image search suggests the manufacturer is probably Galt

Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert
07/05/14

Thanks for that. We know its made for Galt but we don't think they manufactured in plastics, or did they?

Yvonne J Foster
Yvonne J Foster
07/05/14

http://www.galttoys.com/index.cfm/About_Us/1030

Yvonne J Foster
Yvonne J Foster
07/05/14

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galt_Toys

Yvonne J Foster
Yvonne J Foster
07/05/14

http://www.museumofchildhood.org.uk/__documents/archive-catalogues/oral-history-pdfs/moc-btmoh-42-04-rupert-webb-finalised-transcript.pdf

Yvonne J Foster
Yvonne J Foster
07/05/14

http://www.museumofchildhood.org.uk/__documents/archive-catalogues/oral-history-pdfs/moc-btmoh-14-04-ken-garland-finalised-transcript.pdf

Yvonne J Foster
Yvonne J Foster
07/05/14

http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/664641

Yvonne J Foster
Yvonne J Foster
08/05/14

http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/5534/1/ccAllPlayCat.pdf

David Harman Powell
David Harman Powell
08/05/14

Patrick Rylands designed several clip together abstract toys in coloured transparent polystrene. He was Duke of Edinburgh's Award 1970. Playplax sold more than one million sets in 30 countries, made by Trendon a precision moulding specialist . Later made by Galt Toys . I have found no reference to link the Octon shape to Patrick Rylands.

David Harman Powell
David Harman Powell
09/05/14

I have spoken to Patrick & he confirmed to me that it was a in-house design based on his concept , same material / colours, this was after he had finished with Galt Toys.

Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert
12/05/14

Thank you Yvonne and David for all your contributions. As you will see David, one of Yvonne's links ascribes the Octons to Roger Limbrick. I wonder if you could run that idea in front of Patrick Rylands, please? Could Limbrick be the in-house designer that he refers to - or even Ken Garland?

Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert
13/05/14

Marion Hine, Roger' Limbrick's life long partner who with him ran the design practice Hine & Limbrick writes as follows: 'Roger designed and produced a set of wooden interlocking pieces called 'interslot' ( http://www.rogerlimbrick.info/120-wooden-toys) which were sold by Galt Toy shop, among others. This was at the same time that Patrick Rylands designed his plastic shapes produced by Trendon Plastics.' So Patrick Rylands is the only name in the frame.

Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert
23/05/14

We're so nearly there. But although, thanks to some of the websites that Agent Foster contributed, we know Galt manufactured their wooden toys in their factory in Cheadle we do not know that they had the equipment for manufacturing in plastics. It seems more likely that such work would have been outsourced. We might be able to find the answer to that by contacting Galt directly by email or telephone. Would anyone be happy to do that?

Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert
24/05/14

Thanks Agent Harman Powell I have made direct contact with Patrick Rylands. I hope he may be able to bring some clarity to this narrative.

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Case notes

Susan Lambert's picture

Super Octons construction set : Case AIBDC : 003181

Submitted by Susan Lambert on Wed, 07/05/2014 - 18:09.

 

So much we need to know: designer, manufacturer, country of manufacture and a precise date - were you around in the seventies?

Useful websites: is Roger Limbrick the designer?

07/05/14

Agent Yvonne Foster has contributed lots of useful websites.

http://www.galttoys.com - interesting that the colours of the Octons seem influenced by the colours of the Galt logo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galt_Toys: interest reference to Ken Garland being involved but presumably with the print end?

http://www.museumofchildhood.org.uk/__documents/archive-catalogues/oral-... fascinating interview with Ken Garland - confirms that he was involved with print and stand design, not design of toys.

http://www.museumofchildhood.org.uk/__documents/archive-catalogues/oral-... another fascinating interview with Rupert Webb, a leading figure at Galt, but all about wood - just three pejorative references to plastics.

http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/664641: good to see what the packaging looked like. I wonder if place of origin given as Cheadle means they really did make them themselves - certainly they worked at Cheadle with wood. Does this confirme that they were manufactured in the UK?

http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/5534/1/ccAllPlayCat.pdf - this catalogue of an exhibition, 'All work and no play makes you a dull designer', staged by the University of Northampton - appears to have a lead in this tantalising entry which is not enlarged upon elsewhere: 

'8. In this section of the exhibition we have also included games and toys produced by Galt for wider age groups in particular those based on the work of Roger Limbrick and Ken Garland: The First Octons and Super Marble Run.'

What can you tell us about Roger Limbrick?

Or was Patrick Rylands of Playplax fame the designer?

8/05/2014

Agent David Harman Powell tells us: 

'Patrick Rylands designed several clip together abstract toys in coloured transparent polystrene. He was Duke of Edinburgh's Award 1970. Playplax sold more than one million sets in 30 countries, made by Trendon a precision moulding specialist. Later made by Galt Toys. I have found no reference to link the Octon shape to Patrick Rylands.'
 
There is more about Playplax here: http://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_britain/toys_and_games/playplax.php.
 

Patrick Rylands confirms he was involved

9/05/2014

David Harman Powell has been in touch with Patrick Rylands. He has confirmed that it was a in-house design based on his concept, same material / colours, this was after he had finished with Galt Toys.

So did Limbrick design the new shape based on Ryland's concept? Please see what you can find out.

 

Limbrich designed Interslot not Octons

12/05/2012
 
Marion Hine, Roger's life long partner who with him ran the design practice Hine & Limbrick writes as follows: 'Roger designed and produced a set of wooden interlocking pieces called 'interslot' (http://www.rogerlimbrick.info/120-wooden-toys) which were sold by Galt Toy shop, among others. This was at the same time that Patrick Rylands designed his plastic shapes produced by Trendon Plastics.'

Still no clarity about who the designer was or where the Octons were made. Please keep searching.

Almost there ...can you finish it off?

13/05/12

We think it is an in-house  Galt Design Office inspired by Patrick Rylands Playplax. We also know that Galt made their own wooden tools in their factory in Cheadle. But we don't know that they didn't outsource the manufacture of plastic toys. Surely these are more likely to have been made in the Far East?  So we remain unsure where they were made and by whom. 

This case will go cold very soon if for more information is not forthcoming.

Patrick Rylands' testimony

26/05/2014

"Initially, in the 70's, Galt retailed my toy, PlayPlax, then went on to produce Octons under their own label.  I don't know if anyone actually "designed" Octons.  I've always assumed they just cut the corners off some PlayPlax and sent the result to a moulder.  I don't know where they were manufactured though at that time outsourcing to the far east was not common.  When Trendon ceased production I licensed Galt to produce PlayPlax and they sold it in their own boxes for a number of years.  The rights are now with Portobello Games (though still owned by me) and the toy is once again available,  either direct from Portobello Games or from Amazon.  Production is still excellent and it is packed in the best box ever (designed by Webb & Webb Ltd with my photographs)."

So the history of Octons and PlayPlax is interwined. We have found out a lot about how the industry works.  

Findings

Designer: Galt Design team inspired by Patrick Rylands' PlayPlax

Manufacturer: Porbably Galt

Country: Porbably UK

Date: 1970s (after PlayPlax won Duke of Edinburgh's 1970 Award