Category:BILOfix

Toy Brands and Manufacturers

BILOfix

1959 -

~1960s: Leaflet [image info]

~1960s: BILOfix: "The Toy That Teaches" [image info]

~1960s: The Bilofix component parts [image info]

~1960s: BILOfix "Chest" Set [image info]

The Bilofix brand (capitalised BILOfix) was originally created by the Lego company in around 1959/1960 as a separate brandname for their non-plastic toy range, and it briefly inherited some of the company's previous range of wooden vehicles, along with a newer product, BILOfix Engineer.

Shortly afterwards, when the wooden toys production factory burned down in 1960 and the company decided not to rebuild for wooden toy production and focus on just the new plastic Lego bricks, two of the Kristiansen brothers left, to start a new company to make BILOfix. The BILOfix brandname then became synonymous with just the "nut, bolt, and wooden strip" "engineers'" sets, rather than the wooden trucks.

The "engineer" product was later sold on (initially to Revell), and underwent a number of name changes, to Bilotoy, Bilotec and Hanse Tec.

Appearance

Although the BILOfix wooden construction sets have a range of different types of parts, it's usually visually identified by the distinctive flat wooden strips with rounded ends and a sequence of large holes along their length – design-wise, essentially "big wooden Meccano" with plastic fixings.

Promotional description:

BILOfix

– the STRONG, wooden construction toy for BOYS and GIRLS, from toddlers to teenagers, makes big and small things FAST which can spin, drive, hoist, rotate, see-saw, roll, swing, swivel and rock.
BILOfix – the TOY that TEACHES

Parts

L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L7, L9, L11: wooden strips where the number after the L is the number of holes (set 3cm apart)
H35, H55: wheel/pulleys, in two sizes
G4, G6, G9, G12, G15, G18, G21: different lengths of wooden threaded rod, the number is the length in centimetres
K1, K2, K3: Wooden blocks, 1, 2 or 3 holes in length
S14, S18, S38, and M: three lengths of blue plastic cross-head bolt, and a red plastic nut
NL: A flat combined spanner and screwdriver. Although the screwdriver is mostly a flat blade, is has a small central crosspiece to help locate it in the screw's cross-head groove.
KR: cord for ship's rigging or cranes