Category:Betta Bilda: Difference between revisions

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The main colour theme for Betta Bilda buildings was initially white walls with red windows and doors, and green roofing. Later on, more red bricks appeared, notably some very long studded struts that could be used in conjunction with angle bricks to make red angled girders (with the red referencing the red oxide primer typically used to paint structural steelwork).  
The main colour theme for Betta Bilda buildings was initially white walls with red windows and doors, and green roofing. Later on, more red bricks appeared, notably some very long studded struts that could be used in conjunction with angle bricks to make red angled girders (with the red referencing the red oxide primer typically used to paint structural steelwork).  


<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights=120px align=left>
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights=140px align=left>
Image:Interlocking_Bricks,_Airfix_Betta_Bilda_(ABBins_1960s).jpg|[[Media:Interlocking_Bricks,_Airfix_Betta_Bilda_(ABBins_1960s).jpg|Interlocking Bricks]]
Image:Interlocking_Bricks,_Airfix_Betta_Bilda_(ABBins_1960s).jpg|[[Media:Interlocking_Bricks,_Airfix_Betta_Bilda_(ABBins_1960s).jpg|Interlocking Bricks]]
Image:Doors_and_Windows,_Airfix_Betta_Bilda_(ABBins_1960s).jpg|[[Media:Doors_and_Windows,_Airfix_Betta_Bilda_(ABBins_1960s).jpg|Doors and Windows]]
Image:Doors_and_Windows,_Airfix_Betta_Bilda_(ABBins_1960s).jpg|[[Media:Doors_and_Windows,_Airfix_Betta_Bilda_(ABBins_1960s).jpg|Doors and Windows]]
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The addition of curved pieces (almost identical to Lego's) worked well with the new "castle accessories" parts, and were great for building castles and forts with rounded towers.   
The addition of curved pieces (almost identical to Lego's) worked well with the new "castle accessories" parts, and were great for building castles and forts with rounded towers.   


Betta Bilda also ended up with not one but ''two'' electric motors: a simpler unit suitable for powering model windmills and other mechanisms, and a four-wheel drive motor suitable for making electric-powered model vehicles. For cars and lorries, the Betta Bilda Engineer range also included a particularly useful grey "chassis" block with holes around the periphery to take wheels.
Betta Bilda also ended up with not one but ''two'' electric motors: a simpler unit suitable for powering model windmills and other mechanisms, and a four-wheel drive motor suitable for making electric-powered model vehicles. For cars and lorries, the Betta Bilda Engineer range also included a particularly useful grey "chassis" block with holes around the periphery to take wheels.


==Roofing==
==Roofing==

Revision as of 16:38, 8 October 2022

Toy Brands and Manufacturers

Betta Bilda

1961 - 1974
Roof system

Roof system [image info]

Windows and Doors

Windows and Doors [image info]

The Betta Bilda No.1 Set

The Betta Bilda No.1 Set [image info]

1968: advertising lineart

1968: advertising lineart [image info]

Betta Bilda from Airfix appeared in 1961. Starting out as a simple Lego-inspired brick system, it (like Lego) grew to include wheels, electric motors and strut-based parts.

Three systems

Betta Bilda eventually ended up as three different (but interoperable) systems: The "Standard Range", Betta Bilda Engineer (broadly similar to Plastic Meccano), and Big Bricks (broadly similar to Lego's Duplo system). It seems to have survived the failure of the Airfix Group in ~1971, and persisted until around ~1974.

"Betta Bilda Makes the Most of Playtime" – "BettaBilda - The Integrated Building System"


BETTA BILDA

MAKES THE MOST OF PLAYTIME All the way from toddler to teenager, Betta Bilda gives hours of absorbing and constructive play. Starting with easy-to-handle Big Brick sets, through the standard range, and on to Betta Bilda Engineer. Clean, colourful, educational – that's Airfix Betta Bilda!

The "Standard Range"

The main colour theme for Betta Bilda buildings was initially white walls with red windows and doors, and green roofing. Later on, more red bricks appeared, notably some very long studded struts that could be used in conjunction with angle bricks to make red angled girders (with the red referencing the red oxide primer typically used to paint structural steelwork).

The addition of curved pieces (almost identical to Lego's) worked well with the new "castle accessories" parts, and were great for building castles and forts with rounded towers.

Betta Bilda also ended up with not one but two electric motors: a simpler unit suitable for powering model windmills and other mechanisms, and a four-wheel drive motor suitable for making electric-powered model vehicles. For cars and lorries, the Betta Bilda Engineer range also included a particularly useful grey "chassis" block with holes around the periphery to take wheels.

Roofing

Betta Bilda is chiefly remembered for its solution to the problem of how to build slanted roofs using a block-based model.

Manufacturers of early plastic building-block sets usually "cheated" when it came to roofing, and supplied folding pieces of printed card for the roof ... while Lego ended up using chunky angled versions of standard blocks for roofing, Betta Bilda's approach was to invent their own dedicated roofing system, using angled blocks for roof supports, but to make the roof itself from more realistic plastic roof tiles that clipped together using a peg-and-hole arrangement that was not too dissimilar to real tile fixings.

Two sheets of roof tiles could then be connected together with "spine" tiles, and the whole structure carefully set down on the rest of the building.

~1962: Manufacturer's description:

HOW TO USE YOUR BETTA-BILDA

The Betta Bilda Sets are suitable for children of all ages and all components are scaled so that buildings may be produced for inclusion in H0 and 00 Scale Railway Layout.

The No. 4495 Starter Set (packed in acetate tube size 2 3⁄8 inches diameter × 6 3⁄8 inches) is suitable for making simple buildings such as the Cottage illustrated overleaf.

The No. 4500 Building set (boxed) has sufficient parts to build a range of houses and buildings of which the Bungalow and Detached House and Garage shown on this leaflet are typical examples.

With the addition of the Betta Bilda Accessory Sets unlimited larger buildings may be constructed.

Bases included with the Betta Bilda can not only be used as bases of buildings, but can also be used as Balconies, Flat Roofs and Internal Flooring.

1966 advertising description:

Hours of pleasure with AIRFIX BETTA BILDA

Making models with Betta Bilda gives trememdous scope for the imagination. The colourful plastic pieces lock firmy together to make fascinating buildings in an endless variety. Parts dismantle easily too, and the building begins all over again.

Thee's a choice of five complete sets at 6/6, 10/6, 22/6, 32.6, and a huge set with over 1,850 pieces for only 50/. Twenty accessory packs enable you to make even bigger and more exciting buildings – 1/8d each.

— , Airfix Products Ltd., , Full-page advert, , Hobbies Annual, , 1966

See also:

External links

Subcategories

This category has the following 9 subcategories, out of 9 total.

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