Reprinted from the September 2013 ACGHS Newsletter
Hello Boys & Girls. This original design to honor A. C. Gilbert’s 1913 founding was built over two years in about 1,000 man-hours. That’s roughly the same a working an 8-hour day, 40 hours per week, for six months.
The most difficult aspect of the build was that the 30 individual mechanisms and circus rides had to be engineered in miniature allowing everything to fit on three levels within the small frame house of 30 inches wide by 27 inches high by 19 inches deep. At least one theme toy or variation was used from every manual of the No. 1 through No. 12½ sets.
The project has about 2,000 continuous moving parts and over 250 gears, wheels, pulleys, axles, and bearings. All moving parts are tied together powered by one modern Dayton 1/25 hp gear motor running at the same rpm as a Gilbert a-49 motor. There are 3 chain, 1 spring, and 38 rubber drive bands. The parachute reverse mechanism is based on an early Meccano design.
About 3,000-4,000 nuts, bolts, screws, and washers were used along with roughly 80 various base plates. Also, about 100 type I wide girders, many dozens of Type II girders, and thousands of other small parts. Most parts are A. C. Gilbert dating from the early classic period (1913-1932). The rest are Meccano, AMB, Marklin, and others. A few gears and parts were homemade, and a few spot welds were used.
To represent all production years, at least one part was specifically included in the project from when Gilbert opened in 1913 through its 1960s closing. In keeping with Gilbert’s own use of wood in projects, the house inner frame is made of oak while the floor has approximately 500 Popsicle sticks glued to ½-inch plywood.
The project includes an estimated 150 small plastic people, over 100 period advertising signs, and over 15 hand painted caricature faces and signs. The 8 mini replica Merry-Go-Round horses are Formica. Laughing sound effects were created on an attached computer card.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Coney Island, New York theme parks attracted one million visitors per weekend. Many of those rides (i.e., parachute jump) were the inspiration for Gilbert Erector theme sets.
This project is therefore dedicated to that time and the genius of A. C. Gilbert who provided a lifetime of fun for millions of Boys and Girls.
Watch a 19:08-minute-long video of the Coney Island Fun House. It only took Randy 8 years to produce but in his defense it required a lot of raw video at several different toy shows. With 2000 moving parts, 30 different rides and mechanisms it was a challenge to show it all. Enjoy!