Gilbert Toys 1965. American Flyer Trains, Chemistry Sets, Erector Sets, slot cars, and commercials.

[@zmaxx21]

Thank you for posting this entertaining video! Got more like this?

[@brianhanson9367]

Erector sets were great.

[@lonnyjaw]

I'm 62 and I wish I had that 'Power Steering Pit Stop' race set - that thing is cool stuff!!

[@michaelcase8574]

AC Gilbert was born here in Salem, Oregon. Here we have the ACGilbert children's museum. It's a great place with plenty of hands in activities for kids and adults alike.

[@stevenallen9613]

Enjoyed the video, and remember some of the ads. Sadly for the A C Gilbert Company, this was too little too late. I received many A C Gilbert products as gifts over the years. I still have my train set from 1959, and it still works. I had 3 different Erector Sets from the mid 50's to early 60's. I also had a chemistry set and a microscope set, and I believe they actually produced a small tool set in the early to mid 50's. It was a great company, and at one time the largest toy manufacturer in the country. Sadly, they simply couldn't compete with the likes of Lionel in the toy train market, and were late in their introduction of their race sets. Also once the 60's hit, A C himself had passed, and his son sold the company, the quality and workmanship went out the door. Sadly, in just over a year after this commercial the A C Gilbert Company was no more

[@M_vintage-f5b]

👍 i thoroughly enjoyed this video.Good memories. Life was simple, much better in my opinion.

[@MoviecraftInc]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@joecab1]

Boy I loved that Gilbert chemistry set. I picked mine out of the Sears Christmas catalog, of course.

[@MoviecraftInc]

I remember my Chemistry set. I would go in the basement of the Chicago two flat I live in and play with fire and chemicals. I would light up this black stuff (I don't remember what it was) and it would create a fireball and smoke. Ah, the 1950's.

[@rickm.2956]

I hope Santa brings me an American Flyer Trains: The All Aboard! I was a good boy all year.

[@arthurtomczak8474]

Kids need toys like that today . Need to use their imagination.

[@Damone7653]

The Erection set looks like it will keep you busy.

[@davidlong1786]

Erection is a completely different subject.🤣

[@willardroad]

I had a Gilbert Chem-Lab, and those chemicals were REAL. Not sure how many laws it would violate today, just to own one. You could make actual gunpowder, for example. I will not reveal how I know, as some of the survivors of that incident are still alive. Anyway, loads of OSHA-violating fun!!!!

[@OofusTwillip]

We stil have my dad's Gilbert Chemistry Set, from the 1950s. It doesn't appear to have been used.

[@fromthesidelines]

In 1965, the year this film was produced, A.C. Gilbert lost almost $3 million dollars (on top of a decline of over $7 million during the previous two years). After they declared bankruptcy and went out of business in 1967, Gabriel Industries bought Gilbert's assets and their name, continuing to distribute Erector and chemistry sets. According to a New York toy chain buyer {quoted in Ron Goulart's 1969 book, "The Assault on Childhood"}: *"Gilbert had a natural in its Erector Sets. [After Gabriel took over, t]hey neglected it. They used to offer sets up to $75 packaged in metal boxes. Now, the most expensive is only $20, the parts are flimsy, and it's in an oversized cardboard box. They did the same thing in their chemistry sets."* Gabriel continued to manufacture what was left of Gilbert's products through 1976, when they eliminated the company name in favor of their own. In 1978, CBS acquired Gabriel, and eventually folded the company in favor of their own "CBS Toys" division in 1985.

[@petemclinc]

I think it was early 1970's thereabouts, for Christmas I got the Erector Set in the metal case with the 115VAC/12VDC transformer and electric motor. It came with gears, chain, couplers, etc. I thought it was really neat and it must have cost my parents a bundle. What a great Christmas!

[@tallapartment6776]

I remember this.😄

[@dennisdeleo74]

The mustached pitch man was Tex Antoine, a well known fixture and weatherman on many local stations. His animated sidekick was Uncle Weatherbee…a popular character that made a weather forecast very entertaining. He reached his peak of fame on NY’s ABC Eyewitness News in the 70s but unfortunately lost his job by making an off colored quip about rape. He was never to gain the same popularity again.

[@perrybarton]

There's a bit of a Don Ameche vibe.

[@richburnham7326]

The "popular" off-color quip about rape "joke" at that time was, "A woman can run faster with her dress up than a man can with his pants down."

[@moboutmen]

His comment was; "In the words of Confucius, 'If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.' "

[@FoundonthestreetUSA]

I remember when Tex got in trouble on WABC. Isn't his sidekick in the film Joe Silver?

[@dennisdeleo74]

@@FoundonthestreetUSA Sorry, I meant that his sidekick on his weather forecast was a cartoon character that Tex drew, that he named “Uncle Weatherbee” , usually suggesting how to dress the next day.

[@Reubenhubert]

One of my older brothers had the chemistry set that I played with in the late 60s. I had an erector set and a microscope and both kept me busy for hours and hours.

[@-oiiio-3993]

This was when toy stores were still a 'big deal'. Suburbia was king, 'Baby Boom' offspring were legion, independent toy stores seemed to be on every other street corner of major cities and their suburbs.

[@FoundonthestreetUSA]

Hey the showman is actor Joe Silver!!!!

[@danielgardner394]

Pit stop feature AKA short life charge. That was some early knowledge.

[@scottandrews9453]

About a year or so after this, Gilbert sold a James Bond race track set that was mechanically flawed. Sears and other retailers returned so many that it contributed to bankruptcy for Gilbert.

[@-oiiio-3993]

We had that set. Came with an Aston Martin and a Mustang 'slot car', track, controllers... . The thin plastic tabs which connected track sections did break easily.

[@davidbeyers7054]

Breaking bad with your Gilbert chem-lab.

[@gwenniegirl50]

Jason Alexander portrayed AC Gilbert in the movie “The Man Who Saved Christmas“. It’s too bad the company couldn’t stay afloat.

[@seattlebeard]

"We call it Meth Lab!"

[@8avexp]

Gilbert failed to keep up with the times. TV advertising was in and catalogs were on their way out. I still rememer those All-Aboard commercials from that era.

[@-oiiio-3993]

08:23 - My brother and I each got one of those AM Flyer sets, eight panels each, for Christmas in '65 or '66. 13:47 - _And your obedient serpent is.... A Bob Clampett car toooooooo - 000000N!_

[@BELCAN57]

An two years later they were out of business.

[@Austinniya.]

That was torture

[@rockingtr1]

Algorithm comfirms I was raised by a poor black and white TV

[@OofusTwillip]

Can anyone identify the loud & silly host in this film?

[@fromthesidelines]

Joe Silver. He did a lot of commercials and voice-over work, and was Lee Grant's co-star on "FAY" (1975).

[@richburnham7326]

@dennisdeleo74 18 hours ago The mustached pitch man was Tex Antoine, a well known fixture and weatherman on many local stations. His animated sidekick was Uncle Weatherbee…a popular character that made a weather forecast very entertaining. He reached his peak of fame on NY’s ABC Eyewitness News in the 70s but unfortunately lost his job by making an off colored quip about rape. He was never to gain the same popularity again.

[@Paul-u9d]

Those toy would be banned today because of the social climate!

[@OofusTwillip]

Those chemistry sets were so dangerous, that they injured or killed thousands of children. They were even featured in the documentary, "Hidden Killers of the Postwar Home".

[@MoviecraftInc]

My Chemistry set had neat things you could light with fire! No parental warnings or age recommendations on the box, that's for sure.

[@-oiiio-3993]

@@MoviecraftInc Who didn't use the screwdriver of their Erector Set to cross the tines of the motor's plug _just once_ ?

[@RobertTKlaus]

Ridiculous!

[@1208bug]

I doubt this!

[@arthurharrison1345]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Carlton_Gilbert