Gee-Wiz racing game (Dinkie Model)
| in storage |
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Gee-Wiz racing game (Dinkie Model) |
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| location: |
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in storage 1920s |
A boxed "Gee-Wiz" mechanical horse-racing game in its box, from the 1920s.
Mechanism
The game is essentially a green folded steel box with an open base and an angled upper surface that the came is built onto. the surface represents a straight race-track, with six channels, each holding a sheet-metal outline of a horse and rider. Each horse is fitted to a sled, and the game is started by winding a string onto an axle by the starting line, and pulling it to spin a flywheel attached to the axle. The axle has angled faces and each channel contains a captive ball-bearing which is thrown against the horse sled, pushing it forward. The ball then rolls back down the incline until it reaches the axle again and is again thrown uphill along the channel to hit the horse sled.
The game continues until one of the horses reaches the finishing line, and knocks over a pivoting marker.
Box
The cardboard box is covered with glossy red paper and has a lift-off lid with a large illustrated sticker. It also has a white strip sticker reading "GREYHOUND MODEL", although the race animal outlines are horses.
"Gee-wiZ trade mark / FOR FURIOUS FUN / Dinkie Model"
Chaos Theory
UK Patent Description, GB275682 (A) ― 1927-08-17
- " 275,682. Brooker, H. T., and Williams, L. E. Feb. 17, 1926, Race games, mechanical. -- Relates to apparatus for playing a race game of the kind described in Specification 191,604 in which pieces are advanced towards targets by a series of intermittent thrusts imparted by freely moving, propelling units, and consists in that the thrust imparted by the actuating device on all the propelling units is substantially equal. As shown, a number of pieces 1 representing race horses are slidable in parallel tracks 2 on an inclined board 3. A horizontal spindle 4 having a fly wheel 5 is situated at the lower end of the board. Balls 6 are propelled up the tracks by projections 7 on the spindle, which strike the pieces 1 and return under the action of gravity. The pieces are moved up the tracks by the impulse imparted by the balls until they reach targets 14 disposed at the upper end of the board. The targets are pivotally mounted on a common spindle 15, Fig. 4, and are each provided with an extension 17 adapted to be engaged by a projection 12 on the corresponding racing-piece whereby the target is raised upon the piece reaching the end of the track.
