Moto Trix metal construction set 25

Exhibit
Moto Trix metal construction set 25 (i)
location:
Arch Two , Area 17 Toy Variety (display)

Closeup of part of the "Moto Trix" construction set, showing the system's distinctive plates [image info]

Moto-Trix, 1938 catalogue entry [image info]

A boxed Moto Trix motorised metal construction set from circa ~1939, made by Trix.

The Trix brand went on to become known for their Trix Express and Trix Twin Railway trains and train sets.

Trix vs Meccano

Tri-X / Trix differed from Meccano and the "Meccano clones" by its innovative "Tri-X" plates. These had three rows of holes and were narrower than Meccano plates, but proportionally "fatter" than Meccano's single-hole-row strips.

By eschewing the Meccano method of breaking objects into distinct structural struts for structure and plates for enclosing surfaces the Trix system perhaps wasn't quite so useful at making literal renditions of real-world engineering constructions, but its more general-purpose plates were perhaps easier to use for making generic models, since they could be bolted together in a greater number of ways.

Where Meccano modelling required more discipline and planning, the Trix plates were more amenable to a "make it up as you go along"-type approach.

Box lid

Box lid artwork, "MOTO TRIX with electric motor", set 25, British made