The Great Skyscraper Lie!

There can be little doubt that sometimes life really can be distressing, not least when you know something that's “a truth universally accepted…” – but it turns out to be a lie!

I am, somewhat rashly perhaps, investigating the possibility of building the famous Skyscraper model from the early, pre-war BAYKO manuals.  I printed out a copy of the relevant page, got out my magnifying glass, and started to investigate.

The first five storey section, 15 bricks high, plus top wall, doesn't look too bad, though the pillar arrangement at ground floor level looks a little odd, and a complete 'ring' of brown Half Bricks might strain my hacksaw!

The main body of the building adds 14 more, 4 Brick storeys, and some more work for my hacksaw!  That's a further 56 Bricks, bringing the climbing total to 71 Bricks.

Finally the 2 x 4 Brick storey 'penthouse' topping out section adds another 8 Bricks, but then there's the top 1 Brick high wall, plus a row of Wall Capping, adding another 1.5 Bricks.  This brings the total up to 80.5 Bricks.  Now you can throw in half a Brick for the height of the Base, but that’s still only 81 Bricks high.  In real money, that translates to 5' ¾'', almost a foot short…

…because the manual's script, alongside the photo, on page 73, says, “This Skyscraper was built for the British Industries Fair and, except for the extra length of rods, was built entirely from Bayko Standard Parts.  It was over six feet high, and covered nine Bases.  Nearly 2,000 Windows, 500 Corners and 2,500 Bricks were used in its construction.”  Am I really the only person in over 80 Years to realise…

…and that's not all!!!

I haven't counted every single necessary part - I can't think why - but my estimate of the number of Windows needed is less than 1,300 - oops!!!

Another interesting little detail - I know from talking to the two daughters of C.B. Plimpton [BAYKO's inventor] that the business couldn't afford [at the time] to 'waste' all the Skyscraper model's components. So, they dismantled the model; 'baked' the components in sawdust to absorb the grease, grime and cigarette smoke; and put them all back into circulation, sets, spares, etc…

…which must mean that there really should be some genuine brown Half Bricks [right] out there!!!