The Robot Models

The word "Robot" entered the language in the 1920 science fiction play by the Czech author Karel Capek. It is from the Czech word for laborer.  But the concept of a toy that could "move" or "walk" occurs centuries before that time. The toy could only be called a doll, so if a doll could move with the help of an electric motor it would be called an "Electric Doll." That is what the 1927 Erector manual calls this model.

The Electric Doll eventually came to be called a Robot and the model became a standard for Erector sets. Eventually every set would build a "Robot"

This simple "electric doll" model was built  with the #4 set of 1927. The cute little doll has a BN face and is driven by the P58 motor.

The model I built originated in 1916 as a prize model built with the old style Erector. This picture is from the 1921 manual.

This large Mechanical Man was also a 1916 prize model.

The last of the large Erector sets, no 12 1/2,  was introduced in 1948 and the featured model was this Mysterious Walking Giant. It would really "walk" and walked until the demise of Erector in 1962. Around 1956 it finally became a "Robot".

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