. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . eDitOrial


A Gift From the Past


child a foundation on which to grow. What gift could be so marvelous, you ask? Give them the Home Foundry Qual- ity Casting Set. You say you’ve never heard


I


of it? You are laughing at my suggestion? Turn to our “Shake- out” on p. 56 and take a look. For those of you interested


f you are looking for a gift for your child, niece or nephew, I have a suggestion for you. No, it’s not a new Wii game or the next generation iPod. No, it’s not clothes or jewelry. This gift is more practi- cal and will provide the


“ Like the lemonade stand on a hot summer


day, the home metalcasting set


in finding this gift for the youngster in your life, you will have to scour Ebay or your local antique stores to find it because this set is long out of commission. As best as I can deduce, this toy set was first sold in the 1930s. It was developed for kids and pack- aged like a board game with all the tools necessary to cast 2-in. toy soldiers (or, in other versions, Popeye and Flash Gordon figures). When I examine this toy set closer, I am amazed at its


would provide Junior a hobby and develop his sense of capitalism all at once.


”


message. From a marketing standpoint, it appealed to kids’ intrinsic desire to build or create things—the science of manufacturing. But, this toy set also took this appeal and promotional message to another level for potential buyers. Below is an excerpt of text from the dialogue box on the cover of the Home Foundry.


Son: “Look Dad, what I made, Gee! This is fun.” Father: “That’s great Son: You can sell them and get a real business training.” Mother: “And also earn your own spending money.”


If you look past the suspect grammar of


this message, you will see that the makers of the toy (Home Foundry Manufactur- ing Co., Chicago) sold it as a business venture for a budding entrepreneur. Like the lemonade stand on a hot summer day, the home metalcasting set would provide Junior a hobby and develop his sense of capitalism all at once. At a time when the U.S. was struggling to escape the Great


January/February 2010


Depression and manufacturing was gearing up for World War II, this promotional message was spot on for both parents and children. What a difference 70 years makes. Ignoring the fact that from a safety perspective, a toy like this probably could never be sold today, if it did reach the store shelves, would anyone buy it? Using the same promotional message as the original, it wouldn’t have a chance in the world. Society’s current view of man- ufacturing as a profession makes the same marketing appeal impossible. But, what if we reformulated


it for today’s culture? What if we sold it as an Art Casting Set to Create Your Own Sculptures or a Modeling Kit to Build Your Own Diecast Cars. These niche


hobbies could hold the same appeal as today’s home sci- ence kits for chemistry or electricity. While it would never outsell the latest versions of Madden Football or Webkinz, these toy sets might have their place in a world where people are remembering (at least in their personal life) the value of hands on activities and homemade fun. Maybe kids will realize that creating things from scratch can be just as rewarding as pretending to be a rock star. Everyone thought John Travolta was done after Saturday


Night Fever. No one believed bell bottoms would be fash- ionable again. Maybe it’s time for home metalcasting to make a rebound.


Alfred Spada, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief


If you have any comments about this editorial or any other item that appears in Metal Casting Design & Purchasing, email me at aspada@afsinc.org.


Metal Casting Design & PurChasing 7


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