Master Builder

The Master Builder 25 series by Haba was previously labeled as T.C.Timber, formerly Skaneatlas, maker of my dearly beloved childhood wooden trains. It is the more architecturally oriented counterpart to the discontinued T.C.Timber Table Unit Blocks line.

Given that they both are described as having 25 mm block pitch, one might expect them to be quite compatible, but if one compares the block assortment, one quickly realizes that the architectural blocks might more closely correspond to half the linear dimension of the Unit Block style. Unit blocks are defined in terms of the thickness of the basic 1x2x4 block, while architectural block sets with the same shape block would look at the width of that block, considering it to be 1/2x1x2 pitch units.

Life is not that simple though, since Anchor Blocks are also 25 mm pitch, have blocks corresponding to many of the same sizes and shapes as Master Builder 25, yet the latter is clearly a "larger" scale. The difference is in the mix of blocks, with Ankerstein tending towards smaller block sizes, MB25 toward larger.

But since they are all indeed 25 mm, MB25 can be used to extend what can be satisfactorily done with the TT unit blocks, with aesthetic caution, partially because unit blocks have rounded edges, while MB25 have edges just shy of being sharp, but partially because each series has an aesthetic integrity that doesn't also adjust well to interlopers.

I look forward to being able to grope into my new Master Builder 25 stash occasionally to extend what can be done with my Anker sets, since I lack some of the longer Anker stones. The caution about aesthetic cohesion undoubtedly applies here as well.

Webster's temple is from an older MB25 Antiquities set, the bridge adds a few stray pieces.