Tomola

There were Ankerstein copiers all over, some well known and others not so well known.

Tomola may fall into the least known category, or if not, the least known are ones I still haven't heard of.

The box says they are made by "The Beton and Ceramic Factory Limited Co." of the Ujpest district of Budapest, Hungary.

I am inclined to believe that "Beton" is the same as the German word, which means "concrete," and that the concrete portion of the business contributed more to the technical development than the ceramic side.

The sand may be a finer grit than we are used to in concrete, but these feel much more like concrete than do Ankerstein, much less Lott's.

Even though it's out of register, it is worth clicking on the example plan sheet to see someone else's take.

These blocks are 20mm, the same is the earliest Ankerstein, and Richter's later Kleinkaliber, rather than the 25mm of later Ankerstein or 25.4mm of Lott's. I like the size, but it is less suitable for larger structures. Same goes for me, so there.

On another note, I have been tickled with the news coming out of CES about all the 3-D stuff coming along. Now I want the new Fujifilm 3D digital camera even more.

For now, I will keep shifting my Olympus sideways for stereo pairs (below).

Much fun & good block play.