The Engines Of Imagination

What really happens when people play with toys?

And what age ranges do toys actually appeal to?

Well, to answer the second question, although we think about toys as just a childish pursuit, the urge to creatively build actually really extends well into adulthood!

Just check out this description of one such elaborate creation in Aldous Huxley's “After Many A Summer Dies The Swan”…

“The thing was Gothic, medieval, baronial … doubly baronial, Gothic with a Gothicity raised, so to speak, to a higher power, more medieval than any … building of the 13th century, for this this object, as Jeremy was reduced to calling it, was medieval, not out of vulgar or historical necessity, but out of pure fun and wantonness, platonically, one might say. It was medieval as only a witty and irresponsible modern architect would wish to be medieval, as only the most competent modern engineers are technically equipped to be…”

Now, this iconic passage actually describes a modern day fort, with a moat and drawbridge, turrets and all the rest, built by a Los Angeles magnate near the Hollywood Hills. In the 1940s. And it’s fiction, the kind of fiction which the author was so well known for.

But what it represents is that drive to produce interesting and new results with whatever is at your disposal. If you are able to control the building of an enormous house or an impressive modern vehicle, or something like that, people see those kinds of results.

But when we talk about creation, we’re often talking about something that happens in a more normal way, in a less spectacular way, but still, in an interesting way!

The Enduring Appeal of Models

There's a reason we refer back to the plastic and glue model kits of yesterday when we talk about Cobi building blocks and models.

It's because you see the through-line between these older hobbies and today's newer ones – like 3D printing or building with Cobi.

You see people having fun, exploring the imagination and producing new things, rather than just going over the same old ground.

Check out our line of historic and military model kits, and everything else that we offer at Cobi to benefit from the ability to create! Look for special offers, discounts and more on the site, and keep reading the blog to understand more about how “playtime” works for children and adults in the modern world. It’s not always exactly like what you might think! That’s especially true as we live in a world that seems more technical and “dry” than it used to. At Cobi, we are dedicated to helping new generations to explore their passions, with a grounding in, well, history! That’s a new kind of toy that everybody can love. Fill your cart and get started with something exciting and new.