Erector Set is the trade name for a kids’ toy construction set that was popular for much of the 20 century. Invented in 1911, it consisted of small metal beams that had holes along them for fastening nuts, bolts, screws, and mechanical parts like pulleys, gears, and motors. The A.C. Gilbert Company owned and sold the toy until it went bankrupt in 1967, whereupon the name was purchased by the Gabriel Company, which sold identical versions in the 1970s and 1980s. Today they are made by Meccano S.N. of France, which is affiliated with the Nikko Group of Japan, and distributed in the U.S. by Nikko America.