Formo
FORMO is the name of a toy manufacturer from the GDR that was based in Gotha and manufactured plastic building blocks in a wide variety of colors and has been producing them again since 2003. In its design principle they resemble the Einzapfsystem of Lego parts by.
Company history and philosophy
The VEB Gothaer Kunststoffverarbeitung developed in the GDR the FORMO module system in the late 1960s and sold it to 1990. It had a different pitch and was pebe , the second building block system in the GDR, not compatible. The modules have been manufactured again since 2003 - but without the functional modules for wheels and gears. Production takes place at a historical site in Gotha . The distribution center is located in Rochau (near Stendal).
The stones are easy to put together and easy to separate. Due to the use of different raw materials in the production process, there were deviations in quality and color in the building blocks in the GDR. For a time only yellow and white stones were made, then for years only blue and red stones were made. The FORMO building block system is based, like many building block systems, on the principle of pegging. The origin of this method is in the 19th century. The model are the anchor blocks pressed from stone powder . Various construction kits came onto the market under the names FORMO system and FORMO constanti . A gearbox and wheel kit appeared a little later under the name FORMO mobili .
A special feature was the Palace of the Republic model kit , which was available as a souvenir and with which this building could be built.
The building blocks
There are two block heights (full and half height) in a single and a double row version of the tenons. The molded building blocks are available in the system in lengths of one stud, as well as two, three, four and eight studs. The building blocks are supplemented by base plates, windows and doors. The possibilities of the roof structures are particularly diverse. There are stones in different lengths for a flat roof, roof stones in different lengths and associated ridge stones and additional roof tiles. These can be used to cover roofs with tiles as in the model. The range is complemented by matching roof battens, gable stones and ridge tiles. The missing functional modules and on the other hand the large number of roof tiles allow in particular models of houses and similar structures. The construction plans supplied with the construction kits are similar to those for the anchor blocks. The instructions as building ideas for the basic construction kits are primarily houses, businesses and petrol stations.
According to the manufacturer, FORMO building blocks are suitable for children aged four and over. They form a basis for the theory of colors and shapes in kindergarten and elementary school. The modules are offered in starter sets with all the modules for the first constructions.
Formo and Lego building blocks are not compatible due to their different base dimensions, but Formo roof tiles and narrow Lego blocks measuring 1 × 4 or 1 × 8 can be used to create stable transitions between the two systems.