Super Helta-Skelta

This unusual example of a construction toy can be built out of 29 plastic sections. The brightly coloured pieces slot together to create a continuous sloping track. The set comes with ten glass marbles which are designed to travel down the chutes, across bridges, and through paddle wheels.

The Super Helta Skelta was developed by Kiddicraft Ltd, which was founded by Hilary Page in Purley, Surrey in 1932. Page was the originator of the ‘Sensible Toys' range, first manufactured in the late 1930s.

Page was an advocate of the use of plastics in toy manufacturing as opposed to wood, believing that toys should be washable, brightly coloured and non-toxic. The ‘Sensible Toys’ range became very popular, and many further designs were developed by Kiddicraft after his death in 1957.