Thüringer, Perplex, (Babilonia) & Thuringia

The company founded by Albert Liebehenz manufactured the “world-famous” wooden construction sets Perplex, Babilonia(?) and Thuringia / Thuringian construction sets from ~1904 to ~1911.

There are multiple very similar boxes found, exact dates are unknown.

More information: baukastensammler.de


Boxes & content – Thüringer BK

Boxes & content – Perplex BK

Perplex construction box patent: D.R.P. Nr. 207086, in 1907.

Boxes & content – BK Thuringia


Baukasten “Interlocking Building-blocks”

This box is also created in Germany and does use the same examples on both sides of the lid. But it’s not called Thuringer or simular. I’ve no clue what version this is.


Manuals: Thuringia versus Perplex

Just bought a box out of curiosity. Investigating the lids from the baukastensammler and looking to my own material, there seem to be a difference between both sets:

  • Thuringia: solid bars
  • Perplex: bars with holes

Thuringia models are more the building types, while Perplex could be both buildings & constructions, see “Bauvorlagen” (building examples) below:

“Examples for Thuringia and Perplex-Construction boxes”
Image courtesy: baukastensammler.de

Maybe they used the same front cover for both the manuals. Looking to my own ‘left-over’ manuals, there are at least two types of manuals:

Thuringia versus Perplex (KW)

Differences between both manuals: Thuringia examples 17-21 (top manual) versus Perplex examples 16,17, 21, 23 (bottom manual).
If you look to the left bottom model (nr. 16), it’s a Ferris wheel, including 5 (additional) wooden rods. I’ve no clue, if these wooden rods also belongs to a Perplex box. The same picture is also used on the Perplex cover.


Unknown version of Thuringia box (lid only) – “Latest novelty”

Okay, after ‘studding’ all information so far, I just bought a damaged & broken cover, many parts and 2 left over manuals. It’s a combination between Thuringia (cover, manual & many parts) and Perplex (manual & ‘slotted’ parts). It even consists of two wooden pieces having a stamp with the same address printed. The address still seems to exists.

The top cover is written in 4 languages, which differs from the images at top side. There are 318 unbroken parts & 60 partly or completely broken parts. When looking into my manual, there seems to exists parts with even 5 slots, while mine collection has 1, 2 & 3 slots only. Unfortunately, these parts are also very easy to break.

Looking to the Perplex pictures, those slotted parts are not mandatory, for creating hinges. That could also be done with Thuringia set, see this close up of the lid. (The same model is used on “BK Thuringia no.3” lid, but in that case with 2 playing children on top.)

Close-up Thuringia lid: example of a swing, using 2 half-hole parts

Library information & playing in LeoCAD

This library consists of 14 unique parts.

Perplex – Model 18: Swing constrution of 171 parts.

Building

Photo courtesy of HR

A big bridge: L 116,5 cm, W 27,5 cm, H 38,5 cm, build by HR.

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