No Screws Here, You WELD This Car Together [VIDEO]

Spin-welding is a form of friction welding, which is simple stuff: you use the heat of friction to melt plastic parts together. In the mid-70s, Mattel offered a line of construction toys that out the concept to work with its SpinWelder series. There were “Race Car Builder” and “Chopper Factory” sets (as seen in the commercials below), and you assembled them with a motorized “welder” that simply spun a bit or plastic rivets to melt the parts together (for a closer look, see the industrial version of the process in the bottom clip). Mattel even offered a Lady Spinwelder “Fashion Studio.” You know, for your sister.

Photo: BestRide.com

Other cool vintage toys to check out: Strange Change Machine, Mattel Vac-U-Form, Thing Maker.