Hollywood U-Build-It Construction Set

Hi folks, Doc here. Recently Ed Brown, a reader of this website, inquired about a small construction set he had owned for many years. He sent photos and asked for more information. The brand - Hollywood U-Build-It - had been brought to my attention some time back by another reader (I was unfamiliar with it at that time), and I started researching the brand to see what I could find. As with a similar product (Girder-Bilt) I had investigated some time ago at another reader's request, my search for information turned up a few interesting images and some basic part specifications, but not much else. What I did learn is that these sets were manufactured and sold in the USA in the early to mid-1940s. The exact number and variety of sets in the product line is not clear, but the tiny amount of information available suggests that there may have been just a single set, the one shown in the photos on this page (the box lid is shown at right, the contents in the images below). Whether that is actually the case remains to be determined.

Hollywood U-Build-It sets were fairly small and simple, with a limited number of different part types. As shown in the photo below, these included flat strips in six different lengths (2, 5, 7, 12, 14, and 18-hole), two sizes of flanged plates, small angles, wheels (2"), axle rod, plus screws and nuts. Simple tools were also included (wrench and pliers), plus a hank of thin cord/string. All of these parts except for the screws and nuts were made of aluminum, as was the case with other similar products of that period, including Girder-Bilt, Lynncraft, and others. The strips had a unique hole pattern (see image at right), which featured pairs of small holes between each center-lined screw hole. These small holes had no real functional use and were decorative only. The set, shown on this page, was packed in a rectangular cardboard box measuring 20" x 16" x 1" deep.

As indicated on the box lid shown at the top of the page, sets were manufactured by Lite Steel Products Company in Hollywood (Glendale) California. Interestingly, it seems that Hollywood U-Build-It was also branded and sold under a different name, Golden State Constructo - see box lid cover art below. These sets featured the same part types and contents. Part specifications for both sets are listed in the table below.