James May's Toy Stories

When I used to watch Top Gear, I found James May to be the best of the three presenters with Richard Hammond too excitable and Jeremy Clarkson too bigoted. With his unkempt hair and laconic attitude May is a big kid who cherishes 'proper' toys and, in this show, sets out to persuade today's children that there's more to entertainment than games consoles and mobile phones.
 
Over six episodes he takes one of his favourite childhood toys and does something on a grand scale with it to remind children that they still exist and can be fun.
 

AIRFIX
As a kid I made loads of Airfix models and had them hanging from the ceiling on cotton thread, all bar one were 1/72 scale which were big enough to be detailed but small enough to play with. In this episode, James May begins with a model battleship to try and engage with some year 9 schoolchildren in Telford and show them the brilliance of model making.  When this doesn't work, he moves on to more modern and iconic models, a Chieftain Tank and, as they were made in Telford, a Supermarine Spitfire.
 
Whilst wanting to get schoolchildren interested in Airfix and model making, his real aim is to make the World's biggest Airfix model: a Supermarine Spitfire Mk I at 1/1 scale!
 
PLASTICINE
The colourful and fun alternative to modelling clay, Plasticine is a relatively easy material to sculpt, but May pushes this to the limit when he tries to enter a garden made entirely from it in the Chelsea Flower Show! It's ambitious and he enlists the help of Jane Asher, women from a Sikh temple and bored visitors at the Ideal Home Exhibition to make the flowers. Even model makers from Aardman Studios, the home of famous Plasticine creations Wallace and Gromit, help out. 
 
The results are amazing but he hadn't counted on the judges from the RHS who can be rather particular about details, such as what constitutes a flower!
 

 
MECCANO
When he was young, James May loved Meccano, but was frustrated by never having enough pieces to build anything of a satisfying size. To fulfil this ambition, he sets out to make the biggest Meccano model ever - a bridge over the Pier Head canal in Liverpool. With engineering students from Liverpool University providing unpaid labour and 'Daughter of Liverpool' Edwina Currie on the panel to pick the design, they set to work on an eccentric solution.
  
SCALEXTRIC
The most famous slot-car racing system around, Scalextric has been around for decades, but its popularity has waned. Another project born out of frustration at never having enough pieces, May creates the World's longest Scalextric track. Deciding that the most fitting place is Brooklands circuit, the World's first purpose built motor-racing track, he must overcome the disrepair and changing topology of the area, now encompassing a housing estate and two office buildings - one with a big pond!  
 
When the logistical problems have been overcome, a race between Scalextric aficionados and locals is on, with a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the winner.
 

HORNBY
Arguably at the posher end of transport-related toys, model railways always struck me as a little bit dull. James May never had much enthusiasm for them either, but owns a well-used Flying Scotsman which he decides to run alongside the Barnstaple to Bideford railway line on a 10-mile long Hornby train set track - a scale journey of over 700 miles! With model trains prone to falling off the rails and crashing, this outdoor adventure was never going to be easy.
 

 
LEGO
Lego was another one of those toys that you never seemed to have enough of, always wanting to carry on building. The ultimate in childhood construction, it's universally loved by old and young alike. As a child, May wondered if you could build a real house from Lego (something that many will have asked themselves) and now he attempts it for real, using millions of Lego bricks. Furthermore, he has to live in the house for 24 hours, so needs furniture, fixtures and fittings.
 
The project has more than just amusement value as there are engineering benefits, with one of his advisors learning the proper way to create tensile strength in Lego - it does, after all, have to support his weight and doesn't naturally lend itself to making girders.  The poor interior designer who agreed to help is almost driven to distraction by her constant attempts to make a suitable chair that won't break.
 
 
The idea of James May's Toy Stories was to get kids out of their bedrooms and learn to enjoy toys from yesteryear that are still available and, it seems from these six shows, that he succeeded.  It seems that they were very popular when broadcast on TV and I imagine (and hope)  that children around Britain will ask for an Airfix kit, Scalextric or even some Plasticine for Christmas and get creative and playing together instead of spending large amounts of time sitting in front of a screen.

The Disc

 
Extra Features
Three deleted scenes and a ten minute interview with James May. One of the deleted scenes is a quite nice piece with Peter Snow, who has a large model railway in his attic. They talk about model trains and toys in general and how they can compete with computer games. The interview is brief but does contain some interesting information with May talking about the inspiration for the project and specific interviews.
 
The Picture
A sharp widescreen picture, as you would expect for something still being broadcast on TV. The episodes are very well filmed and edited, cutting between the different locations to show the progress. The Scalextric race is really well put together and using Tiff Needell to follow the action and relay it back to May really adds a sense of urgency and excitement.
 
The Sound
The Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack is very clear with a good variety of modern popular music playing in the background. There are English HoH subtitles which are well written and error free.

 
Final Thoughts
James May is a wonderful TV presenter who is extremely passionate about these toys and throws himself headfirst into these projects. His narration is funny and well delivered, and his interpersonal skills are very amusing. He also has a knack for public speaking which adds to the show's charm.
 
As someone who grew up on the cusp of the computer revolution, I spent a lot of time building Airfix models and playing with Scalextric and Lego, so I know why May has such a love for these toys. James May's Toy Stories is a fantastic show and I would recommend this DVD set to absolutely anyone as it's great TV for all the family.