Erector Set looking to make big-screen debut

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Erector Set line of construction toys is coming to the big screen.

Indie production company Helix Films is developing a script for a 3D family fantasy/adventure film built around the nuts-and-bolts brand. The Santa Monica-based firm's pact with the Meccano Toy Company could also be extended to other platforms like TV and videogames.

Invented in England by Frank Hornby in 1901, Meccano was conceived as a model toy construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. The toy has sold under the Erector Set brand in the U.S. since 1913, and Meccano/Erector set toy products are currently sold in more than 90 companies.

The deal, for undisclosed terms, represents the first time Meccano has licensed film rights to its toys.

Helix currently has two projects in production, a thriller "I'll See You Again" and a 3D animated feature adaptation of Gahan Wilson's "Eddy Deco."