As well as the "Radio Shack 150-in-1" springy terminal kits, I also had a Germany kit with white squares that connected together magnetically on a metal base, where each block had the component's symbol printed on the top.

The biggest bit I remember though was the instruction book, which explained each component in terms of diagrams of "electrons" with legs and a set of various structures/obstacles - diodes were just one-way gates, transistors were gates with a rope going from the base which pulled open the collector/emitter shutter...

Thanks to Google, I now know you can still get them:

http://www.lectron.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=blog...

There's a small sample of the instruction book on this page: http://www.lectron.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=blog...

(My dad was an electrical engineer, so I guess it was obvious I'd get this stuff for birthdays, but he also built model plane (control line when I was around 10, radio control gliders when I was an older teen), kites, sailing boats, model trains, slot cars... - he was a great guy, I'll raise (another) glass in his memory when I get home tonight. Thanks Dad...)