discussion Wonwings Diary-a blog with a difference.

[wonwinglo]

Meccano still being manufactured today.

***Well Guy Meccano certainly has had a chequered history in recent years here is an aide memoir of what has gone on in terms of owners-

Here is the history:

- Began in 1898 in Liverpool, in a little workshop of Frank Hornby,originally called 'Mechanics Made Easy' appearing in small tins comprising strips,rods and nuts and bolts,together with a special spanner and a screwdriver.

- The first Meccano plant opened in Liverpool in 1907

- 2 new production sites were launched:

(a) In Berlin, in cooperation with Marklin in 1912, and (b)In Belleville (France) in 1920.

- Sales soared in France and its colonies, in 1930, a larger factory was built in Bobigny, outside Paris to supplement Belleville's production.

Wartime Meccano production ceased and the company made amongst other items the small ration pack survival tins,maked 'Meccano' these are today real collectors pieces.

- The French company Miro bought out the non British portion from Lines Brothers and the Bobigny-based factory managed to produce in 1951 more than 500,000 MECCANO sets despite steel shortages,huge steel stockholding by the company probably paid out.

- A new factory was built in Calais in 1959 and is still today the sole production center for MECCANO sets worldwide

- In the late 70s General Mills of the US acquired the Meccano worldwide except the UK and the English branch in 1981.

- In 1985, General Mills sold Meccano ( management buyout) and Meccano started a new line with plastic parts.

The sell out was after leaving the brand neglected for over 10 years and the marketplace was taken over by other brands and products.

- In 1999, the Meccano Group officially started two lines, the original 'metal' line and the new 'plastic' line.

- Since May 2000, the Japanese Group Nikko owns the brand.

And yes, the factory in Calais is still there and continues production both metal and plastic lines.

going back to the meccano thing, i recently displayed at a model show in cholsey in oxfrodshire- i was invited to bring along LEGO creations (cholsey just round the corner from RAF Benson)they put me in a room directly opposite the oxfordshire group of meccano builders, and they were sayings that meccano is now owned by a japaneese firm !!!!- is that correct ???- anyway we all had a good afternoon dishing out banter on the benefits of mecanno over LEGO and visa versa !

they had some awesome models on display,

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Meccano Engineering in miniature,we continue our tour of some special

We will continue our tour of the delightful models made in the timeless Meccano,enjoyed by enthusiasts of all age groups just what can be achieved is shown here-

Loco expert Ralph Clark produced this detailed example of a Bavarian State railway BX 2-4-0 within a 6 wheeled tender circa 1889,built to 1=12 th scale with a peculier valve gear called Heusinger and a Westinghouse-type vaccuum reservoir visible in the photograph.

Another view of the same model,seated behind on the left is Hubert Lansey who worked for Meccano in the 1930's and was 'Spanner' when he wrote articles for the Meccano Magazine,Hubert produced his very own un-official Meccano Magazine selling it to his school chums,after a telling off by the Meccano company he went to work for the 'real' magazine continuing to do so under the pen name 'Spanner'.His associations with the Meccano product extended to the setting up of a successful shop selling the product in London.

Meccano Fork lift truck at Hall Green 15-04-89 with Servetti's Magician on the right.The builders name escapes me but he was very good at building fairground type models entailing great detail.

My late father L.J.Clay proudly shows his block setting crane at Hall Green 1989,the model was similar in lines to Bert Loves famous block setter made as a number 10 set project.Leslie studied the block setter made by Bert Love in great detail and was building up to the near faultless 'Block Setter' I have all of his drawings and notes plus a part completed Block Seter based on the one in the photograph,one day I hope to complete this project.

Non standard blue Meccano parts make up this superb lorry shown at Hall Green circa 1989.Parts were all hand painted a job in itself that took hundreds of hours of work.

Alan Covell well known for his superb shapely designs built this Meccano Morgan sports car,the tyres are built up from Meccano parts with ash tray tyre's,quoits are added within the tyres to make them more rigid.

Neat little Meccano traction engine made with a handful of parts showing that you do not need a very large set to enjoy the Meccano system.

 

[Guest]

OK shall we put the Bismarck/Tirpitz one to rest (and stop interferring with poor Barry's thread!!)?

Tirpitz never did sortie with Bismarck (although there is a particular "fine art print" out there with them together!!!???)

The one and only sortie by the Bismarck was with the Prinz Eugen. The Prinz Eugen was actually a very similar silhouette to the Bismarck but smaller and was thought to be one of the reasons why the Hood opened fire on her.

The Bismarck set sail with a silver funnel top and the Tirpitz set sail with a black funnel top.

As for the scematic Tiger, I have had that one in my favourites for about four years now which comes from one of my favourite sites. I'll take on most people with a Bismark question as I just think she was such an amazing vessel for her time.

 

[Guest]

Just ribbing you Bunk!

Tiz true, a stunning vessel for its time. A scarey thought though if Bismark and Tirpitz got together, another one of those what ifs of WW2.

Ok Barry, you may have your thread back now

(I have a sneeky feeling Barry does it on purpose to get us chatting. It is one of the most enjoyable threads on here though.)

 

[Guest]

Terry,

Great avatar but people are going to start to talk!!!

 

[Guest]

Bunkie et al , have you seen page 13 in the Gallery of www.warshipmodelsunderway.com. Graf Spee.

 

[Guest]

Cant get the page to open Duncan.

People will only talk if they are worried about their own sexuallity Bunk!

 

[Guest]

People will only talk if they are worried about their own sexuallity Bunk!

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Meccano Engineering in miniature-The tour continues.

Meccano attracts all age groups as can be seen here,nothing is beyond the scope of a system designed by Frank Hornby all of those years ago,he would have been very proud to have seen what is going on today around the world in support of his system.

Shown at Skegness 20-06-87 was this superb Meccano model of Stevensons Rocket,the model captures the original very well indeed.

Red & Green Meccano blocksetter,probably the most popular subject that has been made in Meccano,this is attributed to the splendid pictures illustrating Meccano manuals,usually with lads and dads gathered around a glowing fire and wearing a Meccano Jersey !

Meccano Beam engine mesmerises the onlookers at a Meccano meeting.

Yet another Meccano beam engine made in the styles of the earlier construction sets which had no metal plates in them,instead the braced girders shown here were used to good effect.

The late Bert Love's superb block setting crane,developed over many years the model was demonstrated all over the UK.

Delightful blue & silver block setter at Skegness,simply bristling with shiny blue and silver Meccano parts.

Large Meccano crane at Skegness.

 

[Guest]

Cant get the page to open Duncan.People will only talk if they are worried about their own sexuallity Bunk!

The link works for me. Dont put Graf Spee in !

 

[wonwinglo]

***Thats right,every now and again I throw a spanner in the works,its an old moderators trick to get the traffic going ! Tigertc you are welcome anytime.

Just ribbing you Bunk!Tiz true, a stunning vessel for its time. A scarey thought though if Bismark and Tirpitz got together, another one of those what ifs of WW2.

Ok Barry, you may have your thread back now

(I have a sneeky feeling Barry does it on purpose to get us chatting. It is one of the most enjoyable threads on here though.)

 

[Guest]

And Barry, you certainly are an old moderator!!

 

[Guest]

It was a shame that the Tirpitz wasnt allowed to sail in a battle group that would have been a hard act to put down but i think we learned that airpower can defeat even the most mightiest of battleship

 

[Guest]

It was a good thing that the Tirpitz didnt get to do what she weas designed to do. Can you imagine the cost to the Convoys and to the war in the atlantic as a whole?

 

[Guest]

Nigel, The Bismarck, Tirpitz, Musashi, Yamato etc etc.. were all the end of the line. They took the Battleship to the extreme but untimately demonstrated just how vulnerable they were to airpower.

Look at todays vessels made of metals so thin the frames show through the hull and protected by sophisticated defense systems that ensure nothing can get to them and capable of firing intelligent missiles that can hit targets half way around the world.

It really doesn't stack up though with chucking bloody great lumps of metal at your enemy across a few miles of ocean and seening lumps knocked off them through your optical range finder does it!!!?

 

[Guest]

Nope that it doesnt

 

[Guest]

does anyone happen to record that program on our new "super ships"???

i missed it and would love to see it. i dont want to have to go all the way to southhapton to see them!!

 

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Meccano Engineering in miniature-The models say it all.

Meccano dealers cabinets like this were once commonplace,in those days you just pointed to the parts that you wanted,and a well wrapped and sealed item was placed onto the counter,I have yet to meet a shopkeeper who relished adding up the numerous amounts of small Meccano parts,especially with a queue building up like a Tesco stores on a busy Saturday ! each part is hand strung in place with cord,in fact Frank Hornby insisted that every nut was threaded onto every bolt in the early days of Meccano,the idea being to make sure that there were no faulty threads as often happened,can you imagine this happening today with little if nothing in the way of inspection ? notice also to the right the various colours of boilers issued by Meccano,the cabinet is a thing of beauty in its own right.Almost every major hardware store in the land selling Meccano had one of these on their counter.

Early Meccano dealers cabinet,note the different coloured boiler collection to the right.

Meccano V-1 Doodlebug,very clever but simple construction,not an easy subject in Meccano.

Just look at the way this racing car has been engineered in Meccano ! a clever bit of construction given the fairly complex shapes involved.

Meccano Steam Carriage,note the tiller steering.A basic but non the less attractive subject.

Very neat Meccano steam engine of modest dimensions.

Gigantic Meccano Traction engine in yellow and blue,note the twisted brass stancions,this is available from some model engineering suppliers.

Gigantic Meccano warship looks stunning,what is it Bunkerbarge ?

 

[Guest]

The Gauntlet has been thrown!

 

[Guest]

I would start the bidding with a County Class Cruiser but difficult to see from the angle.

I certainly don't know the shape as well as I do the Bismarck.