Meccano is a
modelA scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
constructionIn the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
system comprising re-usable
metalA metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
strips, plates, angle
girderA girder is a support beam used in construction. Girders often have an I-beam cross section for strength, but may also have a box shape, Z shape or other forms. Girder is the term used to denote the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams...
s,
wheelA wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...
s, axles and
gearA gear is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part in order to transmit torque. Two or more gears working in tandem are called a transmission and can produce a mechanical advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered a simple machine....
s, with
nutsA nut is a type of hardware fastener with a threaded hole. Nuts are almost always used opposite a mating bolt to fasten a stack of parts together. The two partners are kept together by a combination of their threads' friction, a slight stretch of the bolt, and compression of the parts...
and bolts to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices.
Meccano was invented in 1901 in England by
Frank HornbyFrank Hornby was an English inventor, businessman and politician. He was a visionary in toy development and manufacture and produced three of the most popular lines of toys in the twentieth century: Meccano, Hornby Model Railways and Dinky Toys...
and manufactured by the British company,
Meccano LtdMeccano Ltd was a British toy company established in 1908 by Frank Hornby in England to manufacture and distribute Meccano and other model toys and kits created by the company...
, between 1908 and 1980. It is now manufactured in France and China. Currently sold "
Erector SetErector Set is the trade name of a toy construction set that is popular in the United States.It consists of collections of small metal beams with regular holes for nuts, bolts, screws, and mechanical parts such as pulleys, gears, and small electric motors.The brand name is currently used for...
s" are actually Meccano sets manufactured by
Meccano S.N.Meccano Ltd was a British toy company established in 1908 by Frank Hornby in England to manufacture and distribute Meccano and other model toys and kits created by the company...
of France, part of the Nikko Group of Japan.
History
The first Meccano sets
In 1901
Frank HornbyFrank Hornby was an English inventor, businessman and politician. He was a visionary in toy development and manufacture and produced three of the most popular lines of toys in the twentieth century: Meccano, Hornby Model Railways and Dinky Toys...
, a clerk from
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England, invented and
patentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed a new toy called "Mechanics Made Easy" that was based on the principles of
mechanical engineeringMechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
. It was a model construction kit consisting of perforated metal strips, plates and girders, with wheels, pulleys, gears,
shaft collarThe shaft collar is a simple, yet important, machine component found in many power transmission applications - most notably motors and gearboxes. The collars are used as mechanical stops, locating components, and bearing faces. The simple design lends itself to easy installation...
s and axles for mechanisms and motion, and nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. The perforations were at a standard ½ inch (12.7 mm) spacing, the axles were
8-gaugeWire gauge is a measurement of how large a wire is, either in diameter or cross sectional area. This determines the amount of electric current a wire can safely carry, as well as its electrical resistance and weight per unit of length...
, and the nuts and bolts used
5/32 inch
BSWBritish Standard Whitworth is one of a number of imperial unit based screw thread standards which use the same bolt heads and nut hexagonal sizes, the others being British Standard Fine thread and British Standard Cycle...
threads. The only tools required to assemble models were a
screwdriverA screwdriver is a tool for driving screws and often rotating other machine elements with the mating drive system. The screwdriver is made up of a head or tip, which engages with a screw, a mechanism to apply torque by rotating the tip, and some way to position and support the screwdriver...
and
spanners (wrenches)A wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or keep them from turning....
. It was more than just a toy: it was educational, teaching basic mechanical principles like
leverIn physics, a lever is a rigid object that is used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to either multiply the mechanical force that can be applied to another object or resistance force , or multiply the distance and speed at which the opposite end of the rigid object travels.This leverage...
s and
gearA gear is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part in order to transmit torque. Two or more gears working in tandem are called a transmission and can produce a mechanical advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered a simple machine....
ing.
The parts for Hornby's new construction kit were initially supplied by outside manufacturers, but as demand began to exceed supply, Hornby set up his own
factoryA factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
in Duke Street, Liverpool. As the construction kits gained in popularity they soon became known as Meccano and went on sale across the world. In September 1907, Hornby registered the Meccano
trade markA trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
, and in May 1908, he formed
Meccano LtdMeccano Ltd was a British toy company established in 1908 by Frank Hornby in England to manufacture and distribute Meccano and other model toys and kits created by the company...
. To keep pace with demand, a new Meccano factory was built in Binns Road, Liverpool in 1914, which became Meccano Ltd's headquarters for the next 60 years. Hornby also established Meccano factories in France, Spain and
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. The word "Meccano" was thought to have been derived from the phrase "Make and Know".
The first construction sets had parts that were rather crudely made: the metal strips and plates had a tinplate finish, were not rounded at the ends and were not very sturdy. But manufacturing methods were improving all the time and by 1907 the quality and appearance had improved considerably: the metal strips were now made of thicker
steelSteel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
with rounded ends and were
nickelNickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
-plated, while the wheels and gears were machined from
brassBrass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
.
The first sets under the new Meccano name were numbered 1 to 6. In 1922 the No. 7 Meccano Outfit was introduced, which was the largest set of its day, and the most sought after because of its model building capabilities and prestige.
In 1926, to mark the 25th anniversary of his patent, Hornby introduced "Meccano in Colours" with the familiar
redRed is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
and
greenGreen is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
coloured Meccano pieces. Initially plates were a light red and items like the braced girders were a pea-green. However, the following year strips and girders were painted dark green, the plates Burgundy red, while the wheels and gears remained brass. In 1934 the Meccano pieces changed colour again: the strips and girders became
goldGold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....
while the plates were changed to
blueBlue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
with gold criss-cross lines on them, but only on one side, the reverse remaining plain blue. This new colour scheme was only available in Great Britain until the end of the Second World War in 1945. The old red and green sets were still produced for the export market and were re-introduced in Great Britain after the war.
In 1958 the colours were changed slightly to what become known as 'light red and green' but this incarnation had the shortest lifespan as the colours changed dramatically in 1964 to the black and yellow colour scheme. However, this light red and green period did see the introduction of about 90 new parts, more modern packaging, a new cabinet was introduced for the number 10 set, the first plastic parts were introduced, and the "exploded diagram" instructions made their debut.
Meccano's heyday
In 1934 the nine basic Meccano outfits (numbered 00 to 7) were replaced by eleven outfits, labelled 0, A to H, K and L, the old No. 7 Outfit becoming the L Outfit. This L Outfit is often regarded as the best of the largest Meccano outfits. In 1937 the alphabetical outfit series was replaced by a numeric series, 0 to 10, the L Outfit being replaced by the smaller No. 10 Outfit. Although reduced in size from the L Outfit, the No. 10 Outfit became Meccano's
flagshipA flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
set and remained relatively unchanged until it was discontinued a half-century later in 1992. Accessory sets were retained, numbered 1A to 9A, that converted a set to the next in the series (for example, accessory set 6A would convert a No. 6 set to a No. 7 set). As had been the case from early days, Meccano Ltd would also supply individual Meccano parts to complement existing sets.
World War II interrupted the production of Meccano in England when the Binns Road factory converted to manufacturing for the
war effortIn politics and military planning, a war effort refers to a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force...
. The
Korean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
in 1950 also disrupted production due to a metal shortage and it was not until the mid-1950s that Meccano production returned to normal with new parts being added to all the sets.
In 1955 outfits 00 to 10 as well as conversion sets 00A to 9A were available.
In 1961 a Mechanisms Outfit and a Gears Outfit were added to the range, and in 1962 outfit 00 was withdrawn.
Takeovers
In the early 1960s Meccano Ltd experienced financial problems and was purchased by
Lines Bros LtdLines Bros Ltd was a British toy manufacturer of the 20th century, operating under the Tri-ang brand name.Lines Bros Ltd, at its peak, was claimed to be the largest toy maker in the world.-History:...
(Tri-ang) in 1964. In an attempt to redefine Meccano's image, the colour scheme was changed again, this time to yellow and black plates, with silver strips and girders. The silver was soon replaced by zinc in 1967 when it was found that the silver pieces marked easily. The colours of yellow and black were chosen because they were the colours typically used by most large construction vehicles of the day.
In 1970
electronicElectronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
parts were introduced for the first time and the current black coloured plates were changed to blue. The range of sets was reduced by one with the deletion of the old No. 9 set and the renumbering of the old No. 0 to 8 sets to No. 1 to 9. The No. 10 set remained unchanged.
Lines Brothers went into voluntary
liquidationIn law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
in 1971 and
AirfixAirfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer....
Industries purchased Meccano Ltd in 1972. In 1973 outfits 1 to 10 were still available, but new kits were added: Army Multikit, Highway Multikit, Plastic Meccano, Pocket Meccano and two Clock Kits.
In 1978 the range of Meccano sets was further reduced and changed with the replacement of the No. 2 to 8 sets by six completely new sets, labelled A and 1 to 5. The old No. 9 and 10 sets were left largely unchanged. While some Airfix divisions were profitable, particularly their model kits, they needed to save money. With unions threatening all out industrial action if there were any job losses, Airfix shut down the Binns Road factory, bringing to an end the manufacture of Meccano in England. Meccano was, however, still being manufactured in France, although under the ownership of
General MillsGeneral Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
, a United States toy manufacturer since 1972.
The new Meccano
In 1981 General Mills bought up Airfix Industries and with it what was left of Meccano Ltd UK, giving it now complete control of the Meccano franchise. All the existing Meccano sets were scrapped and a totally new range of sets were designed for production in France called "Meccano Junior". These new sets included many plastic parts and could only build small models.
In 1985 General Mills left the toy business completely selling off their toy divisions. Meccano was sold out to a French accountant, Marc Rebibo, and, once again, all existing Meccano sets were scrapped. The "Meccano Junior" sets were replaced with three "Premier Meccano" sets and two "Motor" sets (including a six-speed motor) were introduced. Due to demand, the old Meccano No. 5 to 10 sets from 1981 were re-introduced.
In 1989 Marc Rebibo sold what remained of Meccano to Dominique Duvauchelle.
Allen headA hex key, Allen key, or Allen wrench is a tool of hexagonal cross-section used to drive bolts and screws that have a hexagonal socket in the head .- Nomenclature :...
zinc plated steel bolts replaced the original slot-headed brass-plated bolts and the "Plastic Meccano Junior" sets were brought back. With younger model builders in mind, many theme sets were also introduced, including a "Construction and Agricultural" series, "Space" models and "Dynamic" sets. The old-style No. 5 to 10 sets remained in production until 1992.
In 1994 additional theme sets were introduced and a
pull-back friction motorA pullback motor is a simple clockwork motor used in toy cars.Pulling the car backwards winds up an internal coil spring. When released, the car is propelled forwards by the spring...
was added to the Plastic Meccano System. In 1996 "Action Control" sets with
infraredInfrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
controls were added and 1999 saw the introduction of a "Motion System" range of sets that changed the look of Meccano completely. There were six one-model sets, two five-model sets, and five new sets numbered 10 to 50, the 20 to 50 sets being motorized. A complete change from the normal practice (sticking to a single majority colour) was that every set had its own colour scheme, often in bright neon colours.
In 2000 Nikko, a Japanese toy manufacturer, purchased 49% of Meccano and took on its marketing internationally through its established channels for radio-controlled toys. Development and design remained with the 51% of Meccano SN, based in Calais, France. Nikko launched a successful range of new sets, including "Crazy Inventors" and the "Future Master" range. Significantly, Nikko radio control and programmable electronics started to appear in the System. However, under commercial pressure, Nikko sold its interest in the Meccano name and System back to Meccano SN, the French parent company, in August 2007.
Meccano is manufactured in France and China.
Meccano today is very different from its heyday in the 1930s to 1950s. The target market of youngsters has not changed significantly. However, the mass market, instant-appeal approach does not always satisfy serious Meccano enthusiasts. For example, it is often difficult to obtain original spares.
Many parts were introduced since the Liverpool factory closed under the French-and-Japanese running of the company. These included plastic parts, gears, electric motors and battery boxes. Metal became an expensive raw material to work with and many of the metal parts were replaced with plastic parts. Allen (hex-headed) zinc electroplated steel bolts replaced the slotted bolts. Some of these Meccano modellers enthusiastically embrace the changes and new parts. However, the "purists" look down on these new parts. Some enthusiasts set self-imposed limits on using only parts deemed to be traditional and steer clear of those parts viewed as “not truly Meccano”.
Original specialist parts, such as very long (up to 2 foot) angle girders, loom shuttles, printing rollers, etc. often required for large Super Models are becoming more difficult to obtain. There are replica manufacturers who satisfy the needs of enthusiasts who wish to build models requiring these parts.
The current range of Meccano electric motors are small DC types designed to run on domestic batteries. These are low-torque high-speed "can" motors. These are inexpensive and suitable for small models that a child might construct from the standard range of sets. Adult enthusiasts tend to use a wider range of high-performance motors that are better suited to powering large models. During Meccano's heyday, the electric motors available were universal wound (for use on DC or AC supplies). Particularly well known were the E020, E20R and E15R universal motors, and issued after the Second World War. These could be run from a mains transformer or, in the case of the E15R, a 12V car battery. Earlier there had been short-lived (and potentially lethal) mains motors designed for DC mains with a domestic lightbulb in series to drop the voltage, followed by motors of the post-War pattern but wound for 4.5 or 6V DC and suited to lead/acid accumulator power. These, as well as the latter accumulator are now rare if in good condition.
What has remained the same during all these years is the
ImperialThe system of imperial units or the imperial system is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which was later refined and reduced. The system came into official use across the British Empire...
½ inch perforation spacing and the
5/32 inch nut and bolt
whitworth threadsBritish Standard Whitworth is one of a number of imperial unit based screw thread standards which use the same bolt heads and nut hexagonal sizes, the others being British Standard Fine thread and British Standard Cycle...
. These unchanged standards and complete interchangeability of parts results in many modern models functioning perfectly with Meccano components that are more than 100 years old.
Some model construction kits are compatible with Meccano. One example is the Swiss brand Stokys, which has been manufactured since 1941. Their elements are mainly made of thick stable metal in order to fit to the general approach of
Swiss QualitySwiss Made is a label used to indicate that a product was made in Switzerland.-Overview:The wording was formally adopted in the late 19th century and is unique in that most other countries use the phrase "Made in ". The most obvious place where the label is found is on Swiss watches...
. Other examples are Exacto and Metallus.
Meccano has always had several compatible products on the market (such as X-Series Meccano, Plastic Meccano, Mogul Toys and Speed-Play). In 2007, a plastic robot named "
SpykeeSpykee is a robotic toy made by Erector/Meccano. It contains a USB webcam, microphone and speakers. Controlled by computer locally or over the internet, the owner can move the robot to various locations within range of the local router, take pictures and video, listen to surroundings with the...
" arrived. The robot is controlled using a WiFi interface and has a webcam but cannot climb stairs as is sometimes claimed. It can also be controlled over the Internet and configured as a security camera. The robot is primarily packaged in a single plastic base component and comprises additional bolt-on plastic parts that are present for aesthetic purposes only (i.e. the arms do not function). The robot base does include some standard Meccano hole spacing. By September 2008, the Spykee robot family numbers five, with each robot having different capabilities.
Compatible sets
Since the 1930s, construction kits compatible with Meccano were manufactured in the Soviet Union. They did not have a uniform color scheme, parts could be in any color. Usually the strips and girders were not painted, and the plates could be either unpainted or painted in red, yellow, and blue. In the 1970s, plastic parts were introduced. The "Krugozor" (English: "Outlook"; Russian: "Кругозор") plant in Moscow produced some sets which included electrical motors and gears. The largest set of the 1970s–1980s was called "Yunost-3" (Russian: "Юность-3") and contained about 200 parts. The "Yunost" ("Adolescence") series were practically identical to Meccano sets with the same number, but there is no evidence of larger sets (equivalent to No. 4 or larger) being produced. There were instructions for building 44 models. Today, many similar kits, mostly Russian and Chinese-produced, are being sold in Russia.
Unlike the Czech
MerkurMerkur refers to a metal construction set built in Czechoslovakia . It was also referred to as Constructo or Build-o in English-speaking countries and Tecc in the Netherlands....
sets, the Soviet ones used mixed
MetricThe metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...
and Imperial measurements. The spacing between holes was 12.7 mm, or 1/2 inch, the hole diameter was 4.3 mm, or 1/6 inch. The nuts and bolts included were Metric.
Capabilities
With a Meccano set there was a wide range of models that could be built. Here are the models for which instructions were given in the largest set of the late 1950s, the "Outfit 10":
- "Railway Service Crane", "Sports Motor Car", "Coal Tipper", "Cargo Ship", "Double Decker Bus", "Lifting Shovel", "Blocksetting Crane", "Beam Bridge", "Dumper Truck", "Automatic Gantry Crane", "Automatic Snow Loader", "4-4-0 Passenger Locomotive"
On top of these there were instruction leaflets available for:
- "Combine Harvester", "The Eiffel Tower", "Showman’s Traction Engine", "Twin-Cylinder Motor Cycle Engine", "Trench Digger", "Bottom Dump Truck", "Road Surfacing Machine", "Mechanical Loading Shovel"
It has been said that the instructions sometimes contained deliberate errors to challenge the ingenuity of its users. However, those involved in their production maintain such errors were accidental, and are no more common than the unintentional errors in other modelling plans.
Since this time, enthusiasts such as G. Maurice Morris and MW Models have taken to publishing their own model plans, ranging from small models up to large and complex machines.
In 1934, Meccano began to be used in the construction of
differential analyserThe differential analyser is a mechanical analogue computer designed to solve differential equations by integration, using wheel-and-disc mechanisms to perform the integration...
s, a type of
analogue computerAn analog computer is a form of computer that uses the continuously-changeable aspects of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being solved...
used to solve
differential equationA differential equation is a mathematical equation for an unknown function of one or several variables that relates the values of the function itself and its derivatives of various orders...
s which has long since become obsolete. Though invented on paper in the 19th century, the first such machine had only been built in 1931, and normally they would be built by specialist manufacturers, at great cost. For example, in 1947,
UCLAThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
in the USA installed a differential analyser built for them by
General ElectricGeneral Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
at a cost of $125,000. However, a "
proof of conceptA proof of concept or a proof of principle is a realization of a certain method or idea to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle, whose purpose is to verify that some concept or theory that has the potential of being used...
" model of a differential analyser which made extensive use of Meccano parts was built at
Manchester UniversityThe Victoria University of Manchester was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".-1851 - 1951:The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College,...
, UK, in 1934, by
Douglas HartreeDouglas Rayner Hartree PhD, FRS was an English mathematician and physicist most famous for the development of numerical analysis and its application to the Hartree-Fock equations of atomic physics and the construction of the meccano differential analyser.-Early life:Douglas Hartree was born in...
and Arthur Porter: use of Meccano meant that the machine was cheap to build, and it proved "accurate enough for the solution of many scientific problems". This machine is now in the
Science MuseumThe Science Museum is one of the three major museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. The museum is a major London tourist attraction....
, Exhibition Road, London, England. A similar machine built by J.B. Bratt at
Cambridge UniversityThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1935 is now in the
Museum of Transport and TechnologyThe Museum of Transport and Technology is a museum located in Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand. It is located close to the Western Springs Stadium, Auckland Zoo and the Western Springs Park. The museum has large collections of civilian and military aircraft and other land transport vehicles...
(MOTAT) collection in
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand. A memorandum written for the British military's Armament Research Department in 1944 describes how this same machine was modified during World War II for improved reliability and enhanced capability, and identifies its wartime applications as including research on the flow of heat, explosive detonations, and simulations of transmission lines. After a lengthy period of neglect, a restoration effort began in 2003, and a successful "full run through" of this machine was completed on December 16, 2008.
In 2005, Tim Robinson displayed his own Meccano differential analyser at the
Computer History MuseumThe Computer History Museum is a museum established in 1996 in Mountain View, California, USA. The Museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting the stories and artifacts of the information age, and exploring the computing revolution and its impact on our lives.-History:The museum's origins...
, at
Mountain View-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA, and Robinson has also built and exhibited two models of
Charles BabbageCharles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
's
difference engineA difference engine is an automatic, mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions. Both logarithmic and trigonometric functions can be approximated by polynomials, so a difference engine can compute many useful sets of numbers.-History:...
, also using Meccano.
In 1990, Meccano S.A. built a giant
Ferris WheelA Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
, in France. It was modelled after the original 1893 wheel built by
George FerrisGeorge Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. was an American engineer. He is most famous for creating the original Ferris Wheel for the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition.-Early life:...
at the
World's Columbian ExpositionThe World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
at Chicago and was shipped to the United States to promote "Erector Meccano" after Meccano S.A. had bought out the "
ErectorErector Set is the trade name of a toy construction set that is popular in the United States.It consists of collections of small metal beams with regular holes for nuts, bolts, screws, and mechanical parts such as pulleys, gears, and small electric motors.The brand name is currently used for...
" trade name and began selling Meccano sets in the U.S.A. It went on display in New York City after which it was purchased by
Ripley's Believe It or Not!Ripley's Believe It or Not! is a franchise, founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims...
and put on display in their
St. Augustine, FloridaSt. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
museum. The model, (at the time) the largest (by size) is 6.5 metres (21.3 ft) high, weighs 544 kilograms (1,200 pounds), was made from 19,507 pieces, 50,560 nuts and bolts, and took 1,239 hours to construct. At this mass and size, some deviation from Meccano-only parts was a necessity, to prevent it collapsing (mainly in the structural spokes). The largest model by mass would certainly be in contention but some models have topped 600 kg.
The current largest model (by size and mass) was built in September 2009 by TV presenter
James MayJames Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
and a team of volunteers who created a Meccano bridge spanning the
Leeds and Liverpool CanalThe Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
in
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. It was built from "[about] 100,000 pieces of real Meccano", took 1,100 hours to build, and consisted of a 9 metre (29.5 ft) "
swing bridgeA swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
" section, and a 12 metre (39.4 ft) "
drawbridgeA drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
" section.
Meccano remains a very versatile constructional medium. Just about any mechanical device can be built with it, from structures, to complex working
cranesA crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
,
automatic gearboxesAn automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
or extremely accurate clocks. Meccano is frequently used to prototype new ideas and inventions. Model realisation using Meccano is limited only by the imagination and ingenuity of the builder.
Popularity
Frank Hornby launched the Meccano Guild in 1919, to encourage boys of all ages -as well as early clubs- to become part of a central organisation, which oversaw club formation, and set guidelines for club proceedings. The
Meccano MagazineMeccano Magazine was an English monthly hobby magazine published by Meccano Ltd between 1916 and 1963, and by other publishers between 1963 and 1981. The magazine was initially created for Meccano builders, but it soon became a general hobby magazine aimed at "boys of all ages"...
was used as a means to keep Guild clubs informed of each others activities (as well as encourage the sales of Meccano).
The International Society of Meccanomen was founded in 1989 in England, nine years after the Liverpool factory closed. This organization is considered the modern replacement of the Guild system and now has some 600 members in over 30 countries.
Today, over a hundred years since its inception, there are thousands of Meccano enthusiasts worldwide, many clubs and hundreds of websites covering Meccano history, model building instructions and nostalgia. Individuals and companies worldwide still manufacture parts, some long out of production. There are annual Meccano exhibitions around the world, notably in France (at a different venue around May each year) and at
SkegnessSkegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, east of the city of Lincoln it has a total resident population of 18,910....
in England (around July every year). Many notable shows also take place in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand each year to name a few.
Publications devoted fully or in part to Meccano included
Meccano MagazineMeccano Magazine was an English monthly hobby magazine published by Meccano Ltd between 1916 and 1963, and by other publishers between 1963 and 1981. The magazine was initially created for Meccano builders, but it soon became a general hobby magazine aimed at "boys of all ages"...
from 1916 to 1981, and numerous Special Model Leaflets aimed at serious enthusiasts, on how to construct very large, complex models and machines. Some models use many more parts than an entire Set 10. The original large models from the 1930s model leaflets are called the Meccano Super Models, often popular at Meccano and other
model engineeringModel engineering is the hobby of constructing machines in miniature. The term was in use by 1888. There is some debate about the appropriateness of the term...
exhibitions and sometimes used as nostalgic showpieces by retailers. Modern dedicated publications include:
Constructor QuarterlyConstructor Quarterly is a quarterly British magazine aimed at Meccano enthusiasts. It was founded in 1988.It is published in Sheffield in the UK by RJ Publications. It consists mainly of photos and descriptions of Meccano models made by the Meccano enthusiasts community. It also features news...
,
The International Meccanoman and the
ModelPlans series of instructions. These feature large model instructions and ideas for enthusiasts. There are also a myriad of club-generated periodicals, featuring Meccano content and keeping enthusiasts in touch.
Influence
The careers many people chose were influenced by their experience and knowledge gained from using the product. Meccano is mentioned in the first chapter of
Graham GreeneHenry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
's novel
The Power and the GloryThe Power and the Glory is a novel by British author Graham Greene. The title is an allusion to the doxology often added to the end of the Lord's Prayer: "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, now and forever , amen." This novel has also been published in the US under the name The...
.
See also
- 80/20
80/20 is a framing system using extruded beams of 6105-T5 aluminium alloy. The integral T-slots create the foundation for the profile's assembly technology. Accessories are also available, which are specific to each framing system...
- Bayko
Bayko was an English building model construction toy invented by Charles Plimpton, an early plastics engineer and entrepreneur in Liverpool. First marketed in Britain it was soon exported throughout the British Commonwealth and became a world wide brand between 1934 and 1967...
- Erector Set
Erector Set is the trade name of a toy construction set that is popular in the United States.It consists of collections of small metal beams with regular holes for nuts, bolts, screws, and mechanical parts such as pulleys, gears, and small electric motors.The brand name is currently used for...
- fischertechnik
FischerTechnik is a brand of construction toy. It was invented by Artur Fischer and is produced by FischerTechnik GmbH in Waldachtal, Germany. Fans often refer to FischerTechnik as FT or ft. It is used in education for teaching about simple machines, as well as motorization and mechanisms...
- Lego Technic
Technic is a line of Lego interconnecting plastic rods and parts. The purpose of this series is to create more advanced models with more complex movable arms, such as machines with wheels, in addition to the simpler brick-building properties of normal Lego....
- Märklin
Gebr. Märklin & Cie. GmbH or Märklin is a German toy company. The company was founded in 1859 and is based at Göppingen in Baden-Wurttemberg. Although it originally specialised in doll house accessories, today it is best known for model railways and technical toys...
- Merkur
Merkur refers to a metal construction set built in Czechoslovakia . It was also referred to as Constructo or Build-o in English-speaking countries and Tecc in the Netherlands....
- Steel Tec
Steel Tec is a metal construction toy similar to Meccano. It used a combination of metal and plastic parts held together by metal screws.It was manufactured in China by the Azrak Hamway International, Inc. from 1992 to 1997. The rights are currently held by JAKKS Pacific, Inc.Unlike Meccano , the...
Further reading
- Jim Gamble and Bert Love (1986), The Meccano System, London: New Cavendish Books. ISBN 0-904568-36-9
External links
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History
Resources