Meccano by Roger Marriott

Author:Roger Marriott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Meccano
ISBN: 9781782001133
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2019-11-27T16:00:00+00:00

The comprehensive range of parts available in the mid-1930s

An accessory outfit, named ‘Da’, converting set D into set E.

Throughout this period the range of standard Meccano parts remained substantially constant, with surprisingly few introductions to support the new range of sets. Flexible plates, introduced for the first time, initially in fibre-board, improved the appearance of large models. The range of parts available included gears to give ratios of 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 5:1 and 7:1; and the use of spur gears and worm gear, and of sprockets with fourteen, eighteen, twenty-eight, thirty-six and fifty-six teeth linked by chain, gave Meccano enormous potential that went far beyond a mere toy. These spur, bevel (right-angle) and helical (spiral) gears enable differential and epicyclic gear trains to be included in clocks and orreries, resulting in a very high level of accuracy.

While the large number of special parts now provided offered the modeller opportunity for great realism, many were not included in the contents of the standard outfits and had to be purchased separately, even when the largest set, L, costing £20 10s, was bought.

The L set, with its vast range of parts, gave immense scope for building complex and realistic Meccano models. Included in the set were twentythree of the forty-two different Supermodel leaflets then available. Some of the leaflets were modified to represent the new colour scheme, but most were simply reprinted with little change. The only completely new Supermodel leaflet specifically produced for the L set was a revised Meccano motor chassis based on the 3.5-litre Bentley introduced in 1933 and promoted as the ‘silent sports car’. The Meccano model (see contents page) accurately reproduces the chassis layout, including working brakes, suspension, steering and a four-speed and reverse gearbox, but the instructions are complex and difficult to follow, and the all-pinion gearbox with its sloppy gear change was very unreliable. It was certainly not a project for any but the most intelligent and dexterous of boys.

The year 1936 marked the end of an era for both Meccano and the nation with the death of both Frank Hornby and King George V. In September 1936 Frank Hornby underwent an operation for a heart condition but survived for only three days, dying on 21 September, five years to the day after he was first elected as MP for the Everton ward of Liverpool. Although Hornby had retained the title of Managing Director of Meccano Ltd, from the late 1920s the running of the business was mainly in the hands of a number of longserving aides. Hornby’s reduced involvement was a consequence of his declining health and his interest in politics. Over a quarter of a century he had transformed the production of a toy devised to amuse his children into an international business producing a wide range of quality toys with annual sales of £5 million. Although the company was taken over by his son Roland, some of the inventiveness, vision and dedication to creating a world of ‘Meccano boys’ that drove his father was missing.

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