I (Alan) was born at Gravesend, Kent, England in January 1946. I cannot remember when I first badgered my parents for a Meccano set but I must have been about 5 years old. When Christmas came around I was given a small construction set but to my great disappointment it was not the Meccano set I had longed for but an imitation! The parts were tin and dull zinc plated steel with the same hole spacing as Meccano but the strips were crude, flimsy affairs compared to the glossy green and red Meccano parts I had longed for. The rods and crank handle were of smaller diameter than Meccano but the nuts and bolts were much larger. I still have most of this set but I have no idea who manufactured it .I do remember it having a very small instruction booklet. If any one knows more about this set I would love to hear from you. Most of the types of part included in the set are shown in the picture on the left, there were also four plain tin wheels.

Determined to get some real meccano I saved my pocket money and purchased an eclectic assortment of Meccano parts I remember buying among other parts two 15 hole braced girders,a boiler and a 25 x 5 hole strip plate. This made a great deck for a bridge to carry Dinky Toys over my Hornby train set. Gravesend had three Meccano dealers two, W.D. Shaddick and Halfords stocked spare parts, Toy Stores in the High Street the third dealer only sold a few basic sets. The large dealers cabinet at Shaddick's, that the parts were kept in was presided over by a Lady who had worked in the store since the 1930s and only she new where all the parts where. It was a rare treat to be allowed to look inside the compartmented pull out trays. On the front of the cabinet was a large illustration behind a pane of glass showing all the parts in the Meccano range. (see picture further down the page) I do remember often being disappointed because a part I wanted was not in stock and Mum getting impatient as I made up my mind, drooling over the illustrations, as to what other part or parts to choose. The parts were wrapped in brown paper with a label showing the part number. Other parts were in small yellow card boxes. If you bought all the parts left in box you got the box too.

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I must have gone on a lot about having a "real Meccano set" because when I was seven or eight I received for Christmas a second hand pre-war no. 7 set. It consisted of sets 5, 5A and 6A the parts were finished in gold and blue with red wheels and pulleys! colours that I had never seen before but I was in heaven. But no matter what joys! (How I wish I had kept the boxes) I still have most of the parts but nearly all are played with beyond use and I also still have the now very tatty and much used manuals. The picture above is the cover illustration from set 6a and is a beautiful example of contemporary graphic art. The blue and gold colour scheme was much maligned by boys when it was introduced, as" being sissy" but it now has a wonderful nostalgic feeling of the thirties. The van is something I remember building at the time I received my Blue and Gold sets whether quite in this form is quite another matter, it was over 50 years ago! This model was built in August 2007 with those same parts the tyres supplied were originally white but have long since perished. Exacto of Argentina have recently started making reproduction parts in these colours. You can find Exacto listed on the Meccano Web Ring index link at bottom of main page.

A copy of the display board used by dealers on the front of the parts cabinet. Copies of this are available from:John Thorpe

I built many of the models in the manuals (except those involving the gross distortion of parts) and many of my own designs. Every month I looked forward to receive the Meccano Magazine for new models, mechanisms and ideas. Meccano Magazine price one shilling (5p) had to be ordered from the main local Meccano dealer "W. G. Shaddick" of Windmill Street, Gravesend. The picture on the right is the front cover from that time, April 1957 showing "The Canadian" Trans Canadian train in the Rockies. In 2006 I got to ride in the dome car on that same stainleess steel train through the Rockies. I spent most of my childhood buying extra parts, sets, clockwork and electric motors and eventually had a No. 9 set plus many more parts. I also bought sets from some of my less enthusiastic school friends, not interested in their Meccano sets this helped further boost my collection, but they only ever had small sets. Interestingly I had no thoughts at that time that the parts I bought did not match my original blue and gold set. However I do remember being more disturbed by the change in 1959 to a much lighter red and green.

Then in 1961 it was all put away at the back of the wardrobe, when I enrolled at Gravesend School of Art. The last model I can remember building was an attempt to replicate the excavator shown on the cover of the gears set A " manual. The same illustration is shown on the left. Meccano had always been my favourite toy and I was so glad it was there packed away to rekindle my interest later in life.

In the late 1970s I started thinking about my old Meccano again when our two boys were playing with Lego.This was at the time when the publishers, New Cavendish started issuing the "Hornby Companion Series" books on the history of products of the Meccano company. I bought a copy of the Meccano Super Models and found a whole new interest. Through a business contact I found out where spare parts could still be purchased. It turned out to be M.W. Models of Henley-on-Thames. I started building the models in the book,at least those I had enough parts for and those I needed only to purchase a few additional spares for. (Hobby budgets being tight with two small boys to bring up.)One of my favourites was the Single cylinder horizontal steam engine always a nice simple model to build. My two sons Daniel and Dominic also enjoyed playing with my old sets and soon got hooked on Meccano too. As they got older sets of their own were purchased and grew along with them starting with the blue and yellow 1978 No. 2, No.4, Space 2501, Construction and Army sets. I kept my Meccano separately anyway I don't think it had the appeal of their new shiny sets.

In late 1979 after the closure of Binns Road there was a scramble to buy remaining stocks, spare parts became almost impossible to get. It looked as though it was the end of an era. Toy and model shops were searched for sets and spare parts for my sons (plus a few for me). There was a brief time when the old stock of sets sold off by the liquidators became available at knock down prices. In 1980 I remember picking up several sets at a model shop near Liverpool street Station the basement of the shop was stacked floor to ceiling with sets, just a small part of the unsold stock following the closure of the factory. All was not lost for the enthusiast and through the efforts of Geoff Wright in Henley-on-Thames new and second hand parts were obtainable although often in short supply. Things slowly improved, French Meccano under different ownership to the factory in Liverpool, continued production in Calais owned by an American Company. In 1985 the French Meccano Company was sold to a French enthusiast and accountant Marc Rebibo. For several years they produced the 1 - 10 set range as Enthusiasts Sets just as they had been produced at Binns Road in the early 1970s. My younger son regularly had these sets purchased for him and built up to a number 9, rather as his Dad had done. I continued to buy and collect parts too and build models although rather spasmodically. In 1996 I achieved a lifelong dream by buying an almost unused 1950s red and green No.9 and 9A from Geoff Wright of MW Models in Henley-on-Thames*. Since then my collection of parts has grown considerably. Its nice to have most of the parts I want and be able to build new models without taking the previous one apart although most are eventually dismantled. As I regularly exhibit models I like to keep a range of models built up .

I get the greatest pleasure building from plans old and new and improving on them. It's certainly fun to build those large models I had dreamed of as a child. Newer more innovative designs also have their attractions for me and I do build models from my own designs. I am certainly not in the upper league of constructors nor do I own a vast collection of parts, although Anne my wife would not agree with this statement. I consider myself to be a relaxed enthusiast and devoted Meccano fan. The only problem for me is finding enough time for the hobby.You can see what I have been building in my Gallery of Meccano Models.

The picture above is the original envelope and a duplicated copy of "Model of the month" instructions sent to me when I was age eleven in August 1957. The model of the month plans were published in the Meccano Magazine between 1956-1961 with brief instructions and photograph, typed and duplicated fully detailed instructions could be obtained free of charge by writing to Meccano Ltd in Binns Road Liverpool. The August model of the month was a heavy crawler tractor. I don't think I ever built the model because I had to bend two of my precious 25 x 5 hole strip plates for the tracks. Its appeal was probably because it could be built with the number 7 set I had at that time.

The picture below left is the front cover of 1954-55 Meccano catalogue at the time of the introduction of new parts and manuals the floating crane is a model from the number 9 manual. The right hand picture shows a page from 1956 Meccano products catalogue. At that time I built the tank and crane and I recently (2007) built the Marine engine

* M.W. Models shop closed for the final time in March 2003 but continues to sell Meccano related literature in printed and electronic form through the Internet. MW Mail Order The instructions for many of the models shown on my web pages can be purchased there.

Mail to Alan