More recent meetings and exhibitions can be found here.

Click on coloured links to see the models.

January 2008

This was at Philip Drew’s

David Northcott showed us the beginnings of an orrery he is working on.

Mark Bridle was following in the footsteps of Pete Evans by building a model of a Bristol dockside crane.

Neil Bedford brought a ‘support’ vehicle for his Scammell tractor in the form of a trailer into which the battery to power the tractor will eventually go.

David Miller has a model of a fascinating steam tractor of the mid-nineteenth century by Burrell-Boydell. This device was designed to be driven over muddy ground followed by a plough and effectively laid its own tracks as it went along. David also had some small models made by his grand-children including an Asomasaurus or ‘bird with no body’!

Sam Medworth had a very convincing model of a Mark IV WW1 tank made from army multikit parts.

John Day showed us a fairground big-wheel that he is working and which should eventually be fully automatic in its operation.

Richard was still working on his tracked mechanical shovel and showed us the improvements.

In the same area new member Anthony Foley is working on a model of the walking drag-line featured on the covers of manuals from the mid-50s to early 60s and demonstrated this to us.

Just prior to the meeting a friend of Malcolm's had visited and looked through some 50s manuals. In them he found a No.2 set racing car and a No.4 set fighting bi-plane which he remembered making as a child. He begged Malcolm to make them for him in his older age! (60 next birthday) Malcolm brought the models along to show, together with a comprehensive collection of ‘small set’ manuals to cover the ages of all members! We were invited to recall the models we remember being ‘captivated’ by in our youth.

October 2007

This was at Richard's house in Tockington.

David Northcott brought what he believes will be his last ever Bugatti! It has better proportions than previous efforts and uses a discreet electric motor for power.

David Worth had a range of models from modern sets, e.g.this crane, plus a model of a ships windlass, all brought by train from Devon in a rucksack!

Terry Childs is working on a Shay geared steam locomotive. So far he has built the chassis which ran well on specially built track.

Neil Bedford brought the latest version of his Scammell Explorer. It now has a fully working ‘rear end’ and improved fine detail all around.

Richard Smith had been working on his caterpillar track model which now has an improved motor unit. However, instead of being a crane it is now going to be a drag-line.

Pete Evans has a soft spot for the excellent No.10 set models designed by Tony Parmee. He entertained us with Tony’s improved version of a digger.

Malcolm had built a new model of a Congreve Rolling Ball Clock, having bought the instructions and all the extra bits needed after the Thornbury show in August.

July 2007

A jolly evening was had by all at Malcolm’s in July.

Sam Medworth brought a Meccano version of the folding plates that form the basis of solar panels for powering space vehicles. He also showed a surprising variety of Meccano spanners from the Mechanics Made Easy era (early 1900s) to those from the current Nikko Meccano sets.

Richard Smith was taking a break from his Canberra bomber and instead showed us the beginnings of a Supermodel No.1a type car chassis.

In similar vein Neil Bedford did not have his sophisticated Scammell explorer but some far simpler clockwork driven vehicles including an autogyro and a very nice truck made by his daughter Forrest.

On this occasion the clever stuff came in two forms. Firstly, a Sinclair Harding Clock from Mark Bridle based on a Michael Adler design. These clocks were designed to work effectively on ships and not be influenced by rolling movements in high seas.

The second smart model was a walking dragline, in the process of construction, from Terry Childs. This is a version of the model that appeared on the front covers of Meccano manuals between 1956 and 1961.

David Miller pedalled over with a charming little rickshaw model with just one wheel.

Malcolm had just given an illustrated talk on Meccano to a local branch of Probus and so showed some of the items (a) (b) he had dug out for that.

Annual Exhibition 2007

Our annual show was held for the second year at Tockington Village hall. The weather was beautiful and we all had a very enjoyable day. The hall was filled to capacity with models of all kinds, and we had a steady flow of visitors.

Pete Evans made a very large contribution (two cars full of models and sets). These included: SML Bagatelle, Weighing Scale and Meccanograph; several Aero and Car constructor models and an Aero set in box; Meccano sets: 1925 #5, 1930’s #6, 1950 #10 and a 1959 #10. Models made by Pete included a Kietz oscillating engine and James Watt Beam engine. He brought a Meccano shop model of Flying Delta Jets. Best of all were his excellent Stothert and Pitt dockside crane model accompanied by the Peckit Loco and trucks, as seen on the Bristol harbourfront. This clockwork tank engine will run on Hornby gauge O rails.

John Day came all the way from Bridport with his White Knuckle Ride designed by Tony James. This model performed faultlessly all day. John also brought along a ‘model of the month’ Rolls-Royce car.

Phil Drew showed his ‘work in progress’ Clifton Rock Railway and two skill-testing Amusement Arcade games.

Andy Cope showed an excellent version of the Giant Block Setting Crane, a 10 set model leaflet Combine Harvester and a Bert Love designed Grandfather Clock with Moon Dial and Auto rewind capability. The clock started straight away and kept time through out the day.

Sam Medworth showed his James Watt Beam Engine featuring Parallel Motion, a Condenser, a Centrifugal Governor and a Sun and Planet Gear crank drive. His Robotic Arm was also exercised by many of the visitors.

Ralph Clark demonstrated his mastery of Railway Locomotives with a Camel-Back (Mother Hubbard) locomotive from the Pennsylvania railroad in the USA. Ralph also showed a Stationary Steam engine (Konkoly design).

Neil Bedford brought a hands-on crane that the visiting children enjoyed. He has further improved his superb Scammell Explorer that is now powered by a 157 Watt Torpedo motor by MFA. Other models were a Robot and three vehicles including his Landrover. His daughter Forrest contributed a Swing and a Monkey.

Malcolm Hanson was unable to join us but made a significant contribution. The largest was a #10 set model of the Cargo Ship that was shown in conjunction with Pete’s Crane. His Meccano Shop Display models were a Rocket Loco, Windmill and Ferris Wheel. A model that the children loved was the Workshop with Pillar Drill, Saw (no cut fingers, phew..), Pump and Trip Hammer. I think this blue/gold Bluebird car was his.

David Northcott was also unable to attend but kindly supplied his 4 foot long Barracuda made mostly from un-painted Meccano.

David Worth showed a large number of mainly modern French models, which he had brought up on the train from Devon! A good example is this Ferris wheel.

Bryan Bowditch showed a 1910 Ford Tin Lizzie based on a Meccano Magazine design.

Richard Smith showed his Winget Dumper Truck and the progress he is making on the English Electric Canberra bomber.

Sam was the winner of this year's scrapheap challenge; "a vehicle powered by a No.1 clockwork motor that will cover a floor distance of 20ft in the shortest time possible. Head-to-head races in pairs will be held on a knock-out basis. All the fun of drag racing!" His model shot straight out of the door of the hall and down the steps! Simplicity and lightness seemed to be the winning combination.

Lastly, many thanks to Veronica Garside who very kindly spent the day catering to our gastronomic needs with her cakes and bacon rolls, and Lynn Smith for catering and collecting at the door. We made a profit of £40 that will be donated to the Jessie May Trust in Bristol.

January 2007

There was a good and very enthusiastic gathering at Philip’s on the 6th. Jan.

David Northcott had landed a Barracuda fish! A juvenile at only 3ft but still pretty fearsome and a superb use of old cleaned up flexible plates.

David Miller had a ‘modern’ set mobile crane that slews and hoists in a quite realistic manner for a relatively inexpensive set. He also had a more traditionally built flatbed truck designed as a plaything for his grandchildren. To keep them entertained it was a) robust and b) had lots of moving parts like a crane, a steering wheel that worked and side flaps the swivelled up and down.

Sam had been working on a robotic arm. It has five separate movements all controlled from a single control device through five motors.

Our host Philip has been taking an interest in the Clifton Rock Railway. The now abandoned device was water driven with four separate carriages that took passengers from the Portway up to Clifton. Philip’s model has two carriages but is otherwise a very accurate copy of the original.

Malcolm brought some items from the mid-60s yellow, black and silver Meccano period. These included a Junior Powerdrive set, some advertising literature and the No.10 set model of a freight ship.

Sam brought some second-hand 1980s Meccano which was auctioned and raised £80 for Julian House Night Shelter in Bath.

October 2006

The meeting was at Richard’s house in Tockington.

Richard is building a Canberra bomber on the ‘unit construction’ principle and displayed the results of his efforts so far. Taking the principle further he also had a tracked vehicle with a unit gearbox.

New member Dave Worth drove up from Paignton to be with us. Dave has acquired a range of modern sets and displayed the models he had built from them, e.g. helicopter, car, submarine.

Ralph Clark, taking a break from railway based models, came with a ship’s steam engine based on a design from a 60s Meccano Magazine.

David Northcott was also inspired by an old published design, this time a dark red/green period No. 7 manual model of a Midland locomotive.

Continuing the transport theme Pete Evans when airborne with models of the Red Barron’s WW1 Fokker tri-plane and a rare Aeroplane Constructor No.0 set model.

Sam brought models on a 2 wheeled theme; a 1964 scooter, a modern mountain bike, and a micromodel motorcycle.

Philip brought his wonderful rotating ball puzzle for another outing.

Malcolm brought along a range of construction sets of the 30s,40s and 50s with the common theme that you were expected to ‘make’ the constructional parts from various tools and raw materials that came in the sets. These included Juneero, Manufax and N-G-Neero

July 2006

This was held at Malcolm's in Long Ashton. Good weather allowed us to display models out in the garden as well as in the house.

Sam Medworth brought a modern Radio Controlled Meccano model of a 6-wheel lorry tractor that worked very effectively.

Richard Smith had a model of a 50s Winget dumper truck.

Pete Evans showed us his emerging model of a Peckett saddle-tank locomotive of the type that can still been seen in the Bristol docks.

Malcolm Hanson had not one but two Dealers Cabinets from different eras, red/green and blue/gold.

David Miller could not bring his room-sized fairground roller-coaster on his bicycle! However he showed us the railcar and a video of it in action.

Exhibition April 2006

The exhibition in Olveston was very well attended by both members of the club and members of the public.

Ralph Clark came with a lovely model of an LMS 0-6-0 loco No.7167 that the public could operate by turning a handle.

Sam Medworth brought a number of good models, including a range of military models (a, b, c.) and some of the Crazy Inventor’s range. See also a, b, c, d.

John Darlison had fascinating working models of a tram and an elevator both of which were automated and benefited from the Motorvator range of electronic components.

Neil Bedford had his modified Scammell truck plus several other vehicles. In addition he had a very shifty looking robot who shuffled across the floor with eyes lit up.

David Northcott had finished his model of the Snowdon rack railway graced with the loco ‘Eryri’ plus a range of vehicles including a London bus, a Bugatti, and a three-wheeler.

John Day having previously brought a Supermodel block setter this time contented himself with a mini version of the same thing supplemented by an observation tower with working lift, a horizontal steam engine and a fairground wheel.

But the real fairground enthusiast this year was Pete Evans. He entertained everyone with an aeroplane ride, a madly spinning chair ride and an even more frightening looking sharp uphill/downhill ride. Not content with these he also had a windmill, various steam engines, (a,b,c ) a Meccanograph and a bagatelle game.

Tony Lavender had an Earth, Sun and Moon orrery plus a working model of a water mill based on a real one at Eskdale.

Phil Drew came with two beautifully built hands-on game machines both of which challenged the users to move a ball from one end to the other but in very different ways; a labyrinth and rotating wheels.

Event organiser Richard Smith had his blue/yellow blocksetter, Automatic Snow Loader, two tractors and the basis of a WW2 half-track. He also demonstrated the 2 million to 1 gearbox.

New member Mark Bridle had built a wonderful version of the walking dragline model that was pictured on the cover of late 50s manuals.

Malcolm Hanson put on an historic display with items from the MME era through to Space 2501. This was augmented with some hands-on models, some shop display models and his blue/gold block-setter.

It was good to see that despite the great loss of Ron Garside since last year’s exhibition, he was still represented at this year’s show through his models, in particular a traction engine now in the ownership of Simon Bowditch. In fact you may be interested to know that Ron’s models, including several super-models, sold very well at a recent Vectis auction.

We also held the SW Meccano Scrapheap Challenge 2006:

"A crane of any type built from Meccano powered by a Meccano Magic Motor to lift a load of Meccano parts through 12 inches in 1 minute or less. The heaviest weight lifted to be the winner. The crane must be free standing i.e. not fixed to any baseboard. The crane must stand on its surface and lift the load from that level."

We used the Henley definition of a "Meccano Part", i.e.

* Any part made by Meccano Ltd, Meccano France, Meccano SA or Meccano SN, their licencees and successors, both current and obsolete. (That also includes X-Series parts.)

* Any exact replica of these from any maker.

* Any commercially available cord such as kite cord is acceptable.

* It is permitted to mutilate a part by bending, rolling or twisting, but you may not cut off a section of it.

The winning entry was from Tony Lavender. Well done Tony! (On the right.)

The public really seemed to enjoy the show, several staying for quite some time. One of the draws was certainly the super food on offer courtesy of the Smith family and friends, lovely grub! In fact great thanks must to all the Smiths and especially Richard for volunteering to put on a public exhibition and then making such good show of it. Very well done!

January 2006

There was a good and very enthusiastic gathering at Philip’s on the 6th Jan.

David Northcott showed us the beginnings of his interpretation of a Snowdon Railway rack and pinion locomotive based on a Modelplans set of designs.

Neil Bedford brought the latest version of his Scammell Explorer. He has now ‘colour coded’ the various key elements to make them easier for the viewer to identify.

We had a good range of steam engines on view. Sam brought the 1935 set 6 manual model of James Watt's beam engine. This displays most of the innovations for which he was responsible, such as "sun and planet" gearing, external condenser and parallel motion.

Pete Evans had two steam engines, one a Watt inspired beam engine and the other a German designed oscillatory example.

Richard Smith is working on a display model of various mechanisms similar to the sort of shop display models that emerged from the Liverpool model room. So far he has constructed the framework and one of the mechanisms

John Day also had a ‘work in progress’ to show us. He is making the 50s No.6 observation tower but is upgrading it to include a reversing mechanism for the lifts. He has thus far built the base and the reversing mechanism.

David Hobson has acquired two of the Nikko Meccano radio controlled chassis. One is still standard but the other has been incorporated into a tracked vehicle using the 70s Meccano plastic tracks. This drives and steers in a most realistic manner.

Malcolm brought a ‘Meccano calculator’ that will multiply and divide and which in turn is based on a 100 year old toy. He also brought a DVD of a recent TV programme in which James May (Top Gear) eulogised over the toys he had as a child, including Meccano. We all watched the Meccano bit, including the building of the 1950s set 4 elevated jib crane, which led to a lively discussion of children’s toys then and now and the attitudes and capabilities of the children of today with regard to things mechanical.

October 2005

John Day (all the way from Devon) is in the process of building a small Block Setting Crane as published in the November 1960 Meccano Magazine. The instructions were supplemented by editor’s notes. John is using parts that he has re-sprayed to an excellent standard with 30 x 5½” angle girders required.

Neil Bedford recently decided to build two simple models . These were of a Land Rover in medium red and green from a #8 set instructions and a 3-wheeler from the October 1960 MM. A Magic Motor powered the car.

Sam Medworth showed a series of the currently available £5 models from Calais, using the new spring steel parts. Each model is supplied with a small number of extra parts. When the series of models has been bought, there are enough parts to build the bonus model. The models were a Cabin Cruiser, Quad Bike, Grab Crane, Skidoo, Helicopter, Motorcycle and sidecar, and the bonus model which was a Catamaran.

Tony Lavender has built a parallelogram linkage Weighing Scale. This was to demonstrate its ability to stop a merchant selling under weight goods through placing them at different distances from the fulcrum. Tony had constructed some over-hung weights to demonstrate the principles.

Dave Northcott has constructed a Bluebird land speed breaking car out of a mixture of pre-war, Calais and 1978-9 Blue Meccano. The different blues were hardly evident.

Richard Smith showed his #10 set model of the Snow Loading Machine, which we saw earlier. A battery pack has now been fitted.

Peter Evans also attended and is just about to start building the Super Model Luffing Crane.

July 2005

This meeting enjoyed good weather which allowed us to display models out in the garden as well as in the house.

Sam Medworth had previously been involved in an exhibition to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII. For this he had created several models of the era including an early mono-plane model, an anti-aircraft gun made from Mechanised Army parts, a No3 set tank and a battle cruiser model from a mid-30s H set manual. He brought all these models along for us to enjoy, with some posters and examples of wartime Meccano Magazines, to show how these "shrank" during the war due to paper shortages.

Paul Monacute had a Modern Supermodels version of a traction engine which looked lovely but which he thought was not as technically well designed as he would have liked.

John Harwood, who we welcome to the fold, brought along a tank and transporter made from 1970s Army set parts.

David Northcote had built a recent Constructor’s Quarterly version of Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Bluebird car. Very similar to the 30s No.6 set model, it none-the-less improved upon it in various ways, for instance, by having working steering.

Richard Smith had taken a break from his big models and came with a very convincing Star Wars ‘enemy’ space cruiser model.

Having brought his late 30s blue and gold sets along to the Exhibition in April, Malcolm complemented this by displaying his earlier mid-30s blue and gold sets which ranged from an 'A' up to the ‘super’ 'L' set.

Exhibition May 2005

The exhibition saw a good number of members present with a wide range of models.

1. David Miller had accumulated enough Hornby clockwork O gauge track to convert some of it to electric operation with side-rail pick-up. He then built a model train based on a London Underground design to run on it.
2. Ralph Clark had built a Brian Rowe designed beam engine which ran very smoothly from a motor in its base plinth. He also had a fascinating model of what was probably the first commercial steam loco in America. Built by George Stephenson and shipped to the States in bits, it then had to be adapted to run on uneven track.
3. Sam Medworth came with some of the Crazy Inventor’s range; the car, boat and helicopter. He had also built a supermodel steam shovel adapted from its original steam drive to run from a set of electric motors. Power for this came from a cleverly modified torch which contained a large lead/acid battery and to which several switches had been added to give remote control.
4. Paul Montacute had built lots of models that he displays at various shows. There was a nice clockwork driven clock in black and white Meccano, an Adams radial tank loco designed for the Lyme Regis Railway and a steam road locomotive which ran beautifully. These were contrasted by a modern Meccano Ltd made robot, remotely controlled and with several movements but lacking any tradition Meccano characteristics in its manufacture.
5. Richard Collis, returning to Meccano building after something of a gap, had built a fork lift truck from a design in a 1955 Meccano Magazine. It looked good but Richard was somewhat unhappy with the functionality of its design.
6. Richard Smith brought two ‘project’ models. The first was the 1954 Number 10 set Snow Loader. Impressed by its design he was surprised at how large the finished model would turn out to be. His other effort was based on a German half-track vehicle of World War II origin.
7. Pete Miller and Ian Lane had both managed to lay their hands on modern Meccano sets, made for Marks and Spencer, of Concorde. Though tricky to put together the models looked good and, rather bizarrely, were sold in the gents clothing section of stores!
8. Neil Bedford returned with his Scammell explorer, a six-wheel cross-country vehicle. He had been unhappy with the build up of friction in the model in its previous incarnation, but judicious placement of socket bearings around the differential had reduced the problem considerably.
9. David Northcott entertained us again with his Pat Briggs designed orrery or(another view) and a clever gearing device, to produce a 59:1 ratio.
10. John Day, having previously brought a supermodel sized block setting crane along, switched to the other end of the spectrum with a couple of small models, a set 3 model of the block-setter and the simple but charming garden seat.
11. Ron Garside was still sticking to Supermodels however, this time they took the forms of a Hammer-head crane and a Goods Warehouse with Electric Elevators.
12. Malcolm brought an exclusively blue/gold display. This included a complete run of late 30s style sets from a Number 0 to a number 10, with models of seaplanes built from each (a) (b) (c) (d). Also an entertaining Number 8 set model of boxers who really fight and a 1954 design Number 10 set model of a Beam Bridge. The latter was made from a mid-60s French set that was still being manufactured in blue and gold.

January 2005

1. Ron’s Supermodel-of-the-moment was No.31 Goods Warehouse with Electric Elevators. A fine model of its period, it even had a built-in safety brake should the cables supporting the lifts snap.
2. Richard Mackriell came with a small car from a 60s manual which came in very useful when we were planning the constraints for this year’s scrapheap challenge (see above)!
3. David Northcott had a Pat Briggs designed orrery, featuring Venus as well as the Earth and the Sun. Apparently the Venusian day is shorter that the Venusian year, or is it the other way around, but not many people know that!
4. David Hobson had a good range of sets and models from the French firm of Constructor. The basic unit in the earlier sets was a rhombus shaped girder unit which they developed in a range of ways over the years. David also had examples of metal architectural construction sets. There was Bricktor from the States made by the Erector firm and Corus from France.
5. Malcolm brought an example of an early American rival to Meccano called American Modell Builder together with early American Meccano sets. Frank Hornby took AMB to court in the ‘teens’ for breach of copyright and eventually succeeded but at considerable cost.

Sorry no pictures this time!

October 2004

1. Sam Medworth brought along his Steam Shovel in its second incarnation, this time powered by electric motors. Sam has made up a d.c. Power supply and control unit from a large flash light unit, which will be invaluable for powering future models. He also showed a new Meccano model of a Skidoo.
2. Ron came with a 'Motion Series' model collection of a Helicopter, Road Sweeper,Motor Cycle, Breakdown Truck and an excellent radio controlled Jeep based on a Niko chassis. All these models are available on the market at present.
3. Dave Miller brought along a clockwork motor from the Meccano Action Packs from 1979 and a set of Hornby railway points using Meccano to operate them.
4. Tony Lavender had recently visited an old mill in Eskdale that was built in 1540. Tony has recreated this building with working sack hoist and two 3" pulleys with tyres for the millstones.
5. John Day drove all the way from Devon to be with us. He has just built a fairground Ferris wheel from a 1957 Meccano model plan, which was demonstrated to us. He also showed us a Mamod steam engine beautifully restored. He showed us the same engine some time ago prior to restoration in an awful state.
6. Peter Evans has got the build bug again and has just completed a Super Model Traction engine in medium green and red Meccano. This is one of four models he has presently on the go.
7. Neal Bedford is working on a Scamell Explorer tractor unit used to transport main battle tanks on the road. He now has a very impressive rolling chassis with six-wheel drive.
8. Richard Smith produced this impressive half-track.
9. David Northcot brought this nice single decker bus in blue and gold.

Exhibition May 2004

1. John Day could not manage another block-setter, but instead brought a delightful model of a Showman’s Engine.
2. David Northcott showed an early motor bus made from red and nickel Meccano and based on a similar model he had seen in the window display at M.W. Models.
3. David Hobson treated us to a wealth of models. He too had an early bus this time based on an design in one of the first editions of the Meccano Magazine and intended to show off some newly produced parts such as braced girders. He complimented this with some other vehicles of the period in the form of WW I tanks - a British, French and German example - all of which worked in some way. In fact the British one had its own stretch of wasteland that it was doomed to pass over perpetually, as it was the land that moved around not the tank! Finally he had a model of an early airliner in the form of a Handley Page HP42 in which you cold have flown to India in the 1930s with Imperial Airways.
4. Neil Bedford also had several models. He had tackled the 60s No.9 model robot which paraded the hall in a slow but sure manner. His mechanical beasts did not stop there as he also had a Konkoly designed horse and cart driven by a clockwork motor. However, his main achievement was a superb six-wheel drive chassis with independent suspension and remote control.
5. New member Paul Montacute entertained us with a fairground roundabout featuring galloping horses with which he has been entertaining children at local fairs.
6. Richard Smith brought the latest incarnation of his block-setter in late 70s colours. It now has its own bit of breakwater to journey over and is powered by a longer running battery.
7. Sam Medworth has been buying modern sets in the Crazy Inventors series. This time he showed us a bat that flapped its wings and a walking boat!
8. Ralph Clark never stops producing locos! This time it was a North American mid-19th century design called a Phantom that ran on 6ft gauge.
9. Ian Lane had been buying French magazines, which just happen to come with beautifully made reproductions of French Meccano O gauge locos and rolling stock under the name of Hachette. These, like a lot of consumer items these days, are made in China.
10. David Miller has been working on a transportable monorail and after a lot of fiddling managed to get it running on the stage. He is not the first, or even the only one at this meeting, to suffer from the ‘it went perfectly well at home’ syndrome!
11. Malcolm had an 8ft model of the Eiffel tower in blue/gold, the basis of which he acquired in the recent Doug McHard auction in Rugby. However, he had to dig deeply into his reserves of gold strips in an attempt to complete it.

David Miller won the fiercely fought Scrapheap Challenge 2004. The competition was to create a machine powered by a No. 1 clockwork motor which climbs a hanging sprocket chain. His design climbed the equivalent of at least 10ft. In doing so he retained the Scrap Heap Challenge Cup. His model is here.

Well done also to Veronica who, although she could not be at the exhibition, still managed to provide the cakes!

January 2004

1. Roger Baker came with an unusual American Meccano set of the 30s that was like a large scale X series set of parts that were held together by pop-rivets rather than nuts and bolts.
2. Sam Medworth had come right up to date with a 2003 Meccano ‘Design 3’ outfit that made a three-wheeler motorbike. Some of the parts were made from a form of spring steel with a ‘memory’, which meant they would spring back to their pre-formed shapes if you tried to bend them. Surely Frank Hornby himself would have been intrigued by such technology.
3. Tony Lavender demonstrated a device he had made for his grandson to show that the acceleration due to gravity is the same for all objects regardless of weight. We did not have the leaning tower of Pisa handy to operate it from so we had to make do with a dining room table, but it worked fine!
4. David Northcott had become smitten by a model tugboat he had seen accompanying a much larger model at Skegness last year. He reproduced it and brought his version along to entertain us.
5. Ron Garside, having made over twenty supermodels that are still up and running has clearly run out of nickel parts and so his latest, No. 10 a sawmill, is made from 70s bits, but ran as smoothly as all the others.
6. Richard Smith had decided to restart his Corsair fighter plane and build it in a more robust form that will cope more reliably with the skin he intends clothing it in. He has been working on the retracting undercarriage.
7. Malcolm brought a Primus car chassis outfit with the car made up (left on the picture). He had put this together for a future Constructor’s Quarterly article. He also had a Meccano Car Constructor model for comparison (on the right in the picture).

October 2003

1. David Northcott had a lovely model of a vintage bus based on version he had seen at MW Models.
2. Sam Medworth entertained us with some simple yet charming models of acrobats from set 0-1 manuals.
3. Neil Bennett brought a heavy-duty differential he had designed.
4. Richard Smith had the latest version of his block setter and had been working on the Corsair fighter plane shown last time (see below), but was experiencing difficulty getting everything to work inside the ‘skinned’ version.
5. Malcolm Hanson had two examples of ‘Klipit’ construction sets. Hobbies of Dereham in Norfolk, famous for their fretwork kits, first manufactured these in 1917. They contain wooden parts, which are held together by a variety of metal clips. The larger of the two sets even has a range of gears in it. However, they do not seem to have been too popular as manufacture stopped some time in the 20s. The fact that one of the sets is unused and the other is hardly used is further evidence of their lack of favour.

July 2003

1. New member Neil Bedford brought a sophisticated mobile crane with all the movements you would expect and driven by an ex car windscreen wiper motor.
2. His young daughter, Forest, was not to be outdone and came with a selection of models she had built including a scooter, jeep and helicopter.
3. David Northcott has been in close contact with the Argentinean firm of Exacto who found a picture of his Bugatti model on the club website. They were so impressed they send him all the brand new parts he needed to build the model again as a prototype for a kit they are going to produce in collaboration with another Argentinean firm who make replica Bugattis.
4. Richard Smith had built a skeletal model of an American Corsair fighter plane of WW2. He is attempting to get all the mechanics right at which point he will build it again from ‘clean’ parts and an add a ‘skin’ to the model he has built already. This way he will be able to display the models together with one demonstrating how the other one operates.
5. Ron’s supermodels of the day were the Stone Saw,the motorcycle and sidecar and the Single cylinder Steam Engine. He now has over 20 supermodels built at the same time.
6. The weather allowed us to have an outside section which suited Sam’s contribution to the evening. He came with two steam-powered models. One was the supermodel Steam Shovel, adapted to use the 60’s Mamod steam engine, and the other demonstrated the Constantinesco torque converter, a fascinating device that rendered conventional gears on a car unnecessary. Both operated happily in the great outdoors.
7. Malcolm showed a display of Meccano electrical and electronic sets through the ages.

Exhibition Easter 2003

1. Mervyn brought an operating tram, small lorry mounted mobile crane, dodgem cars and an Adreas Konkoly designed centipede model. He had also branched out into other systems and built a Marklin crane and a fairground ride out of Constructor.
2. However, the real master of the non-Meccano Meccano model was David Hobson who dazzled us with no less than 28 other system models from all around the world. Some countries would not have surprised you but did you know there were Australian, Israeli, Rhodesian and Bulgarian examples of the genre? Well thanks to David you do now! This Handley Page HP2 was his too.
3. Ron Garside continues to work his way through the supermodels and this time arrived with the Vertical Log Saw (which really sawed), the Railway Breakdown Crane and the Electric Mobile Crane. I’ve now lost count of how many he has still together but I don’t think he’s quite got to 37 yet, so the challenge remains!
4. David Miller has been buying some modern Meccano and showed us a car and a tractor he had made from it. He had also constructed a terrific model of the Falkirk Wheel. This extra-ordinary device links the Fourth & Clyde and Union Canals by effectively swapping bits of the them around through lifting one up by well over 100ft whilst dropping the other by the same amount. Amazing!
5. Ralph brought his Big Bertha, 0-10-0 loco.
6. Sam Medworth had a Meccanograph and nickel biplane plus his late father’s dark red/green No 3 set from the early 30’s.
7. Malcolm gave his model of Buckingham Palace its last run out before demolition and also brought a shop display model of an operating suspension bridge with Dinky Toy cars that circulated on it.
8. It was good to welcome new members in the forms of John Day and Sam Bishop: John had just fulfilled his childhood dream of building the Giant Blocksetting Crane so he brought it along to show us.
9. Sam, Mervyn’s grandson, had a fire engine, modern car and an ingenious model of the studio set from Robot Wars which he designed and built himself. Very impressive!
10. Don’t forget David Northcott’s Earth/moon orrery.

January 2003

Philip had created a "balance" game using his own published instructions! Ron's nickel model of the day was a Meccanograph built from the original 1918 manual. Ralph showed us his latest loco model, "Big Bertha", the Fowler designed 0-10-0 that was built specifically to bank trains up the Lickey Incline on the LMS route to Scotland. By way of amazing coincidence both David Northcott and Tony Lavender had built the Canadian published instructions for an accurate orrery. Tony had yet to complete his but could get some tips from David who has his working, but apparently in the opposite direction to the real thing! Malcolm brought a No8 set model of a robot in 50's red/green, although the design dates from 1939. He also brought items from his collection of Mechanics Made Easy sets. These will feature in forthcoming articles he has written for Constructor's Quarterly.

10th October 2002

At Richard Smith's in early October, The venue itself proved of absorbing to those with an interest in engineering as it had its own mill with waterwheel!

Richard showed us the progress he had made on making a block setter out of late 70's dark blue and yellow parts. Sticking to his high standards he had set himself the challenge of building the model so that all the moving axle rods were journalled on bossed parts.

David Northcott brought an intriguing demonstration model along which showed that with ingenuity just about any gear ratio can be achieved in Meccano. This particular example was of a 13:1 ratio and employed an epicyclic arrangement that could easily be changed to give 11:1.

Ron Garside was still pushing on with his project to build Supermodels from nickel parts. This time he had the travelling gantry crane which worked very effectively.

David Miller had a model he had built especially to please his five year old grandson. This meant it had to look eye-catching and be easy to "drive". David went for a fire engine that worked impressively well yet was easily operated.

New member Richard Mackeriell came with a model car constructed from a modern set. This demonstrated the new triangular cross section axle rods that mean wheels and gears etc no longer need relatively expensive bosses to hold them in place. These seemed to function well but only time will tell if they will still be useable in eighty years time as Ron's parts were!

Malcolm brought some of the goodies he had acquired as a result of the Thornbury exhibition. These included a beautiful 1932 No. 2 Constructor Car, a Meccano No. 1 oil can of the same period (why do these seem to be much rarer that the No. 2, K oil cans?) and a pair of late 30's boxed electric motors.

11th July 2002

1. Mervyn had more aircraft models including a lovely one of a WW1 De Havilland Airco D.H.4 Eagle VIII biplane.
2. Ralph had been busy on the tracks again and delighted us with a Union Pacific 4-12-0 loco of giant proportions.
3. Sam had a model that exploited the new style of caterpillar tracks which Meccano now produce and which are vastly superior to the early ones of the 70's. He also brought a very nice copy of a mid-30s L set bound manual which combines an 0-E and an F-L manual with 'Meccano Mechanisms' and 'How to Use Meccano Parts' manuals. As Malcolm was missing one of these for his own L set some frantic negotiating ensued after which we both ended up with what we wanted!
4. David Northcott abandoned the Bugatti camp on this occasion and brought a model of a 30's Morgan 3-wheeler.
5. Tony Lavender had a model of an ingenious mechanism designed to offset the crankshaft slightly on an internal combustion engine and avoid a directly vertical motion of the shaft at top dead centre. He also had a very interesting 30's K set green enamelled cabinet. This style of cabinet had first been used with the late 20's No. 6 outfit and with the demise of the K set in 1937 was used for the new No. 9 set. In fact Malcolm dug his No. 9 set out of the loft to compare the two and they only differed in lid depth! Unfortunately when Tony bought his set he discovered that the parts inside had been repainted in a hideous thick paint.
6. Malcolm showed a set of all 12 of the models designed for the Bayko set No.15 which was produced by Meccano in 1962. He also had a 1926 Meccano America No. 2x set which was sold in the States complete with electric motor and which was acquired through Ebay along with some lovely literature advertising the 'New Colored Meccano' of the time. Finally he showed a Bx Plastic Meccano set of the late 60's. This was intended to convert a B set to a C set but having trawled through all the literature of the period he could find no mention of its existence!

Easter 2002 (exhibition)

1. Mervyn had a brilliant 'Biggles' display. The centrepiece of this was a large tower with a rotating four-armed section on top from which four aircraft were suspended. Two of these had operating propellers, which powered the rotation of the top section. The aircraft modelled were all from WW1 and some had been flown by W.E Johns the creator of Biggles. Mervyn also had static aircraft models and a really novel exhibit of the carnage once created by Johns himself when he let a plane he was about to fly run amuck and wipe out several other planes and buildings. The later attraction was accompanied by a tape recording of Mervyn reading an account of the mayhem from a book by Johns!
2. David Northcott had a model of a Morgan and the scrap 2-10-0 he had brought to our last meeting.
3. Gordon Snow had a selection of small but intriguing models he had put together for a public exhibition in mid-Wales.
4. Roger Baker displayed his collection of Meccano Mogul models from the early 70's most of which were unused and boxed. Moguls were one of many attempts by Meccano to diversify, but just as Cliki could not compete with Lego so the Moguls were no match for Tonka toys and soon disappeared from the scene.
5. Sam entertained us with an 'identify this Meccano part' competition and a model of a microscope in which a drop of water acted as a very effective lens.
6. Richard Smith did bring his crane this time which continues to progress. The drive to the tracks is now operative but because of a fault on one side on the day the model would only go around in circles!
7. Bill Jary drove up from Devon with a Meccano/Jones sewing machine and Meccano counter top dealer's cabinet from the nickel period.
8. Ron Garside's contribution was a collection of nickel models including a revolving crane, bagatelle game and planing machine.
9. Graham's 70's Meccano models consisted of a crane lorry and a ship coaler.
10. Malcolm has been lazy on the model-building front of late and only brought a No. 6 set model of a Bedford type lorry made from French blue/gold Meccano of the 50's. However, in an attempt to add to the interest he brought along all his pre 1970 French Meccano collection with items dating back to the 20's.
11. David Hobson had made a magnificent car chassis.
12. There were 8 competitors for the scrap-heap challenge of building a 'tug of war' machine powered by a clockwork motor. We ran it in a 'knockout' fashion. As one of only two competitors who owned a 'trinity' motor of the type made for Meccano by Marklin in the teens Malcolm was at something of an advantage and after he had loaded his device with over 100 24.5" and 18.5" girders to aid traction it proved unbeatable! Not very pretty, but very effective! Next year we must think of something where the mad collector does not have such a head start! Sam's entry (runner-up) had some novel features including drive from the winder of the motor, and the weight transmitted to the wheels via rollers onto the tyres, not via the axles to reduce friction.

January, 2002

1. Mervyn brought 3 of his vintage car models, a version of Lindburg’s ‘Spirit of St Louis’ and one of Hungarian modeller Konkoly’s amazing devices. This one was a sort of hand cranked musical box.
2. Richard did not bring his crane but instead came with a demonstration drive unit featuring steering and independent suspension.
3. David Northcott came with a sort of ‘anti-model’ that would have made ace loco builder Ralph Clark wince with anguish. David used to frequent the Barry scrap yard where many a fine steam loco used to be found rusting away. Some years ago he pictured a decomposing BR 2-10-0 and has now built a model of the decaying heap from suitably sad looking parts!
4. Sam took up the challenge of starting with a modern ‘one model’ set of a car and making something completely different from the parts. This he managed with a convincing looking model of a submersible complete with searchlight.
5. Roger Baker made up for his long absence by bringing a host of rare goodies, all by Marklin. There was a 1923 clock kit, a Marklin’s own version of the huge Trinity clockwork motor they made for Meccano in the ‘teens’, a very unusual ‘Minex’ set, only produced in 1939, which was a sort of ‘half scale’ Marklin construction set and finally lots of lovely looking HO gauge toy train items.
6. Malcolm brought a ‘ball bearing’ clock driven by a synchronous electric motor and two versions of the Electrikit, one made in Liverpool and the other an original French set from the Bobigny factory.

October, 2001

• Richard Smith's ever-evolving crane now had working caterpillar tracks.
• Ron Garside entertained us with his coin-in-the-slot musicians.
• Ralph Clark brought his completed and beautifully proportioned Britannia class locomotive.
• David Hobson brought some fascinating items, each of which was a clear predecessor of Bayko. Batisse was a French system of the '20s and '30s with wooden and fibre elements held together by vertical steel rods. David had two beautiful, varnished, shop display models of castles made from this system. However, even more unusual and intriguing was an English system he had just acquired which again had wooden elements held together by vertical wooden rods. What made this truly amazing was that it dated from the 1850's! At this time wooden construction sets normally just consisted of wooden bricks that were simply placed on upon another. With this system everything was held firmly together. Furthermore the basic elements were mostly wooden strips with regularly spaced holes in them and on sale to the public 50 years before the Meccano equivalent.
• Sam had some models with the younger members in mind, including an SML Meccanograph, remote control set Bulldozer and a Harmonograph of his own design. He also built a working microscope with a water-drop lens, as in a 1960s Meccano Magazine, through which it was possible to see the cells in a thin section of a piece of cork.
• David Northcott had an experimental differential for discussion.

July, 2001

1. Ralph brought a now complete version of a Britannia class loco that was beautifully proportioned.
2. Richard Smith, whose huge mobile crane had impressed us as the exhibition brought the motor part of the model, which is now complete with caterpillar tracks. He promises the whole thing next time.
3. Mervyn had some more fun models in the form of an aeroplane flying game that circulated under the power of two propellers one to control vertical movement and one for horizontal and a stunt motorcyclist that performed vertical circles.
4. Sam had been trying to exploit the potential of the 70's Electronic Set and came with a shooting gallery game that exploited the photocell contained in the set.
5. Michael Knowles impressed us once again with another vehicle based model, this time a chassis with an impressive operating gearbox that closely modelled the ratios you would find in the real things.
6. Malcolm displayed a range of 40's Masterbuilder sets and a Masterbuilder model loco. In addition he had acquired some of Meccano's early advertising literature that used some sort of a story to sell the product. This included versions of Dick's Adventures in Meccanoland and a booklet detailing Jackie Coogan's visit to the US Meccano factory.

April, 2001

David Miller made a brave attempt at building a working escalator. Unfortunately friction got in the way of his best efforts, so it was a case of back to the drawing board for next time.

David Hobson brought a spectacular model of the Earl’s Court Big Wheel of circa 1900 made from Construction. As always with David the model was backed up with a range of interesting explanatory literature and photographs of the original.

Ron Garside brought a range of models including his nickel bagatelle game and a lovely coin-in-the-slot ‘orchestra’ that for the princely sum of 2p played you all the popular tunes of the day!

Mervyn Bishop had a racetrack full of models on the theme of Brooklands. He had scoured the manuals for racing car models from all periods starting in about 1913 and finishing with a modern ‘single model’ kit example. A paddock, section of track and a grandstand accompanied these.

Grahame White also had a range of manual models but, as usual, all thoughtfully adapted to improve operation or appearance. These included a manually operated gantry crane, a bulldozer and a tractor and bailer.

Richard Smith had a ‘model in progress’ of a huge mobile crane. Several motions were already working with a separate motor operating each one. Eventually he hopes to have the whole thing moving on working crawler tracks.

David Northcott brought his completed model of a Bugatti>, now with a fully operating gearbox, and ‘plain-steel’ model of a pre-war aircraft.

Bill Jary appeared with a recently acquired shop display model of working mechanisms and an early, 1912, Marklin-made-for Meccano No 2 clockwork motor.

Sam Medworth had an infra-red controlled model vehicle made from one of the kits produced by the French factory a few years ago, and a 1999 all-terrain vehicle. His daughter Hannah entertained us with a Meccangaroo - a version of a wooden toy horse which gravity sent ‘galloping’ down a board set at a slight incline.

Malcolm brought his gold block-setting crane, a blue/gold L outfit (the nearest thing to a set with which you could build the block setter) and a recently obtained factory shop display model of a windmill from the 50’s. Just when we thought we had seen all the models we were going to on the day new member Michael Knowles turned up with a highly impressive version of a Scammell lorry. This was blessed with a wealth of detail including an intricate gearbox and independent suspension all round.

Sam, Ron, Richard and Malcolm competed for the ‘scrap heap challenge’ of projecting a part 24a, 8-hole wheel disc, 15ft onto a target. After a close fought battle, and much to his amazement, Malcolm just scraped home the winner and is now the proud holder of the scrap heap cup until next year!

January, 2001

David Hobson had been experimenting with hydraulics and brought along an excavator he is still working on where the major movements are powered by a hydraulic system sold in Germany as an accompaniment to 'Construction' outfits. It worked very smoothly and used a 'airbrush' painting compressor as the hydraulic power supply. David also brought along a mobile crane make from Arkirecto, a joint mechanical and architectural system of the 30's.

Sam Medworth had linked a laser pen to a Meccano 2-dimensional oscillatory system to simulate the output on the screen of an oscilloscope but in this case on Philip's ceiling! He had also recently acquired a modern Meccano set that builds an all-terrain vehicle. He had put this together and proceeded to impress us with the range of things it could scramble over.

Richard Smith, using beautifully restored parts, showed us what will eventually be the jib of a tower crane.

Philip himself is still attempting to demolish his home with a model of a mediaeval trebuchet.

Fortunately for the house the device can still barely fire its ammunition from one room to the next!

Mervyn, still living firmly in he past, brought along a complex crane ("mechanical navvy") from a 1913 manual.

David Northcott is building a Bugatti and thus far has completed the chassis, which he brought along to show us.

Grahame's adapted 70's Meccano model on this occasion was an automatic ship coaler based on a No.7 set model and worked beautifully.

Ron and Veronica both brought along models of Edwardian 'B' type buses. Veronica's in Meccano and Ron's in Kliptico, a pre-war clip together system than Ron recently managed to get a 'super' set of.

Malcolm brought his completed blue/gold block-setting crane, which had always worked perfectly at home but which, of course, decided to break down on the night.

October, 2000

David Hobson brought a fascinating model of Schilowsky's gyrocar. This was a two-wheeled car invented in the early part of the last century by a Russian (or was it Polish?) prince. The idea was to create a car that needed less roadway. It succeeded in this but unfortunately it needed a vast turning circle so and never caught on. Ralph has started his next railway project, a Britania class locomotive, and brought the chassis for us to see. David Nothcott had some aircraft based on models in manuals of the thirties, but built in plain, stripped down parts, most effective. Ron Garside had another vintage model. This time it was the Supermodel No.9 the Meccano Bagatelle Table built, of course, from nickel parts. Just by turning a handle this model projects a ball up the table allowing you to score points (or not!) and then returns the ball to you for another go. Sam had made a convincing model of the Space Shuttle from 70's space set parts whilst his daughter Hannah showed us a model kangaroo she had made from one of the 70's manuals. When placed on a slight incline the kangaroo would 'hop' along. Mervyn brought several items. His vintage model was a St George and the Dragon from (I think) a manual of the 20's. He also had a Constructo Big Wheel Set plus strip and plate bending machines. Both machines were very effective and the latter could cope with all the 2.5" wide flexible and strip plates using rollers that Mervyn had made himself. However, we were lucky enough to have Arthur Clapp with us on the night. For just £6 Arthur will make a set of three rollers for anyone else who would like to build one of these handy plate bending machines. Arthur's new address is: 9 Masefield Rd, Warminster, BA12 8HN (01985 213783). Malcolm brought a boxed Geared Roller Bearing and the beginnings of the base of the Giant Block-setting Crane (SML 4). He hadd been lucky enough to buy a large collection recently that included the bearing and about 70% of the parts needed to build the block-setter in blue and gold. He has now completed it entirely in genuine 30's B/G parts and will bring it to the next meeting.

July, 2000

Sam brought some 70's Army and Combat sets and examples of the models you could make with them. Ron brought a nickel Planing Machine and his award-winning clockwork driven car. Graham had more of his beautifully turned out models in 70's parts, this time no. 8 set models of an excavator and a tractor and trailer. Mervyn went right back to the First World War for his inspiration with a very 'free-style' model of the Eiffel Tower from the period. New member David Northcott brought a 4-speed and reverse gear-box taken from a '60s MeccanoMan. He went away with lots of friendly advice on improving it. Ralph had become a very frustrated modeller attempting to realise the last of the '20s Super Models, the 6" Howitzer, Limber and Tractor. After hours of effort he still could not get the gun to work! Malcolm had ressurected an ancient model of his based upon an child's plastic toy of penguins coming down a slide. Along with this he showed somw newly acquired 'other' systems namely Jurieero, Constructo and Buildo.

January, 2000

Philip showed us some more models from the range being sold off cheaply at Elf stations (now all gone). Sam had been working on his Derrick supermodel (hybrid No 6 and No 36) which now worked much more effectively than the original, the motions being controlled via a joystick. Mervyn had two working aeroplane models, one from a 1913 manual and the other a modified version which ran on a modern electric motor. Ron Garside brought along a rotating crane whilst Peter and Giles Regan had a solenoid-driven motor designed to run in a model of the Waverley paddle steamer. Malcolm brought along a model steam excavator made from an American wooden constructional toy called Arkitoy and a Meccano shop display model of 'The Rocket' circa 1960.

6th October 1999

Sam Medworth had completed his first attempt at a supermodel, the Stiff Leg Derrick. This had proved a bit of a challenge thanks to certain inadequacies in the original design, but Sam had managed to get it working. David Hobson had a model of the first car to break the 100mph barrier. It was beautifully modelled and boasted an engine with double pistons. David had also brought a display of "other" systems, which included a Greek Meccano copy and a Stabil outfit. Phillip Drew had several small Meccano sets, which he had got on offer from Elf service stations. As well as being very cheap the sets made quite nice models and contained some useful new parts. Mervyn Bishop gave us a second showing of his dodgems model, which he had managed to improve since last time. He also had a charming model of a horse and cart. David Miller had a lovely push-along model of a Gooch GWR loco and coach which he had built to entertain his grandchildren. He also brought an upgraded model, in this case of his Jumbo Jet container conveyor, now powered by four No1 clockwork motors! Ron Garside had a model-in-progress, namely the SML level luffing crane. Malcolm brought some American Meccano advertising literature, an early French No1 outfit and an unused Korean War period 7A outfit. In addition to the Meccano items Sam's son Andrew gave a demonstration of the Club Web site.

July 1999

Bill Jary seems to have caught the collecting bug. He came with two different Meccano microscopes and a collection of Meccano oilcans. He then proceeded to buy a vintage bottle of Meccano oil Malcolm had for sale.

Mervyn Bishop brought a nice Bumper Car model based on an old MM set of plans.

Sam was determined to demonstrate that the Meccano circular saw actually works, and it did!

Ron came with a classic supermodel car chassis with minor mods to the plans just to get the thing to work.

Tony brought a model-in-progress, the base of what he hopes will be a tower crane.

For the technically minded Doug Follett showed us models which demonstrated the workings of the Stephenson and Walschaerts valve gears.

David Miller had once again gone along one of his idiosyncratic model building paths and showed us a Jumbo Jet container conveyor.

Hornby O Gauge is not dead! Except it is now called ACE and Ian Lane has some. He showed some beautiful recently made tin-plate coaches.

Malcolm was being lazy and had no new models but showed some collector's items he had recently acquired.

Previous exhibitions

The 2000 Exhibition, St. Luke's Church Hall, Bath

by Sam Medworth

Although a much smaller affair than previous years, there was a good range and standard of models, as follows;

1. No 9 set Factory, Blue and Gold, Ron Garside.
2. Coin operated theatre, complete with sound, Ron Garside.
3. SM 3 Motorcycle and Sidecar. Ron Garside.
4. Strip bender.Ron Garside.
5. Servetti's Trolley Factory - under construction. Andy Cope.
6. No 5 set Clockwork Car. Andy Cope.
7. 1924 Bugatti type 35 sports car - scale model. David Northcott.
8. Tractor and Bailer, blue/yellow/zinc, from 1949 7/8 set manual. Graham White.
9. Bulldozer,blue/yellow/zinc, from 1949 7/8 set manual. Graham White.
10. Pre-1914 clockwork car, nickel. Michael Hutchings.
11. Derrick crane - hybrid SML 6/36, with joystick control of slewing, luffing and hoisting and (almost) level luffing. Sam Medworth.
12. Hand Loom. Sam Medworth.
13. Small models - ex Elf petrol promotion. Sam Medworth.
14. Stiff Leg Derrick - SML 6. Michael Edwards.
15. Single Decker Bus, clockwork powered, with gearbox incl reverse and steering. Michael Edwards.
16. Meccano Ltd. Aero, Car and Boat models - beautifully restored. Michael Edwards.
17. Builder's Truck. Mervyn Bishop.
18. Mobile Crane.Mervyn Bishop.
19. Fairground Dodgems - 2 operating independently with very realistic action! Mervyn Bishop.
20. 1914 monoplane as built by the original owner of the set on Christmas Day! Mervyn Bishop.
21. Forth Bridge - restored Meccano with miniature steam roller. Mervyn Bishop. Mervyn Bishop.
22. 1913 "Eiffel Tower". Mervyn Bishop.
23. Horsedrawn cab. Mervyn Bishop.
24. Easter Bunny with revolving bowtie! Warren Bishop.

Scrapheap Challenge 2000

This new competition attracted 10 entrants. The challenge was to build the vehicle powered by any Meccano motor that would travel the furthest on a single winding. The winner was Ron Garside, who had stayed up until 3am that morning perfecting a vehicle with 4" wheels running in Elektrikit pinpoint bearings and using his most powerful motor. This travelled 4 times the distance of the nearest rival - 13.5 lengths of the hall! Ron will keep the cup until the next challenge...