Interesting facts: In Frank Hornby, a bookkeeper from Liverpool, began to design a system of interchangeable metal strips, plates, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces, for the amusement of his two children. Supported by his employer David Elliott, Hornby got his new system patented in , and started selling it as "Mechanics Made Easy" outfits, with parts produced by external businesses in Liverpool.
From to , advertisements began to appear in newspapers and magazines, model-building competitions were also advertised, new parts and sets were introduced, and with the support by chair of Engineering Henry Selby Hele-Shaw sales started to take off.
In Hornby decided to rebrand his sets: the iconic "Meccano" trademark was registered, and sets carrying the new name made their first appearance. In the same year the first factory opened on Duke Street in Liverpool, and Meccano began to be exported to many countries, but it was not until that the new "Meccano Ltd.
At the same time, the outfits evolved with the introduction of the nickel plating. In a large factory was built in Binns Road to churn out the new Meccano sets in increasing quantities, and in "Meccano Magazine" - edited by Frank Hornby and published by his Meccano Ltd. For over years, Meccano has inspired countless engineers, designers, architects and creative minds of all ages. Slogan : «Mechanics Made Easy.
A Patent Adaptable Mechanical Toy». Property: Meccano Ltd. Mechanics Made Easy, crane This model, similar to the example in Hornby's patent, is made with Mechanics Made Easy first outfit.
Mechanics Made Easy, first outfit Mechanics Made Easy manuals left: c. The metal strips being perforated with holes, equidistant, enables them to be formed into the shapes among others enumerated. In another colour change took place, the pieces change to silver, yellow and black. A new colour range saw the sets finished in yellow, black and aluminium until , blue, yellow and zinc until and dark blue, mustard yellow and brass from History Notes Meccano was created by Frank Hornby , an amateur inventor and book-keeper employed by a meat importer in Liverpool, England, almost by accident on a train journey in Hornby is quoted as saying: "One Christmas Eve I was travelling from London to Birmingham to spend the holiday with a relation who had some children.
I had been wondering on the way there what I could do to amuse them. The train stopped … opposite a goods yard and there was a small crane there. It occurred to me that I could make a crane like that for children using strips of steel.
I sat in the carriage dreaming about it. The first Meccano was sold in boxed kits as "Mechanics Made Easy" and appeared ready for Christmas the same year. A move into slightly larger premises in James Street, Liverpool, in partnership with his boss and investor, David Elliott, enabled Hornby to concentrate on improving and marketing the kits in his spare time. It wasn't until that Hornby could afford financially to work on Meccano full time and the name Meccano was first used.
The company went from strength to strength and the kits grew in size. In the English factory moved to the famous address familiar to generations of children all over the world, Meccano Ltd, Binns Road, Liverpool, 13, England, where they were to stay for the next 60 years.
English and overseas model-building competitions were initiated by Hornby in and the first issue of the Meccano Magazine appeared in Published monthly, the magazine described new models and parts, model building competitions and articles about railways, electricity, inventors and the latest engineering and transport developments.
Clubs were formed under the guidance of Meccano's Guild Secretary in Liverpool. Each had an adult leader but the positions of Secretary, Treasurer and other officials were held by boys but as far as possible clubs were conducted by boys. Special awards were given to members for good work in connection with their club and medallions awarded for recruiting members.
Meccano also conducted a correspondence service where boys could write to the factory with problems and comments and these were answered personally by Meccano staff. For individual boys unable to join clubs, the worldwide Meccano Guild and Correspondence Club were founded in Started at the request of "Meccano boys", its objective was to "bring boys together and to make them feel that they are all members of a great brotherhood, each trying to help others to get the very best out of life'.
Membership was open to every boy who possessed a Meccano outfit or Hornby train set. In inventors Outfit B and the first Electrical Outfit where introduced. By the Meccano range had grown up to over parts, 8 sets and several motors. There was just one thing missing Colour, most of the parts where Nickel Silver however all that was about to change. This was also expanded to include most parts that could be coloured, notably perforated strips, angle and flat girders.
Sets where tinkered with during this period with a quite a nujber of new parts introduced, In motor Dunlop Tyres where added. In Bevel Gears, the boiler and one of the most interesting parts the Digger Bucket a part which is today in high demand on the used market. This period was marked with Introduction of some special sets, Meccano Aeroplane and Car Constructor had special parts resembling closely those of cars and aircraft to produce a more realistic model, whilst a new Elektron Set as it name suggests an electrical set along with Kemex a chemistry set was introduced.
The main Meccano Range added a new smallest set no although change to the other sets was very little except for the introduction of colour and a few parts the sets contents where little changed from the Nickel Period. A very short lived experiment was Meccano X with multi holed strips, made to rival the very cheap Trix system that was imported from Germany, the Meccano X being almost identical to the Trix system. There was also the biggest change in sets since the end of Mechanics Made Easy name period.
In a way there was a step back to that period with the reintroduction of lettered sets this time from A - L. This was the biggest reorganization so far of sets with effectively and extra set E being added to the middle of the range.
Apart from the new flexible plates a number of other new parts arrived. Meccano builders had long asked for a Steering wheel, finally one was introduced, along with this a road wheel whic was to be used extensively in future decades was released. A hinged plate was also added to the range. This was Meccano without the nuts and bolts Basicly plates and wheels that where fit together with rods, meaning that models could be built much faster than traditional Meccano. Meccano had just reorganised its set line up.
Along with the new sets came new boxes and manuals. Things where looking increasingly promising. There where more new parts as well, a number of Driving Banks, another gear wheel and pinion further gave modellers more options. Unfortunately World Events would encroach on Meccano Ltd. In Britain once again declared war on Germany.
By the Binns Road factory was given over the War materials. Ironically the last item to be introduced by Meccano Ltd before the outbreak of war was a Mechanized Army Set. The manuals continued to show the cross hatching. However given the shortages at the time. Anything would have been welcome. This situation was gradually rectified.
With new manuals being released along with Set 9 in , a totally new set of manuals being released in Along with these manuals a small number of new parts where released notably triangular plates. These where added to the sets which where re boxed. Manuals where again changed in with a new yellow and blue cover showing a large crane, but the contents models where unchanged. There was a number of other releases through this period.
Gears set A was introduced in followed by Set B in New manuals where introduced with a red cover, however it was the inside of the manuals that showed the greatest change. Up to this time manuals had shown a photograph of the finished model and written instructions also with a content list.
In all but the set 10 the written instruction where replaced by an exploded drawing or in larger sets drawings showing how the model should be put together. One set was deleted a conversion set 9a. This set had failed to sell in sufficient quantity for several years to make it viable.
So for the first time in the Meccano range a buyer could no longer buy the smallest set and over the years convert to the largest. Just after these sets where released Meccano Ltd went into new ownership, after some very poor financial figures, being bought by Lines Brothers the makers of Triang. Lines Brother got straight to work after the take over, changing the colour of most of the parts from Red and Green to Silver and Yellow along with some black.
A much more modern look, the plastic trays where changed to expanded polystyrene. Whilst the basic content of the sets and the manuals stayed as they had been from But it was the outside of the packaging that received most attention.
Apart from the Set 10 every set was given a name. The first 3 where called Play Set 0 Junior Set 1 and Super Junior 2 These featured some models that could be made with the set on the front. However sets 3 - 8 where themed, each showing photos of models down the left hand side and the same models set in a drawing on the right. Set 9 was slightly different called Masters Engineer's Set it returned to the idea of the smallest sets and showed several models that could be made with the set.
This was possibly the most colourful period for Meccano with modern boxes and modern colours. Another innovation of Lines Brothers was Plastic Meccano. Basically larger strips, wheels axles flanged plates and nuts and bolts produced in plastic and described as, 'Big parts for Little Hands,' in other words aimed at younger children in the hope that they would go on to main stream meccano.
What effect did this have on the fortunes of the company? Although Lines Brothers carried Meccano Ltd for several years the company returned to a small profit in In reality though these sets where not new. They where the same basic sets as had been organized in repackaged and with a minor change of colour on the flanged and plastic plates from black to blue. The set numbers had been reorganized too, Set 9 had been a poor seller during the 's most who could afford the Set 9 would go the whole hog and purchase the set So this set was deleted.
Set 8 became set 9 and was given a new wooded box, the rest of the sets moved up one. What this change lacked in substance it made up in new manuals and models.
Sets had new manuals with very much up date models. However what was so different was that these manuals where all colour.
0コメント