Meccano

Meccano is a model construction kit made by Meccano Ltd. It was first produced in 1901 by Frank Hornby (1863–1936), who was at that stage a clerk living in Liverpool, England. The kit was advertised as “Mechanics Made Easy,” and it included a number of perforated metal strips, plates and girders, wheels, gears, and axles, as well as nuts and bolts to connect and hold the pieces together. All of the perforations were spaced at half an inch apart, and the nuts and bolts were of a standard size. The only two tools needed were a screwdriver and a wrench. The machines that could be made were only limited to the imagination of the person who purchased the kit.

Initially, Hornby was able to buy parts from other manufacturers, but soon the kits became so popular that he had to start making his own parts. Establishing a factory at Duke Street, Liverpool, the new parts were friendlier to children, with rounded corners, and created from thicker and stronger steel. In September 1907 Hornby finally registered Meccano as a trademark, and in May of the following year, he formed the company Meccano Ltd. The kits became so popular, especially with boys as Christmas presents, that in 1914 Hornby had to build a new factory at Binns Road, Liverpool, and the company operated from there for the next 66 years. Factories were also opened in France, Spain, and Argentina to cope with the demand.

A motorcycle built with the Meccano motion system 50 kit, sold in 2005 and manufactured in France and China.

Hornby sold the Meccano in sets numbered 1–6, each one containing more pieces and allowing a greater scope for building something, and were also progressively more expensive. Gradually further numbers were introduced, and in 1937 the sets were renamed with letters of the alphabet. Bythat time Meccano sets were selling well around the world, with great demand all over the British empire, especially from Australia and New Zealand, and from the British, and other, communities in South America. Frank Hornby became a member of the British Parliament for Liverpool.

The Meccano Guild was established in 1919 to encourage the use of the toy. From the 1920s there were regular school competitions between schoolboys over who could build the most elaborate machine, with working trains and airplanes created along with buildings and bridges. For adults, there were also clubs and regional competitions. Meccano Magazine was published from 1916 until 1981, suggesting new designs and highlighting changes in what was available.

With the onset of World War II, the war effort resulted in the factory producing military supplies, and even after the war, demand for supplies for the Korean War meant that production did not come back to its prewar level until 1953. Sets continued to sell well, but there was a downturn in sales in the early 1960s.

This was as much because there was so much Meccano still around—it was very hard to break, and fathers passed it to their sons—as because other interests were arising. In 1964 Lines Bros. Ltd. bought the company, and they changed the color scheme and added zinc strips. In 1970 they started introducing electronic parts. After Lines Bros, went into liquidation in 1971, Airfix Industries bought Meccano and continued making a range of sets. However, they also found themselves having difficulties, and in 1980, they sold the factory on Binns Road, with most production coming from the factory in France. General Mills bought the British company Meccano Ltd. in 1981, but four years later it was sold to Marc Rebibo, a French businessman. He ran it for four years and then [Page 383]sold it to François Duvachelle, another Frenchman, who tried to restructure the company. Eventually, in 2000, 49 percent of the company was bought by Nikko—a Japanese toy manufacturer—but this was sold back in 2007. Meccano is still manufactured in France and China. The demand is now not just among teenage boys, but also from many Meccano enthusiasts—the International Society of Meccano men was established in 1989, with 600 members in 30 countries.

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