2004_Apr

Newsletter Apil 2004 Page 1

President Mike Maloney Treasurer Bill Davis

Secretary:Graeme Thomson16 Catherine StCANTERBURYVIC 3126 9836 7359Website

http://members.tripod.com/melbmci

MELBOURNE MECCANO CLUB INC NEWSLETTER

Issue No 2 April 2004

Aeroplane Constructor Set from the 1930s

Have a look at Tony Press’s fascinating article on p 6 about the production of thislesser known series of sets and other series by Meccano Ltd.

Page 12 Melbourne Meccano Club Inc

MECCANO DIARY

MMC NEXT MEETINGSaturday 12 Jun 2004At Bri Phil Hall,80 Gardenvale Rd ELSTERNWICK (Melway 67 H7)1.00pm Sales Table2.00pm Meeting Starts

Please bring a small plate of afternoon tea to share.

FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONSMelbourne Meccano Club Inc Annual Exhibition in October.

OTHER MECCANO CLUB MEETINGS.Meccano Modellers’ Association (Sydney)Meetings are held at a member’s house normally on the fifth Saturday of a month.Contact Malcolm Booker on (02) 9451 8807 for details.SEQMGThe next SEQMG meeting is at 1:30pm on the 3 July 2004 at Dave Harrison’s house: 15Inveray Ave, Benowa Ph: (07) 5539 4867.As usual Paul Dale (07 3202 5352) would try to organise a gathering for visitors – but dogive him some notice!Maylands Meccano Club (Perth)Meetings are held at the Maylands Meccano Club, 16 Kennedy St MAYLANDS usually onthe first Tuesday of each month.Contact Ross Smith (Secretary) on 08 9367 8906 for details

Hornby SpeedboatClub. Tony’s article ison p 6.

The meeting wasclosed about 4.20pm


Introduction

Our April meeting was held at the Bri-Phil Hall in Elsternwick on Sunday,April 18, (delayed from the usualsecond Sunday to avoid a clash withEaster). Thank you to Tony Press andRussell Hiscock for the photos theyhave provided.

There was a good turnout with thirtymembers, one family member, and twovisitors attending the meeting.Members present were: John Brand,Malcolm Brodie, Lindsay Carroll, ChrisComer, Peter Dalliston, Bill Davis, DaveDoddrell, Peter During, John Edgar,Roger Hall, Steve Hatton, Peter Holles,John Hutchinson, Arthur Kirkbright, ,Mike Maloney, Rod Marrow, JohnMartin, Wal Maynard, Barry McDonald,Kimball Monger, Jim Osborne, CarolParsisson, Jack Parsisson, TonyPress, John Riley, Graham Russell,Graeme Thomson, Catherine and (son)Alexander Tritt, Jeff van Hees andDoug Ward. Visitors were Russell and(son) Callum Hiscock. Apologies werereceived from Angus Cummings, DaveDenner, Bill Fitzgerald, Sandra Hall,Bill and Margaret Inglis, PaulJohnstone, Nigel Jolley, Graham Jost,Ken Guilliard, Willem Secker, D. E.Thompson, and Mike Wright.

As usual, trading and chit-chatoccupied the time from 1 pm until 2 pmwhen Mike called us to order tocommence a Special General Meeting

Special General Meeting

The purpose of this meeting was to voteon a proposed new By-Law dealingwith the safety of electrical equipment

at Club activities, the formal wording ofwhich had been circulated to membersas an insert with the Februarynewsletter.

Prior to the meeting, the Committeehad received feedback from a numberof members about concerns they hadwith the wording of three subclauses inthe proposed By-Law, even thoughthey generally supported the thrust ofthe By-Law to introduce a system oftesting and tagging of electricalequipment. As a result, the committeethrough the Secretary moved a motionto improve the wording of thesubclauses causing concern, namely5.2(3), 5.7(3) and 5.7(4). With theseamendments approved andincorporated in the proposed By-Law,Jim Osborne spoke in support of themotion, and there were no dissentingviews. It was very pleasing that themeeting then voted unanimously toadopt the By-Law, and Mike Maloneythanked all Club members who hadbeen involved in its development, inparticular Lindsay Carroll and GraemeThomson who had expended mucheffort in producing the draft. Nineproxy votes were received frommembers (two of which becameredundant when members were able toattend the meeting in person).

The full text of the approved By-Law isincluded as an insert with thisnewsletter.

Normal Meeting

This followed on the heels of theSpecial General Meeting. Mike startedproceedings by informing the meeting


FOR SALE MECCANO NUMBER 10 SET & MANY OTHER ITEMS

! Number 10 set, 1962 light red and green, complete in lightly used condition withwallet of original leaflets. All tyres are excellent, with part # 142a (2" dia.) unused. Avery small minority of parts are in later zinc/blue/yellow as follows: part numbers 7(3), 89 (5), 194, 194d, 194e, 235, 235a. Housed in a custom made 5 drawer cabinetwith enough space for at least another number 10 set. Price $3000.

! Large accumulation of parts, 37 kg in total, of which 50% are red and green, lightlyto medium used. Mostly strips, plates, girders, pulleys, axles, wheels, tyres &brackets, but also plenty of gears, sprockets & contrates. Many other desirableparts. Price $700

! Large accumulation of parts, dark/medium red and green, lightly to medium used.Good basis for a number 10 set. Would cost $660 to complete if buying from UKdealers, compared with $3600 for a complete number 10 set from the samedealers. Full list of parts available on request. Price $1200.

! Meccano Literature from 1929 to late 1970’s including manuals, plans, books, &parts lists. Send for details.

! Vintage & rare parts including steam engines, transformer, digger bucket, spokedwheels, flywheel (part # 132). nickel parts, windmill sails, & lots more. Send fordetails.

If interested, please contact Peter Munday5 Dempster Place, Kambah, ACT 2902Telephone: 02 6231 1145(H)Email: [email protected]

AeroplaneConstruction outfit, aMotor CarConstruction outfit anda Kemex Chemicaloutfit – (remarking onthe difficulties the Clubwould have if we hadto comply with relevantregulations to usethat!!). Also a HornbySpeedboat, with leafletadvising the availabilityof replacementclockwork motor, andthe existence of a


about several issues discussed at aCommittee meeting earlier in the day.

Testing of electrical equipment. Oneof our members, Rod Marrow, as anelectrical contractor qualified toperform testing and tagging ofequipment, has generously offered hisservices free of charge to testequipment brought along by membersto forthcoming club meetings. Mikethanked him very much for his offer,and Rod later gave a presentation ofwhat is involved in the tests, andprovided some useful information aboutpreparing items for test

Sales of Exhibition Magazinein New Zealand. The Clubhas accepted an offer by theNew Zealand Federation ofMeccano Modellers (throughwhom we arrange printing ofour magazine) to promoteand sell copies of our 2003Exhibition Magazine to theirmembers. We are verypleased to have this extrapromotion of our Magazine,which has attractedadditional subscribers, oneas far away as the UnitedStates.

Club Newsletter. BillFitzgerald wishes totake a break from Clubactivities for a time andthis leaves us withoutan editor for theNewsletter (andpossibly the Exhibitionmagazine). Mikeexpressed praise and

appreciation for the wonderful job Billhas done, and the high standard ofproduction he has achieved, and weall hope he will return to the role in thenot-too-distant future. However, untilthis is decided, Mike asked that anyonewilling and prepared to take on the taskto please contact a member of theCommittee. It may be that we will haveto resort to the old style newsletter.

Although not present at the meeting, Billhad kindly offered to assist with thepublication of this current newsletter.Thank you Bill! Mike indicated it would

Alexander Tritt

Peter During


Vern Ellis’s Meccano Did You Know?

In 1911 Frank Hornby started to tradewith the German toy producers MarklinBros of Wurtemburg.

The same year saw very colourful RoyalMeccano tins being produced and wereput on sale on June 22 the CoronationDay of King George V.

In the Hornby System of MechanicalDemonstration Set, the 32cm flat girderwas called a double perforated strip.Also in 1911 the wheel boss for tunnelkeys was patented, also the stamping ofMeccano parts began.

By 1912 the Royal set was phased outalong with the 0 manual with the Royalcover. The 0a accessory outfit wassupplied. The 0 outfits became a nonstandard grey carton that had a red label.

Two Marklin clockwork motors wereimported from Germany. They were theNo 1 at 5 shillings and the No 2 at15shillings. No 1 was reversing and no2had 3 output spindles, clutch and startbutton. The sides had standardMeccano holes and the manual wasprinted in English, French and German.

A worm was provided with a screw toprevent slipping due to end thrust.Meccano collars no 59 were also nowavailable.

Frank Hornby along with his eldest son,Roland, started Meccano France in Parison 7 August.

The first known Meccano catalogue wasalso printed.

WANTED TO BUY OR BORROW

Malcolm Booker has the box andsome parts for the relatively recentMeccano Set Master Connection0050 (Dragster Car), but no manual.Malcolm would like to buy or borrowthe manual. (11 Kildare GveKILLARNEY HEIGHTS NSW 2087ph (02) 9451 8807))

meeting last February. Memberswanting a copy should contact Peter.

Jeff van Hees had a number of minimodels he had constructed from smallsets available over the last few years.

John Riley again displayed his Outfit 9locomotive (seen at the August 2003meeting, and a photograph in thatmonth’s Newsletter), but sincedismantled, parts re-painted in black,and rebuilt. It now looks much morerealistic and runs well, if somewhatnoisily, from the Powerdrive unit in thefirebox.

Our youngest, keen modelbuildermember, Alexander Tritt, againbrought along three original models.There was a fine and realistic PlasticMeccano racing car inspired by therecent Grand Prix, a simple butrecognisable traction engine in metalMeccano - limited somewhat by theparts available to a young builder (weall went through that stage), and anintriguing catapult-like device he hadentitled an ‘Easter Egg Flicker’. Themind boggles!! Alexander had broughtalong a small Easter egg todemonstrate, but it was quickly

reclaimed after the first flick, beforeeager members could take possession!

Tony Press brought us back to moretraditional items of Meccano – in fact,pre-war traditions! He showed a ‘00’


be appreciated if any photographers atthe meeting could provide photos of themodel displays (thanks again to TonyPress and Russell Hiscock for theirresponse)

Membership application Form. TheCommittee is proposing to change theMembership Application Form toeliminate the requirement for applicantsto be personally known by the proposerand seconder. This often provesimpractical, particularly for potentialnew members from interstate andoverseas. The change will beconsidered as an agenda item at theAugust AGM.

Date of AGM. For some years therehas been a clash between the Club’sAGM in August, and the annual auctionof the Victorian Branch of the HornbyRailway Collectors Association ofAustralia. One of our members askedwhether our AGM could be moved toanother date. Since the date of ourAGM this year (August 8) has alreadybeen well publicised, and the hall hired,the Committee decided to make nochange. However, fornext year, theSecretary will liaisewith the HornbyAssociation, and try toavoid a clash.

Advertising of salesby non-members.Until this time, the Clubhas had no formalpolicy on allowing non-members to advertiseMeccano for sale inour newsletters. In the

interest of alerting our members toopportunities to purchase Meccano,the Committee has decided to acceptadvertisements from non-members fora flat fee of $10 per advertisement in aparticular newsletter (a repeatadvertisement in a later newsletter willrequire a further $10). Theadvertisement may include adescription of the item(s) for sale, theasking price, and the contact details ofthe seller. The Club takes noresponsibility for the accuracy of theadvertisement, or the reasonablenessof the asking price.

Treasurer’s Report. Bill Davis advisedthat our current balance was about$4070, and our current membershipwas 73.

Presentation on Testing of ElectricalEquipment

Rod Marrow provided some details ofwhat is covered in the requiredelectrical tests, and demonstrated withsome of the equipment he had broughtwith him.

Lindsay Carroll


Rod has generously offered to carryout inspection and testing of members’equipment free of charge, at our nextmeeting on Saturday, June 12th – inparticular for those items likely to beused at our exhibition or a Clubmeeting. The Club will cover the costsof the appropriate labels, log book,etc., and is required to have registeredin its Log Book those items that areused at Club activities. Please bringalong for testing any mains powerelectrical equipment you intendusing at club activities.

Model Presentations / Items ofinterest

Lindsay Carroll displayedtwo small “Mission Universe”models from the late nineties’period, not generallyavailable in Australia, butbrought to mind from arecent discussion item on‘Spanner’. He also displayeda very neat miniature silverRolls Royce modelfrom plans in a recentCQ, complete with wirewheels (from the‘Crazy Inventors’series).

Roger Hall displayedan original fairgroundmodel Flying Boat,driven by a standard3V motor and usingmulti-stage pulley/driving band speedreduction within thetower (grunt ofsatisfaction from

Kimball!). Roger had a brochureshowing proposed new items fromMeccano for the coming year,including some with radio control.

Peter During brought along a simpleEzybilt model windmill from the 1940’s,and a partly-built racing car chassisfrom the “Master Connections” series,and explained he was having a problemin following the instructions for themodel. Certainly the diagrams in theInstruction Manual are not very clearwith regard to the steering mechanismand springing! Peter also mentionedthat he had some copies of a Clubphotograph taken at Jack Parsisson’s

Easter EggFlicker!


The testingcommences with avisual and physicalinspection forundamaged cords,fittings and well-anchored terminations.If the cord or plug is a3x core type, or thecasing is substantiallyof metal, then Rodwould expect that theequipment was meantto be earthed, and lookfor evidence of anearthed attachment.Likewise, a 2x corecord or plug wouldindicate an unearthedpower unit, motor, etc.,and he would expect tosee evidence of anacceptable doubleinsulated unit.

Rod recommendedthat if plugs (and/orsockets of anextension cord set)need to be replaced,that they be replacedwith a clear plastictype, so that theconnections could readily be seen tobe sound and correctly terminated.There are now available plugs andsockets with a ‘shroud’, which help toprevent exposure of the pins. Hepointed out that whilst older Bakelite orrubber fittings were not prohibited bythe test, the possibility of deteriorationwas higher and it was good practice touse more modern fittings.

For 240V motors, the most satisfactoryarrangement was for a unit withpermanently connected cord, whichcould be checked in the same way asa power unit. Other 240V motorsincorporated into a model wouldrequire specific inspection and test andmay need to comply with otherelectrical regulations beyond the scopeof AS/NZS 3760:2001. (cont p 8)

Jeff van Hees

LindsayCarroll


the originals. The picture shows a1937 Hornby Speedboat Swift.

As shown by the many advertisementsin Meccano Magazine of the early 30’s,to keep up with the growing interest inElectricity and Science many Britishtoy manufacturers such as BritishGames Ltd and Lotts were sellingElectrical and Chemistry sets. In theSummer of 1933 Meccano Ltdintroduced the Elektron Outfit. Thesenew Outfits contained a different seriesof Parts numbered from 1500 to 1588,with nothing in common with the regularMeccano range apart from the 6 BAScrews. There were three originalElektron Outfits, No 1 coveringmagnetism and static electricity, No 1acovering current electricity and No 2covering magnetism, static electricityand current electricity. The packagingwas initially quite complicated with afew strung pieces and smallcompartments for other small parts. Asusual with Meccano Products thepresentation was excellent with thecolourful packaging far outweighing theopposition products and the Manualhad a beautiful coloured cover. Therewas a bewildering array of ElektronParts, very difficult to identify and whenfound in an old collection of Meccanothey might be bypassed as they aregenerally not stamped Meccano,although still of excellent quality. Later,

the Outfit No 1a was made the No 2,the original larger No 2 being droppedfrom production and the Manuals onlyhad black and white covers. Thepicture shows a 1937 Elektron No 1Outfit.

Also during this Summer of 1933Meccano Ltd introduced an Outfit tocompete with Lotts Chemistry Sets.The Kemex Outfit series initiallycomprised Outfit No1 for 130experiments, No 2 for 250 experiments,and No 3 for 350-400 experiments.

These new Outfits included an evenmore diverse array of special Partsnumbered K1 to K134, includingFlorence Flask, Test Tube, MagnesiumRibbon and Sodium Nitrate, with abrightly covered Manual. Theglassware was standard laboratorysupplies issue, in fact the Test Tubesare identical to those currentlyavailable. For experiments, a smallSpirit Lamp was provided (P/N K22)although the larger Outfits wereavailable with a Bunsen Burner (P/NK45). By 1935 the range hadincreased to Outfit No 0, 1, 2L (SpiritLamp), 2B (Bunsen Burner), 3L and3B. There were a few problems withthe authorities regarding the safety ofthe chemicals provided, resulting insome substitution in later Outfits. Thepicture shows a Kemex Outfit 0.

If the equipment is acceptable from thephysical inspection, Rod then carriesout an electrical test of insulationbetween live and earthed terminals andcasing/s, a test to prove the electricalconnection of the earth conductor towhat should be earthed apparatus, and

an electrical test to prove correctpolarity (correct connection of active,neutral and earth conductors). If alltests are passed, then the item isdeemed acceptable and can belabelled as passing the Standard. Thelabelling is valid for 12 months for Clubpurposes.


In the 20’s, Binns Road manufacturedlarge quantities of Meccano for anappreciative public, following manyyears of extensive development. By1928 there was plethora of newMeccano Parts, culminating in thelargest to date, the Geared RollerBearing.

Ernest Bearsley, a first class toolmakerand practical engineer who had joinedFrank Hornby in 1906, was WorksDirector at Binns Road, and under hisfirm control the product quality wassecond to none, and Frank Hornby,supported by his sons Roland andDouglas was still in command.

By 1931, management saw the needfor a more diversified range ofproducts and in September theAeroplane Constructor Outfit No 1appeared with a simple fold out sheetManual depicting six models usinginterchangeable metal parts, quicklyfollowed by a larger No 2 Outfitcovering an improved range of modelsdepicted in a Meccanotype Manual. The newOutfit Parts werecompletely different toregular Meccano, withspecial large sheetmetal panels. Thesewere quickly improvedin design and by 1932a new smaller ‘O’ Outfitarrived, followed by the‘OO’ in 1935. Theparts in the new rangewere notinterchangeable withthe larger Outfits, witha single piece bodypressing and 11"

wingspan, assembled with nickel plated6 BA Bolts with hex Nuts compared tothe No 1 Outfit with 18" wingspanassembled with nickel plated standarddome head Meccano Bolts and squareNuts. The picture on the front covershows a 1937 boxed Aero ConstructorOutfit OO.

Following the successful release of theAero Outfits, in August 1932 BinnsRoad introduced the Motor CarConstructor Outfit, fitted withAckerman steering gear, internalexpanding brakes and white rubber1½” tyres similar to the Meccano 1½”Motor Tyre, assembled using the same6BA Bolts as the O Aero Outfit. By1933 a new smaller Car was produced,the No 1 Motor Car Constructor. Theoriginal larger Car was now given thedesignation No 2 Motor CarConstructor. This new model had 1"tyres in white rubber which were laterreplaced with full rubber Wheels usedwith a pressed tin ‘hub cap’. It had aremovable Hood and two

A new direction for Meccano Outfits in the 30’s by Tony Press


interchangeable Tails,the fold out Manualgiving details forconstructing 6 Models.The picture shows a1937 boxed No 1Motor Car ConstructorOutfit.

To compensate for thedownturn in productsales during the UKSummer, Meccanointroduced the HornbySpeedboat in June1932. By 1933 therange had grown tothree basicSpeedboats, No 3‘Condor’ in red andcream, ‘Gannet’ inblue and white and‘Curlew’ in green andivory, No 2 ‘Swift’ alsoin three colourcombinations, red/cream, blue/white andyellow/white and No 1‘Martin’. The 12" longSwift lasted unchangeduntil the war stoppedmanufacture in 1941,but the Martin wasquickly replaced by alower cost design‘Hawk’. Later in 1933the range was againexpanded to includetwo beautiful newSpeedboats, bothusing the same hull asthe original No 3.These were LimousineBoat No 4 ‘Venture’ and Cabin CruiserNo 5 ‘Viking’. By 1934 three newracing Speedboats appeared , Racer I,

II and III using the same hulls asMartin, Swift and Condor respectively.The Racer Clockwork Motors weremodified to run faster, but not as far as

2004_Apr

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