The MECCANO Light Red and Green
Period
** 1958 - 60th
Aniversary - 2018
**
This is intended to be a detailed and complete
history of Meccano's light red and green period, which ran for six years,
from 1958 to 1964. I got my first Meccano outfit (a No.2) at Christmas
1959, so this period of Meccano history is of particular interest to
me.
Although this period only lasted for six years,
there were significant changes to the Meccano system during this time: A
record 90 new parts were added to the system; bright colourful packaging
was introduced; outfit 10 gained a new cabinet; parts stringing was abolished
for all but the largest sets; the first modern plastic-cased motor was
introduced; manuals with written instructions disappeared; electrical automation
was made possible; the first plastic parts arrived; and Meccano went
multi-lingual!
In retrospect, it was probably one of the most
significant periods in Meccano history.
|
 |
Dealers' Display Card from the light Red and Green
period, c.1959 (courtesy R. Jaggard) |
The information on this site has been painstakingly
pieced together from various, and often conflicting sources, along with my
own personal recollections and those of others. Many changes that occured
in the early sixties are often wrongly attributed to the silver/yellow/black
period of 1964. A lot of previously undocumented information has also
come to light, as well as some unsolved mysteries, and more than a few
surprises!
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This site is mainly concerned with
the history of the Meccano construction system in the UK, rather than related
subjects such as Meccano Magazine, or other developments at Binns Road.
However, there is a section describing the Meccano contents
of the Meccano Magazines of the period, and also a page devoted to non-UK
variations.
There are still one or two gaps in the information,
and it is often almost impossible to track down precise dates when changes
occurred. Please let me know if you can spot any omissions or errors,
or if you can provide any additional information or interesting
photographs.
email:
Melvyn Wright |
Light Red and Green Animated Dealers Display Unit
(the bucket arm moves up and down) |
The Medium Red and Green
Period
It would be helpful to start with a look at the Meccano system immediately
before the introduction of the new colours in July 1958. The medium
red/green colour scheme had been in existence since 1945. 2" and 3"
Pulleys were in black, and the tinplate Road Wheel was in red with a black
tyre (see the outfit below). There were twelve main outfits in the
range (numbered 00 to 10) plus the accessory sets, and the gears set 'B'.
Motors consisted of the Magic and No.1 clockwork motors, and the E020
'Cricket Ball' and E20R sideplate electric motors. The outfits were
packed in identical red boxes (apart from size of course) with the parts
strung onto cardboard inserts. The No.10 outfit was packed in a wooden
chest with a hinged lid and two lift-out trays - known as the 'presentation
chest'. The manuals had the yellow dragline cover, or the green railway
crane cover for the accessory outfits.
| Typical Medium Red and Green outfit, from the
period before the introduction of light red and green. This shows the
design of the box lid and the manual cover.
Outfit No.4 is shown, but the packaging for almost all
of the outfits was identical, with the same pictures on the box lid and manuals.
Yes, every outfit had the Giant Blocksetting Crane on the lid, and
the Giant Walking Dragline on the manual; even though there was no chance
of building any of these models with any of the outfits!
The parts were fixed in position inside the box by stitching
them onto a yellow backing card. This method provided an attractive
display in the shop window, but was not very practical for use, as there
was no means of keeping the parts in position once the string had been
removed. |
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There are 3 ways to navigate this site:
1) Use the SITE MAP and navigation buttons at the top
of each page.
2) SEARCH for information using the search box on the right.
3) To view each page in logical order, click on the
GRAND TOUR buttons at the bottom of each page. |
|
SITE
MAP
This web site is Copyright (C)1999-2021 Melvyn
Wright.
I am most grateful to the following people, who have given me (and continue
to give me) valuable assistance and information in connection with this site:
Clive Weston, Roland Jaggard, William
Irwin, Greg Rahn, Rod Purdie, John Evans, Jim Picton, Oscar Nenninger, John
Nuttall, Doug Ward, Graham Jost, Carlos Besse, Eugenio Zalazar, Robert Simpson,
Thomas D. Smith, Staffan Kjellin, Cameron Parle, Tony Press, Alf Jacob Munthe,
Mick Wright, Joseph N Attard, Tim Gant, George Illingworth, Simon Coultas,
Carl-Gustaf Snellman, Jari Berling, Michael J. Walker, Peter Adamson, Alan
Burns, Börje Thelin, Les Megget, Jim Bobyn.
If I have forgotten to mention anybody, please let me
know.
"Meccano" is a registered trademark
of Meccano SA, Avenue de Saint Exupery, Calais 62100, France. I am
a Meccano enthusiast, and have no connection with Meccano SA. The name
"Meccano" is used on this web site only as a means of referring to the
construction set of that name, and not to infringe any
trademarks.