FORGOTTEN MECCANO


          A world famous item from the days gone-by are the MECCANO sets. It was truly a gem, giving hours and hours of bliss to youngsters.
            
courtsy - meccanoindex.co.uk

They were beautifully made assemble yourself toy sets, with parts in steel plate, painted green and red. The screws were made of brass, wheels with rubber tyres etc, etc. You could make hundreds of mechanical things from the diagrams supplied or from your imagination. Since they had wheels, winches, pulleys, cranks etc., they worked like the real things, giving no end of enjoyment. We used to show our made items to all adults with pride, and discuss new ideas with friends at school. Later on just dismantle and make something new. No wastage !!

                     

The sets were numbered 0 (smallest having less parts) to 9 (having maximum variety of parts). There were in-between sets numbered with an A to upgrade to a higher level (example - number 2A added to 2 made your set equal to number 3, and so on for each number)

Meccano no 2, courtsy - Wikipedia

In those days these sets were imported from England and available in stores across India. Receiving a set was the ultimate delight of us youngsters. And then we pestered our parents for the next higher number or the upgrade number.

       
Meccano parts, courtsy - Steve Hughes

       I believe the company has changed hands and the item is made under a different name in some other country. In India some imitations came up which were no match to the original thing, leading to the extinct of the urge to own one. Vintage original MECCANO parts and original boxes are available on the internet, of course at prime costs!


                        

It is quite possible that playing with a MECCANO set produced more engineers up to the 1960’s. With its disappearance, maybe the urge to become an engineer also became less. Calculators and computers now motivate the youth to become something else.

Meccano 6,7,8. courtsy David Duggleby

The time spent with MECCANO and the memories associated with it are something which only a person who has been a fellow user can understand.


Meccano no 3, courtsy - David Dougleby

Comments

  1. Anonymous11 February 2013 at 10:31

    yes, i remember it. the quality of this toy was superb..it is not available these days.Meccano is and always will be a 'creative' toy..
    here kids have 'mechano'...but finding its parts is verrry difficult...some must be in dustbin...some here ..some there...
    You are right that MECCANO encouraged many to become Engineers.Today calculators and computers motivate youth to 'have an easy life'..


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indra Mani Lal27 August 2020 at 00:13

      Truly said Sir. It was a gem for us youngsters.

      Delete
  2. Manju10 September 2020 at 17:34

    Yes, I remember, long back,in my childhood, there was one MECCANO set in our house.Green and red pieces,different types of tools and parts ,made of very good steel...all in a big cardboard box.My brother, writer of this blog used to create different things, which showed his Mechanical skills.
    Now MECCANO comes , but mostly made of plastic,or may be of steel ones too.Sadly, today children find Computersand other gadgets more interesting, hence MECCANO losing its popularity.
    Sad...Kids now not showing much interest in Engineering skills.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indra Mani Lal11 September 2020 at 23:45

      Yes Manju, Meccano company sold out and the new owner (in Canada) make it with new thoughts. But the original gave millions of children pure delight.

      Delete
  3. K B Mathur11 September 2020 at 03:32

    Very true Lal Saheb,we during our childhood used to get thrilled with MECCANO on being able to erect imaginary objects.These days such inspirational toys are far to find.With the advent of computer and promotion of artificial intelligence young minds are leaning towards alien objects and loosing existential creativity.Perhaps, this is the reason majority of Engineers from prestigious IITs & Nits are opting for Indian Administrative Sevices,financial,cosultancy,management sectors.Shere waste of national resources and talent.Wish parents show right direction and arrest the drain.K B Mathur

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indra Mani Lal11 September 2020 at 23:47

      Truly said Mathur saheb. The toys available now are more into war games, fighting etc. The creativity produced with Meccano is no more.

      Delete

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