For example in 1936 it was produced in royal blue with gold cross-hatching to mark the coronation of King George VI following the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII; in 1939 with he impending World War, Meccano was produced in matt green similar to the colour of military vehicles then in common use. The King’s Aeroplane - Airspeed "Envoy" monoplane supplied to the Air Council for the King’s Flight.

In 2000, the 'City' range of sets was introduced, these replaced all the existing sets (except 'Action Troopers'). In 2001 some 'Racing' sets were introduced. These were a sub range of the 'City' range. These delightful Dinky Toys models are unique in being designed to scale, with the typical features of each machine reproduced with the greatest possible accuracy. From photographs and dimensioned details. supplied by the builders of the most famous aircraft, the Meccano draughtsmen prepare scale drawings from which skilled toolmakers produce dies of marvellous accuracy. By means of these dies specially designed machines in the great Meccano Factory produce in enormous, numbers the perfect die-cast miniatures that are now being collected so enthusiastically in all parts of the world. There are now nearly 50 different For some models, Dinky squeezed two model numbers out to the same casting without involving camouflage - a "properly coloured" version with an accurate name for the serious aeroplane enthusiast, and a generic version in a range of assorted (often non-authentic) colours, with a more generic name, for people who just wanted that sort of plane in pretty colours ... for instance, the " Armstrong Whitworth 'Ensign' Air Liner" ( 62p) was also available in more colours as the more generic " Britsh 40-seater Air Liner" ( 62x), and the " Junkers Ju 90 Air Liner" ( 62n) was also available in different colours as the " Giant High-Speed Monoplane" ( 62y). In the case of the " De Havilland 'Albatross' Mail Liner" ( 62r), and the " Imperial Airways 'Frobisher' Class Liner" ( 62w), someone reading the advertising text would not obviously realise that these were essentially the same aircraft: The "Frobisher" was simply the passenger verion of the DH.91 mail aeroplane. One advantage of the smaller parts was that the aircraft fuselage was now a single piece, and the fuselage holes were smaller and (joy!) were threaded, making it much simpler to attach other items to it - one no longer had to hold a nut in place with a finger inserted into the bodyshell while tightening a bolt, a common cause of sore fingers. For Pan American Airways the flying boat " Clipper III" made several experimental crossings of the North Atlantic In 1937, and a most realistic Dinky Toys model (No. 60w) of this huge boat is available. The " Clipper III" is a Sikorsky S-42-B all-metal high wing flying boat fitted with four Pratt and Whitney "Hornet" engines, and has a top speed of 168 m.p.h.

Pages in category ‘Meccano Aeroplane Constructor’

Both the No.1 and No. 2 Motors are supplied with a Propellor Control Rod and Extension Piece, and these should be fitted in place before either of the Motors is placed in position.

The No.0 Aeroplane Constructor Outfits appeared last, and (as one might expect) was a simpler, cheaper, smaller, more entry-level system. Rather than attempting to be fully Meccano, the No.0 set had fewer holes, and the holes and nuts and bolts were also smaller, as on the Motor Car Constructor Outfits. Flying Boat "Clipper III" – Pan American Airways flying boat that took part in the transatlantic experimental flights in 1937Caledonia", " Canopus", " Corsair", " Challenger", " Centurion", " Cambria", " Calpurnia", " Ceres", " Clio", " Calypso", " Corinna", " Cheviot" A British twin-engined commercial monoplane that has proved very successful is the Airspeed "Envoy", designed for passenger or freight carrying. It is a twin-engined low wing machine, and the Dinky Toys miniature (No. 62m) gives an excellent impression of its attractive appearance. The main cabin of the "Envoy" can be equipped to seat up to eight passengers. When fitted with two 310 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley "Cheetah" IX engines, this machine has a top speed of 203 m.p.h. The D.H. "Albatross" long-range mail liners produced for the British Air Ministry for experimental long-distance flights are similar to the "Frobisher" in general design, but differ internally. There is a beautiful Dinky Toys model (No. 62r) of one of these streamlined monoplanes. The actual machines are capable of a top speed of 222 m.p.h. at 8,750 ft. With full equipment and crew each liner can transport 1,000 lb. of mail for 2,500 miles non-stop against a continuous 40 m.p.h. headwind, at a cruising speed of 210 m.p.h. The Short "Singapore" flying boat (Dinky Toys No, 60h) is a sort of general purpose machine, used for long-distance reconnaissance, coastal patrol, and sometimes bombing operations.

A further expansion of the number of colours and designs was achieved by incorporating further Dinky aircraft from the French offshot company based in Paris. While the British range of Dinky planes was very much Britain-centric, Meccano Paris, selling to the French market, decided that they needed to produce their own range of plane models tailored to the local tastes, France having a proud history of having produced some of the most historically-important aviation pioneers – a French visitor to a local toyshop would probably not be very understanding if the French Dinky range had no French aircraft. Meccano Ltd in Liverpool added some French versions of the sets to their range, by the simple expedient of adding a "z" to the end of the model number or set number to distinguish it from the British version. In 2005 the 'Build & Play' range was introduced, followed in 2006 by the 'Kids Play' range. The 'City' range was then dropped in 2007. For those boys who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, a Meccano set was the equivalent to today's Xbox or Nintendo.

Subcategories

As World War 2 loomed, the aeroplane constructor sets were modified to remove markings that might make the sets useful to The Enemy for training pilots and gunners. Among the most popular commercial aircraft represented in the Dinky Series are the Empire Flying Boats (Dinky Toys No. 60R) that have become famous for their fine work in operating Imperial Airways' regular fast air services between this country and Africa, India and Australia. The 12 models of these aircraft available include " Caledonia" and " Cambria" which, before going into service on the normal Empire air routes, achieved fame in the experimental transatlantic flights between Foynes, Eire, and Botwood, Newfoundland, carried out in the summer of 1937 by Imperial Airways and Pan American Airways in preparation for the regular transatlantic air service to Canada and the United States inaugurated last year. In 1994 Meccano released a totally new Meccano Junior system, which superseded the old original Plastic Meccano which had been in production from 1965 to 1993. By the end of the 1930's Meccano was being produced under license in France, Germany, Spain, and the USA.