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Meccano parts lists

Introduction

On this page, we have a collection of the Meccano parts listings.  Parts listings with pictures have existed since the beginning of Meccano, normally as part of the manuals.  There have also been parts listings as separate documents and on dealer spare parts cabinets.  We'll try to collect as many as possible and get good quality scans up on these pages, to see the sequence of events.

Blue/Yellow/Zinc – UK and France come together

1970 UK parts list (Meccano Tri-ang)

The 1970 UK parts list is shown in three pages to the right.  The UK and French factories decided to combine both of the colour schemes into one new one.  French strips changed from gold to the UK's zinc plating, blue plates changed to the UK yellow, and the black previously used in the UK was replaced by blue for plastic plates, flanged plates, and circular parts.

The contents of each outfit are shown to the right.  Note that in 1970, all sets were "downgraded" by 1 (i.e. set 9 of 1970 contains roughly the same as set 8 of 1969 and prior).  The old set 9 was discontinued.  Set 10 remained with the same contents, making the jump from set 9 to 10 even bigger than before.  Set 9x also disappeared, as the size of this set would have made it almost exactly the same price as a set 10.

Details and pictures of the blue / yellow / zinc outfits can be seen on this page here.

1973 UK parts list (Meccano Ltd)

These three pages are almost identical to the ones above, but careful inspection shows two changes.  The wooden screwdriver has been replaced by the plastic one, and in the second page the part 101 (Heald for loom) has been quietly dropped.

Dark Blue / Dark Yellow &ndash the last UK production

1978 UK parts list (Meccano Ltd)

A complete change for 1978.  Not only did the colours change quite substantially to dark blue and dark yellow, but the outfits were completely redesigned.  There is now a series of outfits from 1 to 5, all completely different from previous sets.  Many more interesting parts and good models were included, and all sets apart from number 1 contained the weak but usable motor previously used in the Crane Multikit.  Sets 9 and 10 remained for the enthusiast, with contents pretty much as before, so almost all the parts were still available in this new colour scheme.

Note that the Crane Construction Kit hook, previously known as part 57d, has been changed to 57e.  This part number was a little confused, as the part number 57d is shown during the 1970s as the small wire hook, but that does not appear in the 1978 list.

The first picture on the right shows the contents of the new sets 1-5, and was printed in 1978.  There was a last-minute change to the contents of the smallest sets, to upgrade them.  Very soon after release, what was originally planned to be set 1 was also released as "Starter Set A", and the second of the lists to the right includes this set as well as the sets 1 to 5.  Note that the hook was included in the later list, but is missing from the first.  Read more about these 1978 outfits on the dark blue / dark yellow page here.

After Binns Road

1982 UK parts list (Miro-Meccano SA)

Airfix collapsed in 1981, and production moved to France.  This parts listing was included in 1982 outfits 1000, 2000, and 3000 supplied in the UK by Miro-Meccano of France.  It was almost certainly developed by Meccano in the UK when Airfix were in control – and thus could be thought of as the final UK parts listing (or at least a wish list even if it was never produced).  If Airfix had not collapsed, this would have been the new UK parts list from the end of 1981.  Note that apart from the colour scheme changing from dark blue / dark yellow, there are some parts that were never produced in France in the colour or form shown here.

Some very interesting things to note in this, the last of the carefully laid-out diagrams of Meccano parts.  Note that part 19c is in three parts (like the 1978/79 list, but never actually seen in the flesh).  Part 23 is the new red version as seen in the Space 2501 outfit of late 1979.  The hank of cord is green, although these hadn't been seen since the early 60's.  The small flanged plate and plastic plates are inexplicably shown in red, and yet the triangular plates and some other parts aren't coloured at all.  Had the colours not been finalised by the time this was printed? This is a very intriguing list of "what might have been".

1983-1985 UK parts list

This list was included in the manuals for sets A, B, C, M1, and M2, released in the UK in 1983.  It lists all the parts that were included in sets made in France for the UK market since 1981, together with all the parts (with two exceptions) made for the French market.  The exceptions are the nuts and bolts, shown on this UK list as domehead and hex nuts – French parts at the time were cheesehead and square nuts.

All of the parts on this list were actually made (in contrast to the 1982 list above). The parts list also shows all colour schemes made for each part.  This parts listing was in fact almost unchanged right through to 1992.

Note that the anomalies from the list above have now disappeared – both 57d and 57e are no longer there, and the colours and finishes are the ones you would expect from French production, including the hank of cord and the all-brass slide piece part 50.  Some other parts never supplied in any outfits finally disappear officially: the long grub screw part 69b; the 1½'' tyre part 142d; the 7½'' strip plate part 195.

Set 10 is resurrected in the UK

1986 parts list (all countries) – Meccano SA

In 1985, Marc Rebibo took over Meccano and reorganised production and outfits to be the same in all countries.  Now, officially, the "Enthusiast" outfits 2-10 were available as standard outfits both in France and the UK.  Contents are the same as the previous French outfits, but the manuals now have dodgy multi-lingual translations.  The nuts and bolts change to the previous UK-style, that is with domehead bolts and hex nuts, for all countries.  The contents listing is shown to the right, but the pictures of the parts in the manuals is identical to the version shown above, and so is not duplicated here.

Note that outfits 3M and 4M are shown as existing with traditional 1970's contents, but in fact weren't available.  The outfits sold as 3M and 4M were actually standard outfits 3 and 4, with a Magic Motor added.

1988 parts list (all countries)

This six-page fold-out list was included with outfits from 1988. Four of the pages are identical to the previous list above, but the cover and one extra page are shown here. This page shows the extra parts available in the Meccano system that are not included in any outfit, and also shows the Plastic Meccano range. Look, part 142d the 1½'' tyre has reappeared!

1989 parts list (all countries)

This parts list shows the 1989 production, made in France, for all countries including the UK.  By this time, the "Enthusiast" outfits from 2 to 10 were available and this represents the last time the 10 outfit was seen in the UK.  Production came to an end in 1992.

Note that there are only a few differences from the 1983 list shown above, seen in the modified section at the top of the second page.  The domehead bolts and hex nuts have been replaced by allen bolts and square nuts, and the screwdrived replaced by allen keys.  The only other new part is the plastic contrate wheel part 28.  There are some outfits known to have been supplied in early 1993 probably to get rid of the excess stock in Calais.  The image to the right is the contents list included in outfits for 1989, showing the quantities of each part in each outfit.

1990 parts list (all countries)

This six-page fold-out list was included with outfits in 1990. Four of the pages are identical to the previous list above (i.e. with Allen bolts), but the cover and one extra page are shown here. Very similar to the 1988 extra parts page, you can see that the Plastic Meccano parts have been withdrawn from this date. Note also the new 1990 Meccano logo now on the catalogue.

End of the big outfits, but parts still available

1995 parts listing (all countries), Meccano SA

In 1992, Meccano SA was bought out and many outfits changed. In 1995 a completely new catalogue of parts was printed, and the relevant pages are shown to the right. Note that although the "Enthusiast" sets disappeared, most major parts didn't.

In fact, there are some surprising additions to this list. Parts 103t and 103r, the 18½'' and 24½'' flat girders, are often thought to be Exacto-only reproduction parts. This list shows that they were in fact genuine Meccano spare parts. The elusive 1½'' tyre part 142d has disappeared again, but a whole range of smaller varied tyres join the club.

All of the components of the 10-set are still available, from centre forks and spring cord to hub discs and large flanged rings.