Meccano makes a welcome return

MEDIA RELEASE – (Meccano). For Immediate Release
FROM: Brainstorm Communications
August 6, 2002

Meccano makes a welcome return

Remember Meccano? Once it was a household name for generations of New Zealand children. When Frank Hornby established the first Meccano company (originally called Mechanics Made Easy) in Liverpool in 1901, little did he know then that his patented Meccano construction set would become such an enduring, worldwide success.

For decades, young owners of Meccano construction sets, mainly boys, would strive to assemble better, larger, more complex models from the unique metal componentry.

The Meccano factory in Liverpool closed in 1979, a victim of a downturn in the British toy industry and the collapse of its owners, the Lines Group.

Today, the name Meccano is back, re-emerging internationally as a unique new concept in toy assembly systems.

The first contemporary Meccano range released in New Zealand includes Youcans, a fun series of individual characters, animals and vehicles coordinated to create a distinctive Youcans community. Designed for pre-schoolers (3-5 years), the Youcans series utilises magnetised metal parts for easy assembly and is shaped to suit a child’s smaller hand.

For a slightly older age group (5-8 years) Meccano has introduced the City series, starting with an initial bucketful of over a hundred, easy-to-assemble, plastic parts and tools which children use to create their own toys. The City series also features over twenty individual characters and vehicles to create city and rural stories, including a motorcycle policeman, a road digger, farmer and tractor, even a stunt plane.

Further Meccano assembly sets for older children (8 years plus) have also arrived, featuring Multi Models, a collection of kits closer to the original Meccano concept. From Multi Models kits, children can construct a diverse collection of vehicles including fun beach buggies, forklifts and helicopters. Top of the range is the Multi Models 50-model set with over 600 parts, enabling children to build up to fifty different working models complete with a six-volt motor and sophisticated mechanical functions.

For fathers and grandfathers who have fond memories of their own Meccano sets, now there’s the opportunity to pass the Meccano name on to another generation.

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