History
The magazine was launched by Frank Hornby, the inventor of Meccano, as a bi-monthly publication in 1916 in the United States as "Meccano Engineer", and was a month ahead of the UK issue. The first copies were given away free but in 1918 readers had to pay two pence for postage for four issues. [1]
In 1917 and again in 1932 Hornby published a history of Meccano, its manufacture, and marketing in the magazine. In 1919 it doubled its size to eight pages and now cost one penny. New Meccano parts were advertised for the first time in 1920 and in 1922 the magazine became a monthly publication. From 1921, the magazine was edited by Ellison Hawks who worked at Meccano as an advertising manager. From the May 1924 issue, the magazine had full-colour covers, and the December 1924 issue was 96 pages, costing six pence. By the 1930s Meccano Magazine had a circulation of 70,000.
During the Second World War the content and quality of the magazine was reduced greatly, and the size decreased from approximately A4 to A5. The A5 pocket-size format remained until 1961 when it was increased again to A4.
In 1963 the magazine started reporting a loss and Meccano Ltd handed its publishing over to its printers, Thomas Skinner. In August 1967 Thomas Skinner terminated production of the magazine and passed the magazine on to Model & Allied Publications (MAP) of Hemel Hempstead in 1968. [2] At the end of 1972 publication stopped due to a decline in popularity.
In April 1973 it was resurrected again, this time as a quarterly magazine, and from 1977 it incorporated Meccano Engineer and the Meccanoman's Journal. Meccano Magazine's last issue was Spring 1981.
A model car, or toy car, is a miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were originally aimed at children as playthings, there is no precise difference between a model car and a toy car, yet the word 'model' implies either assembly required or the accurate rendering of an actual vehicle at smaller scale. The kit building hobby became popular through the 1950s, while the collecting of miniatures by adults started to pick up momentum around 1970. Precision-detailed miniatures made specifically for adults are a significant part of the market since the mid-1980s.
Meccano is a brand of model construction system created in 1898 by Frank Hornby in Liverpool, United Kingdom. The system consists of reusable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, and plastic parts that are connected using nuts and bolts. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices.
Airfix is a British manufacturer of injection-moulded plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other objects. In the U.K., the name 'Airfix' is synonymous with plastic models of this type, often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer.
O scale is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scale in the United States and remained so until the early 1960s. In Europe, its popularity declined before World War II due to the introduction of smaller scales.
Erector Set was a brand of metal toy construction sets which were originally patented by Alfred Carlton Gilbert and first sold by his company, the Mysto Manufacturing Company of New Haven, Connecticut in 1913. In 1916, the company was reorganized as the A.C. Gilbert Company. The brand continued its independent existence under various corporate ownerships until 2000, when Meccano bought the Erector brand and consolidated its worldwide marketing with its own brand. The coverage here focuses on the historical legacy of the classic Erector Set; for current developments under the "Erector by Meccano" brand name, see the Meccano article.
Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast zamac zinc alloy miniature vehicles produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpool.
Hornby Railways is a British model railways manufacturing company. Its roots date back to 1901 in Liverpool, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first 00 gauge train. In 1964, Hornby and Meccano were bought by their competitor, Tri-ang, and sold when Tri-ang went into receivership. Hornby Railways became independent again in the 1980s, and became listed on the London Stock Exchange, but due to financial troubles reported in June 2017, is presently majority owned by British turnaround specialist Phoenix Asset Management.
Railroad Model Craftsman is an American magazine specializing in the hobby of model railroading. The magazine is published monthly by White River Productions, which acquired the title from Carstens Publications in 2014. Its first issue in March 1933 was called The Model Craftsman because it covered other areas of scale modeling as well. Founded by Emanuele Stieri, it was second editor Charles A. Penn who helped grow the company and lead the publication towards the hobby of scale models. In April 1949 it changed its focus to model trains and changed its name to Railroad Model Craftsman to reflect this change in editorial content. While it can claim to be the oldest model railroading magazine in continuous publication in the United States, rival Model Railroader counters with the tagline "Model railroading exclusively since 1934." Over the years, several other titles have been folded into the publication, including Toy Trains, Electric Trains and Hobby Railroading, Miniature Rail Roading, Model & Railway News, and The O Gager.
Frank Hornby was an English inventor, businessman and politician. He was a visionary in toy development and manufacture, and although he had no formal engineering training, he was responsible for the invention and production of three of the most popular lines of toys based on engineering principles in the 20th century: Meccano, Hornby Model Railways and Dinky Toys. He also founded the British toy company Meccano Ltd in 1908, and launched a monthly publication, Meccano Magazine in 1916.
Tri-ang Railways was a British manufacturer of toy trains, one of the elements of the Lines Bros Ltd company who traded using the brands Tri-ang, Minic, Pedigree, and Frog. The Tri-ang Railways name was dropped a few years after Lines Bros took over the Hornby name although the majority of the trains were still the original Tri-ang models.
Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment.
Meccano Ltd was a British toy manufacturing company, established in 1908 by Frank Hornby in England to manufacture and distribute Meccano and other model toys and kits created by the company. During the 1920s and 1930s it became the biggest toy manufacturer in the United Kingdom and produced three of the most popular lines of toys in the twentieth century: Meccano, Hornby Trains and Dinky Toys.
Lines Bros Ltd was a British toy manufacturer of the 20th century, operating under the Tri-ang Toys brand name.
G&R Wrenn was a toy company specialising in the manufacture of model railways. It was founded in 1950 by George & Richard Wrenn.
Bayko was a British building model construction toy invented by Charles Plimpton, an early plastics engineer and entrepreneur in Liverpool. First marketed in Britain it was soon exported throughout the British Commonwealth and became a worldwide brand between 1934 and 1967. The name derived from Bakelite, one of the world's first commercial plastics that was originally used to manufacture many of the parts. Bayko was one of the world's earliest plastic toys to be marketed.
Baseball Hobby News was a United States-based news-oriented magazine about the field of baseball memorabilia collecting. Founded in 1979 by the husband-and-wife team of Frank and Vivian Barning, who served as editor and publisher, respectively, the magazine was published on a monthly basis until 1993.
Diecast Collector is a British magazine dedicated to the hobby of collecting diecast metal vehicles. Published monthly, it is a thick, glossy magazine featuring a variety of articles on toy and model cars, trucks and buses. Beyond information on the collectables themselves, the magazine is also a source of hobby information such as auction results, collectors' fairs schedules, specialized dealer information, etc.
Brighton Toy and Model Museum is an independent toy museum situated in Brighton, East Sussex. Its collection focuses on toys and models produced in the UK and Europe up until the mid-Twentieth Century, and occupies four thousand square feet of floor space within four of the early Victorian arches supporting the forecourt of Brighton railway station. Founded in 1991, the museum holds over ten thousand toys and models, including model train collections, puppets, Corgi, Dinky, Budgie Toys, construction toys and radio-controlled aircraft.
British Railway Modelling (BRM) is a monthly British magazine about Model Railways published by Warners Group Publications plc. It has been in publication since 1993, originally under the tagline "A Colourful New Look at Hobby". The magazine has been based in Bourne, Lincolnshire, since its inception.
Ellison Hawks was a British writer on popular science and technology topics. He wrote numerous books explaining the working of gadgets and the manufacture of industrial products. From 1921 he became an editor of Meccano Magazine while also serving as the advertising manager for Meccano, the producer of do-it-yourself science and engineering kits.
