Meccano Show 2013
Report written by Chris Warrell for our January 2014 Newsletter
Saturday 12 October 2013
Eltham United Reformed Church
Eltham
Our 35th Annual Meccano Show on 12th October was another resounding success! Once again we packed the three halls in the United Reformed Church with models, so that there was hardly a spare square inch of space left available.
The excitable crowd at our Meccano Show
Some 600 visitors streamed through the doors; up by 100 on last year’s total. The promotion of the show started at Easter with flyers being handed out at the various events that we support so that, by the time of the Show, all 5,000 of them had been handed out.
Ivor Ellard’s Hornby Harbour
Some 35 members and visiting exhibitors showed off their models to an excitable crowd. Models of note were a large harbour and pier, complete with boats and a railway, from Ivor Ellard; a waltzer fairground ride by visitor Nigel Lynn; an Armstrong-Saurer truck from Alan Wenbourne and, from James Plicio, the Megatron ride. At the other end of the scale was a collection of mini trucks neatly displayed on a vertical Meccano and wooden stand from Stuart Jones.
Nigel Lynn’s Waltzer ride
One model attracting a lot of attention was Brian Leach’s pinball machine. This was a reduced version of the arcade machine, standing on its own Meccano legs and worked just like the real thing, although you had provide your own sound effects!
Brian Leach’s pinball machine was a hit with the kids
New members (signed up on the day, along with two others) Viv Endecott and her eight year old nephew, Jack, brought a model depicting the recent recovery of the Dornier from the depths of the English Channel. The aeroplane was, appropriately, made from old rusty Meccano!
Following on from last year’s MeccanOlympics we decided to run the SELMEC Rope Races this year. The two events were a vertical climbing race in the morning with a horizontal one in the afternoon. The former proved too much of a challenge for many members, there being only two entries: a clockwork one from Alan Wenbourne and an electric one from Les Chatfield. Les’s was the winner, racing up and down the six foot length of rope (in reality thin cotton string from WH Smith) several times.
It’s Alan versus Les in the vertical rope race
The horizontal race attracted eight entries. Models were to drag themselves along a 15 foot length of string (laid along the floor), with the wheels just supporting the weight, but not providing any traction. Somehow four heats were run because of confusion as to who had entered models and one person was missed out, so the winner of the first heat also took part in the last one. It still gave us three finalists, the first, second and third places going to Brian Elvidge, Alan Wenbourne and Les Chatfield respectively. Other contestants in the race were Viv and Jack Endecott, John Gay, Brian Leach and Chris Warrell.
Watch our video of the Rope Races
Both races attracted large crowds into the small room where they were being held. There were no medals awarded this time, but the two overall winners received a small prize later in the afternoon.
Things didn’t let up all day with a large number of the public still present at the end of the show; the two Cathy’s — Warrell and Claydon — were kept busy serving food for the entire duration.
With the number of models, and the public that we attract, I don’t think that we could go back to hiring just the Sherard Hall, or the hall and one room — we need all the space we can get. I was able to borrow some extra tables from St Luke’s Church (where we used to meet). Thanks to Ralph for transporting them (and me!) to the Show.
Thanks are due to everyone who helped out in advance and during the day. Some members were on more than one rota. I can’t name you all, but I think that every member who attended helped out in some way. I’ll just add my thanks to the two Cathy’s and those members who provided food. Thanks, of course, to Peter Clay, who organised the rotas and counted the money at the end of the day. Without everyone’s help the event wouldn’t take place.
Models on Display
Sherard Hall
Chris Fry — Piper Cub aeroplane; Evolution series quad-bike; Tambourine; 2001: A Space Odyssey film scene; Flatbed truck; MG sports car; Triumph TR3A; Mig 21 fighter plane; Extrasolar orrery; Centre lathe; Red Arrows aeroplane; Mechanical digger; Rabbids shopping trolley and washing machine; F1 racing car; Nickel sports car; Double-acting ratchet mechanism; Mercedes racing car; Modern monoshock motorcycle; Starship Enterprise.
George Foard — Buggy; racing car; Mechanoid; spacecraft.
John Cowdery — Aeroplane; rising swingers fairground ride; various cars.
Bob Palmer — Ship’s triple expansion steam engine; SML3 motor cycle and side-car; Norton motorcycle (Konkoly); shunting locomotive; Midland 4–4–2 locomotive (1930s manual).
Richard Marsden — Bedford army lorry; Sentinel steam lorry; AFS fire engine; Road train, with tanker and cattle trailers; Three O gauge railway wagons — brake van, covered hopper wagon and tanker wagon.
Frank Paine — Three dealers display models — Tower Bridge in 1960s yellow/zinc, with raising bascules and coloured lights, another of a simple windmill in 1990s French yellow/zinc, and a Big Wheel in 1950s red/green with coloured lights, on an illuminated base; Motor car chassis, in 1920s red/green, based on the Supermodel design of the same period; two vintage Meccano outfits — a 1913 № 1 and a 1916 № 0, together with various items of vintage Meccano publicity literature.
Alan Wenbourne — Armstrong-Saurer Dominant truck; DSG transmission; Heatherwick rolling bridge; M4 HST high speed tractor limber and field gun.
Ralph Laughton — Meccano display model (modern) motorbike; Electrikit E12 and E15 motors.
Tim Surtell — The Lightening Leap; Spanish knight; drill press.
Dick Watson (visitor from North West Meccano Guild) — Empire State Building; small beam engines; “Hang on lads, I’ve got a great idea” The Italian Job film scene with balancing coach.
Douglas Windibank — Apollo space rocket; Renault F1 racing car; radar scanner; Tin Tin seaplane; friction drive cars (blue and red); mini biplane; small sports car; old fashioned roadster.
Jim Arthur — Steam lawnmower.
Santiago Plicio — Megatron fairground ride.
Ivor Ellard — Hornby harbour and pleasure pier, which included a life boat station, an air sea rescue helicopter, ships, boats, submarine, crane, a row of harbour buildings, and rail siding. The theme was ‘everyone builds harbour block setting cranes… so where’s the harbour?’
Peter Clay — Super Universal Design Maker Meccanograph; Vintage set veteran car; O gauge railway crane; ‘Space Warrior’; Motorised safari car; Demonstration 3-shaft crank drive; Demonstration spur differential with alternative output.
Guy Loveridge — 4–6–0 steam locomotive and tender.
Nigel Lynn (visitor from Oxfordshire) — Waltzer fairground ride; Cakewalk ride.
Stuart Jones — Eight mini lorries on display stand; Tin Tin galleon; Working lathe; Space shuttle; Energy station.
Andrew Couzens — American tractor unit with tanker; American tractor unit with low loader; Tank locomotive.
Keith Patey — 1950s № 7 and № 8 set models — 7.24 exploding battleship and 8.14 lorry and trailer.
Dave Taylor — Vast collection of spares, sets and literature for sale.
Penford Room
John Gay — TT gauge model railway; 40 ton tractor based on Modelplan 99.
Cathy Claydon — G. M. C. DUKW 353 amphibious vehicle.
Brian Leach — Pinball Machine; Horizontal rope challenge model; Wall-E robot.
Greg Clarke — Marine turbine with propeller shaft and screw.
Adrian Ashford — Fell locomotive; Industrial 0–4–0 saddle tank locomotive; Roundabout; Steam tugboat; Tandem road roller; Windmill; Mechanical dance band.
Chris Warrell — Three Daleks; 1950s car and caravan; Bicycle; Child’s scooter; Tinned robot; Hunslet narrow gauge 0–6–0 locomotive and wagon on Hornby O gauge track.
Dobell Room
Ivor Perrett (visitor from Runnymede Meccano Guild) — Bluebird racing car; Tractor; Locomotive.
David Tracey (visitor from Runnymede Meccano Guild) — Spinnaker Tower; Traction engine; Car; Lightship.
Jim McCulloch — Jim’s little jeep; Mac’s mini digger; Mac’s mobile crane; Mac’s tiny helicopter.
Michelle O’Brien — Synchronous electric clock.
Viv and Jack Endecott — Dornier aircraft rescue; Horizontal Rope Race models.
John Atherall — General utility rail van; Scammel mechanical horse.
Eric Smith — Locomotive and coach; Lorry.
Brian Elvidge — Modified SML 8 fairground carousel; Tractor; Dinky trailer/manure spreader; Andreas Konkoly compact steam engine; Rope Race model.
Les Chatfield — Dick Watson’s mini Meccanograph; Beam engine.