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Newsletter June 2003 Page 1

President Mike Maloney Treasurer Bi ll Davis Newsletter Editor Bill Fitzgerald

Secretary:

Graham Jost36 Gladwyn AveBENTLEIGH EASTVIC 31659578 6850Website

http://members.tripod.com/melbmci

MELBOURNE MECCANO CLUB INC NEWSLETTERIssue No 3 June 2003

Meccano is a Hobby for all the Family

Andrew Weaver with Daughter Alison and Son Alan

Page 12 Melbourne Meccano Club Inc

MECCANO DIARY

MMC NEXT MEETING

Sunday 10 August 2003 MMC Annual General Meeting

At Bri Phil Hall,80 Gardenvale Rd ELSTERNWICK (Melway 67 H7)1.00pm Sales Table2.00pm Meeting Starts

Please bring a small plate of afternoon tea to share.FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONS

Melbourne Meccano Club Inc Annual Exhibiton

Yes, our own exhibition! Sat & Sun 11&12 October 2003

Sat 11 Oct 7.30 am to noon members only, noon to 5 pm open to public.Sun 12 Oct 10 am to 4 pm for everyone.

For information about any of following exhibitions please contact JackParsisson on 03 9789 5796 ([email protected]).

Bendigo Society of Model Engineers

Sat 5 & Sun 6 Jul 2003 at Kangaroo Flat Leisure Centre (Bendigo).

Labassa Historic Mansion (in conjunction with the Hornby Club)

Sun 27 Jul 2003 at Labassa, 2 Manor Gve, N Caufield.Model Train Expo and Hobby ShowSat & Sun 15 & 16 Nov 2003, 9 am to 5 pm each day.World Vision CentreCnr Springvale Rd & Vision Dve, EAST BURWOOD (Melway 62 D8).

OTHER MECCANO CLUB MEETINGS.

Meccano Modellers Association (Sydney)

Meetings are held at a members house normally on the fifth Saturday of amonth. Contact Malcolm Bookeron (02) 9451 8807 for details.SEQMG (SE Queensland Meccano Group)

19 July at 1.30 pm at Dave Harrisons, 15 Inveray Ave, Benowa. Phone: 075539 4867Paul Dale (Secretary, ph (07)3202 5352) is more than happy to organise a

special meeting for visitors if he gets a bit of prior notice.Maylands Meccano Club (Perth)

Meetings are held at the Maylands Meccano Club, 16 Kennedy St MAYLANDSusually on the first Tuesday of each month.Contact Ross Smith (Secretary) on (08) 9367 8906 for details.

Wanted. Gold parts girders, strips,double angle strips etc in goodcondition. Also Meccano Magazines please write or phone for a list of

requirements. Vern Ellis, PO Box3277, ALICE SPRINGS, NT, 0871(phone, 08 8953 8282)

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the public really identifies withsuch models remember thecustomer is always right!)Some members may bediscouraged from exhibitingbecause they can attend onlyfor one day. Kimballssuggestion is that it may bepossible to get someone else

to look after your model on theday you cant come. But if youcan exhibit only for one day,approach the ExhibitionCommittee anyway. A ModelEntry Formis enclosed withthis Newsletter please returnto Jack Parsisson by 11 Sep.

Outside Exhibitions. JackParsissonprovided a run down on theseactivities. Details of forthcoming exposare set out on the back page. Entriesare still open for the Show at the WorldVision Centre in November. Jack, Carol

and Mike Maloney went down to Morwellon the June long weekend for a verysuccessful exhibition (see Mikes report)and were well assisted by ArthurKirkbright(who lives locally) with settingup etc. The Latrobe Valley ModelRailway Club was obviously impressed they have sent the MMC a donation of$150. This is most gratefully received.

Another expo (at Sandown) on 21 & 22June was advised to the Club at shortnotice see report.

Model Presentation

Peter Duringled off

with two of his recentcreations. The first wasa tricycle from a No 1set manual of the 1950smodified using agenerous supply of Ezy-Bilt parts! His secondmodel was a mobilecrane from a No 4manual an attractivemodel Peter.

Doug Wardshowed off twomechanisms, a 4 speed and reversegearbox and a rear axle and differentialassembly. The gearbox was designedby Philip Webb and was described in theIM about a year ago. Doug found it to be

straightforward to build and verysatisfactory in operation. His plan is toincorporate these mechanisms into amotor lorry described in CQ perhaps tobe ready for our October Exhibition?

John Brandfulfilled a childhood dreamand constructed the truck from the 1950sNo 8 manual, using a R/G No 8 heacquired a year or so ago. Another veryattractive model to look at, though Johndescribes the design of the steering asrather agricultural given the limited rangeof parts in a No 8.


of the Bernard Perier CQ tip trucks butin blue/gold, a farm tractor built arounda No1 clockwork motor, and a largesemi-trailer car transporter (anotherMrklin model) - all these in blue/yellow/zinc. Also a treadle sewingmachine (Mrklin red/blue/green) andJack Nelsons old steam excavator withthe Mamod/Meccano steam engine.

Quite a bit of interest in andappreciation of our models, not onlyfrom the more mature members of thepublic, but also from a number of youngparents and their offspring looking toadvance from Lego or from their smallCollection models - Dick Smith storeswill probably see a few new customerseventually and maybe Jack too! On the

possible member side, a number saidthat they still had their outfits (in a boxabout THIS BIG), but usually put asidefor the children or grandchildren - wherehave I heard that before? - and a fewtook our Club leaflet. A good numbertook the Exhibition flyer. There wasquite some interest in the steamengine, one chap telling me he had

two, still unused, in a their boxes.

In the last hour of ther Exhibition, oneof the local model railway clubmembers mentioned that he still hadsome Marklin construction parts that Imight be interested in, if he can findthem. I assured him I was - so younever know your luck!

The MMC at Sandown

MMC members fronted up to the Leisure

& Collectors Hobby Carnival, SandownRacecourse, June 21 &22 to contribute theirusual magic of raisingthe tone of an otherwiseall the same show orso it seemed to me!Dave Denner, PeterDuring, Roger andSandra Hall, GrahamJost, Kimball Mongerand Jack Parsissonparticipated in anenjoyable though notoverly busy weekend.

Dave brought along hiscurrent model collectionplus a car built from thevery new Design 2 set.Peter has his octopusworking well now andRoger and Sandrabrought along thehelicopter from thesame Design 2 set, aswell as several othersmall models. Grahamhad his two braiders in

action and a new ball roller, Kimball hisLartigue loco and small high rider, and

Jack a beautiful Bernard Perier Jeep in

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Climbing Monkeygame. (Turning thehandle faster may notmake the monkeyclimb faster becauseof the slowing effect ofa governor on theinput drive!)

Andrew Weaverdemonstrated thecrane from the 100th

Anniversary Set hehas trouble with thelegs continuallyslipping down. Hisother model was amotor car from the 20Model Set.

Barry McDonaldscontribution wasanother car, this timebuilt from the contentsof the Anniversary Set.

Mike Maloneyhastried making a modelof a solenoid operatedengine using Mrklinparts but it wont

work! The core of the Mrklinsolenoid is much smaller thanthe Meccano equivalent whichmay be part of the problem.(Well, you will insist indabbling in the dark realms ofnon-Meccano Mike!).

Bill Inglishas improved the

motor cycle (Motion Series No50) that he showed inDecember by adding trainerwheels to keep it uprightwhen moving slowly allwithin the contents of the set.

Kimball Mongerdemonstrated that small isbeautiful with a delightfulmodel of an excavator inFrench Plastic Meccano thathe had bought that day at a

Roger Hallbroughtalong a multi-ratioepicyclic gearbox andmotor assemblyobtained from DickSmith. The design issimilar to the onePeter Dallistondemonstrated at the

April meeting but isgenerally not as good

the output shaftmust be bushed to fitMeccano and themounting holes needto be modified. Rogeralso produced one ofthe new Meccano sets(with flexible stripsthat will spring backafter you curve them)

he had to go toLaunceston to get it!His other contributions

were a 2.7 million to 1worm reductiongearbox and a


were put to good use by the LatrobeValley Model Railway Club Inc.

Jack and Carol Parsisson and Iprovided models, with Jackscollection of LARGE models in newcondition red/green Jackanoparts(!)filling probably 12 metres of table.Carol and I did the rest in more

modern yellow/blue (or in Carolscase, black/zinc Centenaryandsome plastic). As you can see, wewere along the front of the stage withour backs to the hall, with tablesabout 750mm wide, so only onemodel deep. There were modelrailway and commercial stands atthe back of the stage, but plenty ofroom left for people to move. Andwe had plenty of people! - we weretold that they sold about 750 familytickets on each of the Saturday andSunday, so that would have toequate to, say 3000 each day

(although there were lots of toddlersand young children).

Jack had plenty of steam protoypemodels - the Climax and Heislerlocos, each about 1m long, a tractionengine,a ploughing engine, a verticalboilered roller, a smaller stationarysteam engine and a 3x cylindermarine engine. Motor vehiclesincluded a Rolls Royce (with a mirrorunder the chassis displaying thegearbox and differential) and a set ofthree Bernard Perier / CQ trucksusing the same chassis and cab, but

each with a different body - a tipper,a flat tray and a tanker (Jack tells mehe is also working on a cementmixer, extending the chassis for athird axle). All of the models abovewere in pristine red/green. Hed alsobuilt a small and very neat BernardPerier CQ army jeep and trailer,finished in khaki/green and held togetherwith black plated nuts and bolts.

Carol had the more modern Centenarykit crane, a small motor bike, a go cart,

and a shovel/loader(?), plus a couple ofthe Plastic Meccano models. I had thetower crane (same as last time, and stillhand operated!), a working backhoe ona plinth, a small beam engine, another

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garage sale! Kimball wouldlike to see plastic models atour October Exhibition theyre a great hit with youngervisitors. Does anyone havePlastic Meccano? If so, whatabout an exhibition model?

Peter Dallistonshowed us the

model built by his 7 year oldgrandson that has attracted somuch interest on Spannerrecently. Peter posted apicture of the model and askedSpanners to guess what it was.There were over 30 replies onmy count Meccanomenclearly enjoy a challenge![Answer: The model is theStarship Enterprise].

Tony Presshas beenacquiring rare Meccano(again!!) and had on displaythe E outfit of 1907 the No10 set of the day. It contains sufficientparts to build a 16 model of the ForthRail Bridge (see Verns column) but itsmakeup is very different from setsfamiliar to most of us. There are noplates, only wheels, girders and strips.The last are similar to todays strips similar gauge with rounded ends butthe hole punching is somewhatunconventional and they are covered bya very rough tin plating. Thegirders are of the originalMechanics Made Easy type lighter gauge tinplate with

rolled edges and square ends.Tonys other acquisition is a No3M set from 1971, packed inan enormous box (mostlypolystyrene foam) andcontaining the (in)famousJunior Powerdrive Motor,without doubt the worst motorever marketed by Meccano.

Not to be outdone, Mike Wrightproduced a No 8 set fromabout 1987 in unused

condition (in a much smaller box than the3M!). When Marc Rebibio took over theMeccano factory in Calais in 1985 hedecided to re-introduce the older style1970s sets. But there seem to be veryfew examples of sets larger than aboutNo 5 or 6 about these days.


Down theright side of the hall,

Jack Gentle showed a neat trans-porter bridge and several other smallermodels, and John Thompson showed afine scale model of a steam-drivenelectrical plant and his freshly refurbishedwell-known NSW 38-class loco and tender

now in the correct colours. The refurbish-ment involved completely dismantling theoriginal model, repainting all the parts, andthen reassembling it again not a projectto be taken on lightly! This model is some7 in length, and a masterpiece in its ownright. John is an expert on 36s and 38s,having authored a book on each class,and this model reflects his intimateknowledge of the subject. The Stuarts,Jonathan and Peter, had a fine array ofunusual models, as per their usualshowing. I think the oscillating fan hasbeen recast, to really do its job well now.

A well-lit fairground ride, cash register,

level-luffing crane and wire-wrapping

machine were some ofthe other modelsshown.

Finally, on the centretable, Warren Johnstoneshowed a showmansengine and an interest-ing device resembling

several radially-arrangedlacrosse racquets, eachenclosing a snooker ball

Im not sure whetherWarren thought he was

on the verge of cracking perpetualmotion, but it certainly looked like it! KenFreeman came next with a gantry cranefeaturing genuine old Meccano weightsand at the other end, Murray Tullet had abeautifully built crane, a development ofthe 100thanniversary crane (the $150 onethis time!) hauled back and forth by amagical endless rope system. The drivedetail was very cunning, and your corre-

spondent has filed the details away forpossible future reference.

Sufficient paying adults came along topay all the bills, and to provide a littleexcess, and there were stacks of kids ofcourse. Everyone appeared well pleasedwith their visit, and I can report the sameof the exhibitors too the whole showwas judged most enjoyable and up therewith the best of them.

PS A little icing on the cake Mary wonsecond prize in the raffle! Guess what? AMeccano set the Crazy Inventors No

6651. Carol, Sandra - you could havecompetition!

NSW 38-Class Locomotive

and its builder John Thompson

MMC at Morwell 7 & 8 June

Jack & Carol Parsisson and MikeMaloney showed the flag for the Club.Mike has provided this report nicelyillustrated with some of Jacks photos.Thank you both.

The exhibition this year (7 & 8 June)was in the new Kernot Hall in Morwell

(the old Kernot Hall site in Yallourn isnow within the Yallourn Open Cut!) Asyou can gather from the photographs, alarge modern hall with a good sizestage, ample storage rooms around theperiphery, a large entrance foyer andside supper/meeting rooms, and modernand clean kitchen and toilet facilities. All

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Sydney Annual Meccano Exhibition

Graham Jost went along with an armloadof models and with his camera. Quite animpressive display, Im sure youll agree sets a high standard for our own Exhibitionin October but we can do better than theSydneysiders! Grahams detailed and wellillustrated report follows.

Maryand I visitedSydney for theMeccano Modellers Associa-tions 22ndAnnual Meccano Exhibi-tion on May 3. This was held in their

regular exhibition venue, the FrenchsForest Baptist Church Hall at Forestville,on a most beautiful day perfect in everyway. Some 19 modellers brought alongover 100 models, sufficient to well fill theavailable space. Malcolm and JuneBooker had very kindly invited us to staywith them, and this made the whole for us

just that much more enjoyable.

As usual at anyMeccano exhibition, themodels on show coveredevery possible subject.On the first table insidethe door, and along withseveral other models,Malcolm had his latestcreation, a No 10 setfork lift truck from arecent ModelPlan innicely refurbished redand green. This per-formed its magic verysmoothly, the mastpower-tilting as required,and the prongs risingand falling in a three-

stage sliding mechanism most realisti-cally. I took along my trusty braiders yestwo! and my latest (more manageable)ball-roller. Im pleased to report that theyall performed most creditably after the1000-odd km trip. Nick Heinze, another ofour MMC members, showed an impres-sive array of models, including a windmill

fea-turing anindecent quantity ofmint blue/gold windmill sails

beautiful things, those. TomHughes had his splendidly large model ofthe Titan floating crane, the one whichsank off the NSW coast in the early 90son its way to Singapore this is animpressive model.

Mike Hollands LNER 4-6-0 Loco (detail


On the next table, Chris Wilsonshowed the 100thAnniversaryNo 10 set Blocksetter Crane,the first time I had actually seenone in the flesh. Max, Shirl andLuke Whitten showed severalmodels including a rebuilt shopdisplay yellow blue tractionengine. Al Hirschel came next

with a battery-powered carmade from the current 0507locomotive set. Warwick Lewisdownsized this time to a finemotor lorry cab driven by a No1 clockwork motor (Itll dowheelies on a full wind, saidWarwick - and it did!) and abuilt-up Elektrikit electric motorpurring away effortlessly Warwick doubted it couldactually drive very much at allthough!

Jack Hextell had another vast

array of models in an area allhis own. Of course yourcorrespondent took particularinterest in his ball rollers two!Jack is an independent spiritwho always comes along withmultiple models of his owncreation.

Across the front of the hallGerry Wilson showed a nicearray of Meccano Literatureand models made from recentMeccano, both plastic andmetal, and Mike Holland

showed several models to hisimpeccable standard, mostnoteworthy of which were hisEmmett afternoon tea train,his Allchin Royal Chestertraction engine looking morebeautiful that ever in black andpristine zinc, and a superbLNER 4-6-0 Loco and tendercomplete with all possibledetailing within the scale used,this time in red and zinc.

Jack Hextell with his

Ballroller

Tom Hughes displays his

impressive Titan Floating

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