Printed from www.nzmeccano.com
No.1 Car Constructor made as 4-seat tourer
The instruction leaflet for the No.1 car constructor makes explicit mention of 4 different models that can be made with the outfit but the front of the leaflet shows a 5th version, a 4-seater sports tourer, which is the one shown here. The outfit came to me from the USA although the box and instruction sheet are UK and the sheet is dated December 1935. Note the wheels are of the pressed tin-plate variety rather than the solid rubber with bush and wheel disc. In a CQ article of June 1989 Bert Love claims the tin plate wheels were the early ones later to be replaced by the solid rubber type in the late 30s. He uses a 1940 instruction leaflet as evidence of the change and notes the 4 explicitly mentioned models from the outfit are still, none-the-less pictured with the tin-plate wheels and puts this down to typical "economy" of use of printers blocks by Meccano. However, I have problems with this account. All the instruction leaflets I have seen, going back as far as July 1934, show the same printers blocks with the same tin-plate wheels on four models but the solid rubber wheels on the front cover model. Again, all the actual instructions talk of the solid rubber wheel rather than the tin-plate. In Michel L'homme's gallery there are pictures of French made No.1 and No.0 cars all of which have tin-plate wheels, right up to 1939. Can anyone shed more light on the history of these wheel differences?
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Total number of messages on this page: 10. This is page 1 of 2. 
Mick Burgess (at 3:01pm, Thu 24th Jul, 14) |
Hi Malcolm |
richard barrett (at 11:33am, Sat 30th Mar, 13) |
have a No 1 meccano but need tyres for wheels. The part no is A1203. Can anyone help... |
Anonymous (at 9:40am, Wed 6th Jun, 12) |
I'm curious about the term MECCAUTO used on the cover of both manuals we added. The term was been registered and I wonder if this was something the cars was going to be marketed as by Meccano, I've not seen it used elsewhere in any literature. The No.2 manual also shows this as done at least one of Michel's Paris examples. |
Malcolm Hanson (at 4:09am, Wed 6th Jun, 12) |
Thanks for this Michel. Looking through the examples in your gallery none of them seem to include part A1225, the "cover for folded hood". The French manual in the gallery shows the car pictured here on the front but part A1225 is not on the list of parts. Was part A1225 ever included in French outfits? |
Michel Lhomme (at 4:58pm, Tue 5th Jun, 12) |
All the motor cars N°0 and N°1 made by the Bobigny factory have only tin plate wheels. |
Stuart (at 12:18pm, Tue 5th Jun, 12) |
Thanks Malcolm, very good spot on part A1225. It's introduction makes sense as the three models that have both seats fitted all have the rear seats covered/out of sight either by the Tonneau or the hood. I have to say model No.3, the Road Racer is the most elegant to my eyes. |