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Meccano Silver/Yellow/Black Outfits

Meccano were taken over by Lines Brothers in February 1964, and the last of Frank Hornby's descendants were removed from the company. In an attempt to 'update' Meccano, a new colour scheme was introduced.  The silver, yellow, and black scheme was supposedly inspired by the colours of road building plant that was busy building motorways throughout the UK.  Unfortunately, the 'silver' paint (similar to an aluminium colour) was very easily damaged.  In addition, many of the early silver-painted parts had been overpainted existing stocks of light green parts, which made things look even worse. 

All of the sets were given a name and a theme, although their contents were pretty much identical to the previous outfits.  The set numbers were relegated to a corner of the box, making them significantly less noticeable. The following scans show the changes at the start of this period:

You can see that the smallest outfits (0, 1, and 2) have a new suitcase-style box. Larger outfits were initially packed exactly as per the light red/green outfits, but with white vacuum formed trays instead of yellow.  Later, the trays changed to polystyrene.  Further details of the four box types in this era are given below.

Conversion Sets are only listed up to 6A at the start of this period. Later on, Set 7A became available, but sets 8A and 9A disappeared.

The only significant change during this period was the replacement of silver painted parts by zinc-plated parts starting in 1966.  This was a great improvement when done well, although many batches of parts were not properly rinsed during production and tended to oxidise badly, a phenomenon that became known as "zinc rot".

Chronological variations

A brief summary of the many changes and new releases during this period is as follows:

1964	New colour scheme of silver/yellow/black.  All outfits remain approximately as light red/green contents, but the outfit 0 is replaced by the Meccano "Play-set" with fairly different contents from the old outfit 0. Each standard set gains a name, but continues with the same contents as before.  Gears, Mechanisms, and Electrikit still available.
1965	Accessory sets launched as "Conversion Sets" and now packaged in new boxes.  Conversion sets contain the next higher set manual if required (like the later light red/green outfits from 1962 onwards), rather than the previous green accessory outfit manuals.  Powerdrive motor and Steam engine launched.  Powerdrive motor included in a new "Power Drive Set", being a set 4 with the motor included.
1966	Zinc plating replaces silver/aluminium painted strips.  Conversion sets 8a and 9a officially dropped, although the parts listings remained in the manuals.  Outfits 9 and 10 didn't come with a "manual", just a collection of model leaflets, and so a parts listing sheet was included in some sets.
1967	Junior Powerdrive motor introduced, and included with a set 3 to make the Junior Powerdrive Set.
1969	Meccano Super Tool Set launched.

Box types

There are four different box types for most sets:

	Set 0	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Set 6	Set 7
Type 1	Suitcase with handle			1963 layout white vacuum-formed tray surrounded by card, sleeve box			Two vacuum formed trays (same layout as 1963 outfits) side by side surrounded by card.  Sleeve box.  Set 7 is enormous!
Type 2	Suitcase without handle			Polystyrene tray surrounded by card, sleeve box			Polystyrene tray in same layout as above, cardboard and sleeve box	Two layer polystyrene box, sleeve box?
Type 3	Polystyrene with embossed Meccano logo			Polystyrene tray, embossed Meccano logo, lidded box, layout very similar to type 2 boxes above
Type 4	Polystyrene with red printed Meccano logo			Polystyrene tray, red printed Meccano logo, lidded box, different layout of parts.  Set 7 in particular is considerably different.

Throughout the period set 8 continued in a plain red cardboard box with the same two-layer vacuum-formed trays as the later light red-green outfits (although in white plastic).  It is doubtful whether polystyrene trays ever existed for Set 8.  The set was originally supplied with a sleeve cover, later changed to a 'proper' lid, but with the pictures from the reverse of the sleeve pasted on to the bottom of the box.

Outfit 9 was unchanged from the light red/green period, except that the entire box and lid had a sleeve cover around it.  These sleeve covers are understandably like gold-dust, and the one in the pictures below may be one of the few you ever see! Outfit 10 remained in the four-drawer wooden cabinet.

Other changes

Dates are near-impossible to tell for these changes without exceptionally good provenance, as the guarantee slips stopped being helpfully stamped with the year and month numbers after 1965.

Outfit layouts changed many times during this period, and careful inspection of shrinkwrapped outfits can give us a sequence of events.  It seems that the majority of sets follow the same sequence.  Dates are pretty tentative at the moment, and vary between outfits – the less commonly sold outfits may have continued on with older style trays, for example.

• Silver painted strips on white vacuum-formed trays, red or green pins - 1964.
• Green small parts tin changes to clear plastic with red plastic end-caps.
• Tray changes from vacuum-formed to expanded polystyrene - early 1966?
• Strips change from silver painted to zinc plated (perhaps mixed?) - 1966.
• Small parts box changes to red card with clear window (short-lived).
• Small parts box changes to clear plastic with clear lid.
• Cord changes from light green to blue - 1968/9?
• 1" tyres and road wheel outers change from grey to black - 1969?

Some parts (particularly 8, 9, 48c, and 90) were supplied in silver paint for far longer than others, and you will find transitional outfits with both silver painted and zinc plated strips in them.

Outfits 9 and 10, being supplied pretty much in the same way as the light red/green outfits, don't follow the changes to the packaging although one would imagine that the colours of the common parts within them would change in a similar sequence.

Pictures wanted!

If you have any pictures of missing outfits below, or another picture of an outfit that is better or not quite the same as one that's already here, please help us by sending a copy of it! It would be very much appreciated.  You can email it straight to us, or upload it to the Rust Bucket forum...

Meccano Sets

Sets 0-2: Play-set, Junior, and Super Junior

This image from the 1964 catalogue shows the newly renamed sets 0, 1, and 2. These were originally supplied in cardboard 'suitcases', initially with a handle and later without. The parts are held in a clear plastic series of bags arranged as a tool roll, like the Conversion Sets. Good condition outfits like these are rare.

At some point (perhaps 1966-67?) these boxes were dropped and the same outfits were presented in more traditional flat trays with polystyrene inserts, to match the larger outfits. The outfit 1 to the right is like this, with what appears to be blue cord and grey tyres, dating it perhaps late 1968 or early 1969.

Set 3: Highway Vehicles Set

To the right is a good near-mint set 3 from the late 60's.  Strips now in zinc plate, note the red plastic half-inch pulley and red cardboard small parts box, which originally had a very brittle clear plastic window as the Electrikit, but these are not often found intact.  The cord is still green in this outfit.

On the left is a much later outfit with blue cord and clear plastic small parts box.

Set 4: Airport Service Set

To the right, an excellent set 4 in mint condition.  This outfit was purchased for the original owner at Christmas 1965, but was forgotten about before Christmas! The small parts box is clear plastic, with red end-caps and a "4" sticker carried over from the green tins.  The red pins hold down the parts, and the hook is the short-lived black "Dinky" type.

To the left, a very late Set 4, still shrinkwrapped, with blue cord, black tyres, and red/black roadwheels.

Set 5: Site Engineering Set

Another late outfit, with clear plastic small parts box and blue cord, but still grey tyres and red/grey road wheels.  This outfit is shrinkwrapped as you can see, so we can draw some reasonable conclusions from it.

Set 6: Ocean Terminal Set

To the left, a very early set 6 with red and green thumbtacks, and a green tin carried over from the light red/green period.  Below it, a slightly later shrink-wrapped example from March 1965 – the plastic small parts box has red end-caps.

On the right is a fairly good set 6 from the late 60's.  This isn't shrink-wrapped but appears mostly correct.  Strips are zinc, the box is expanded polystyrene, and as with other outfits of the era the small half-inch pulley is in red plastic.  The small parts box and axle box have changed too.

Set 7: Mountain Engineer's Set

This outfit 7 is in the polystyrene packaging, but still has silver-painted parts, making it towards the end of the 64-66 period of silver paint.  This is now the first of the two-layer outfits, although the size of the box meant that the lower tray looked somewhat sparse. 

Spare parts are in the clear plastic 'tubes' with red plastic end-caps, although the labels on the top are obviously left over from the previous green tins.  We can also clearly see in the 7.1 spare parts box the note "Screws for the wheels etc are in this parts box".  The moulded polystyrene trays don't have indentations for set screws, and so these are the first outfits where the set screws are separate.

Cranks and reversed angle brackets are nickel plated, and the 1" pulleys are in the slightly different duller brass finish.

Set 8: Breakdown Crew Set

The silver/yellow/black Set 8 was supplied in the same vacuum-formed plastic trays that were used at the end of the light red/green period.  This example is later in that period, as the green tin has been replaced by a clear small parts box with red plastic end-caps.

This outfit was found complete, but slightly used.  Used parts were replaced by new ones like-with-like. The outfit contained a mixture of silver painted and zinc plated parts, showing it to be in the middle of this period. Note that the box is still the same red paper-covered outer cardboard used in the light red/green period. It is thought that Set 8 was never supplied with polystyrene trays.

Note that the flexible plates are held in place with the old green push-pins – outfits are found using both red and green pins as the old stocks were used up.

To the right is another outfit from a slightly earlier period – the cranks are nickel plated and the strips all silver painted.  This is a mint shrinkwrapped outfit and thus we can get the position of some parts more accurately.  What's very interesting is the two 'Dinky-style' hooks rather than one of each type.

Set 9: Master Engineer's Set

Set 9 continued in a very similar box to the one used since 1949, but with an outer 'sleeve' to match with the new design of the other sets.  This exceptional example belongs to Tatchell Venn, with most of the pictures here taken by Anthony Els. 

Dating from around 1965, this outfit has silver-painted parts (although the flash makes them look like zinc plating in some areas of these photos).  Note that the inner box shows the model in light red and green, as the old 1958-64 box lid was still in use.

Set 10: Meccano outfit in 4-drawer cabinet

Set 10 continued to be supplied in the light red/green four-drawer cabinet, as shown here.  Early in this period, light red/green set 10's were supplied from stock, and the girders of most Meccano changed to zinc plating in 1966, so this is one of the shortest-lived Meccano colour schemes and there are very few in this kind of condition.

Outfit 10 second drawer and lower contents This image does not belong to the webmasters and is copyright. Please do not download or copy it for any purpose. It has been kindly provided for use on this site by the image owner, Struan Christie Click on this image to see a larger version.

Outfit 10 third drawer This image does not belong to the webmasters and is copyright. Please do not download or copy it for any purpose. It has been kindly provided for use on this site by the image owner, Struan Christie Click on this image to see a larger version.

Outfit 10 bottom drawer This image does not belong to the webmasters and is copyright. Please do not download or copy it for any purpose. It has been kindly provided for use on this site by the image owner, Struan Christie Click on this image to see a larger version.

Meccano Conversion Sets

While the word "Outfit" was replaced by "Set" in this period, the previous "Accessory Outfits" became "Conversion Sets".  The contents were unchanged, but the boxes were all new.  Each Conversion Set came in a long square-section box – the larger the Conversion Set the larger the box.  Set 1A is as long as the manual is deep, 2A-6A are long enough to fit the 12½'' strips and girders, and 7A is long enough to fit the 18½'' angle girders.

Conversion Sets were not immediately available in the shops (they weren't even announced in the Meccano Magazine until March 1965).  And, logically, Conversion Sets in the new colours were obviously not important to Meccano users until they had already purchased the standard Sets.  For these reasons, Conversion Sets are much less commonly found with silver paint, they normally have zinc plated strips.

The parts are held in a row of plastic 'pockets', rolled up in the box.  These were originally white plastic backed (the pockets were clear).  Later ones are all clear plastic.  Separate plastic sleeves hold the longest strips and strip plates in their own package.  The later 1970s outfits don't seem to have these separate packs, which led to the parts becoming scratched more easily during shipping.

You will note in some of these pictures that there are cardboard end-sections protecting the open flaps of the box, presumably to stop parts coming out of the end flaps.  These can be found both plain black and pinstriped, as you will see in the various pictures below.

Conversion Set 1A

Outfit 0 was replaced by the "Play-Set", and there was no Conversion Set between this and the Set 1.  The 1A was therefore the smallest Conversion Set available, in a very short box with a copy of the 2/3 combined manual.

Conversion Set 2A

This outfit has long strips in a side pocket of the main plastic packaging.  No manual is required, as the owner of a Set 2 already had the Set 2/3 combined manual.

Conversion Set 3A

This outfit also has long strips, and two plastic sleeves to hold the extra parts included in a Set 4. Note that the manual for sets 4/5/6 is included in the 3A.  The small parts box is carried over from the light red/green period.

Conversion Set 4A

Substantially more parts in this outfit, particularly the longer ones.  Note the cardboard end protectors to stop the heavy angle girders bursting out of the end flaps.  No manual is needed in a 4A set, but there is a rod box as well as the usual small parts box.

Conversion Set 5A

Set 5A includes the first strip plates, and these are not stored in the long pocket of the main section but in a separate package along with the longest strips and some other parts.  Note the black pinstripe cardboard end protectors in this outfit, and the "free knife" offer leaflet too.

Conversion Set 6A

Much the same with the 6A, although there are no extra strip plates and the manual is missing from this outfit.  Set 6A would have included the combined 7/8 manual of the period.

Conversion Set 7A

The 7A conversion set includes the 18½'' angle girders part 7a, and so the box has to be this length to fit them in. Two rolls of parts are included, plus a plastic box for the nuts and bolts and other small parts. The strip plates have their own bag, and the axles are in a 'Rod Box'. This outfit is from 1966 or later, with zinc parts. As the catalogue above shows, this Conversion Set was not available with the original launch of the silver/yellow/black colour scheme.

Meccano Themed and Accessory Sets

Junior Power Drive Set

In 1967, following the success with the Power Drive set, the new Junior Power Drive motor was added to what was effectively a set 3 with a few extra parts.  The example to the right is still shrinkwrapped and clears up some interesting points.  Note the barrel-type hook, rather than the Dinky-type one included with the standard outfit 3.

To the left, a very slightly later one, also shrinkwrapped, and the only difference we can spot is the change in the colour of cord from green to blue.  Note also how the positioning of parts and the plastic retaining pins do change from one outfit to the next.

Power Drive Set

In 1965 the Power Drive motor was introduced.  This was packaged with a standard set 4 as the "Power Drive Set", and a new manual with lots of motorised models is included with this outfit.  The outfit to the right clearly has zinc-plated strips, dating it from 1966 on.  Silver-painted parts are unknown (as yet!) in Power Drive sets, they only appear in two different polystyrene tray versions, both lidded.

The outfit to the left is much later.  Not only does it have blue cord, it has black tyres and black-rimmed road wheels as seen in the 1970s outfits.  The rubber rings, however, are still grey.

Elektrikit

Very few of the parts in the Elektrikit changed colour between the light red/green and silver/yellow/black colour schemes, and so dating these outfits is often tricky.  Of course, there is no real difference – the outfits continued to be supplied in the same boxes throughout the period.  The picture to the left shows the box lid and the 'dial card', neither of which have changed since the light red/green period.

The only significant issue is the change from nickel to zinc (bell, core holders, 2" strips etc), which is assumed to have happened around 1966. There appears to be no difference between the light red/green and the early silver/yellow/black outfits.

Top right is an Elektrikit that has clearly been reassembled, and the paper coil and wire are swapped round compared with other versions.  You can see that the oil has been used and the small dabs of glue holding on the cellophane are not original (particularly the bottom left-hand one).  The layout is substantially correct, though, and this picture shows the blue windowed small parts box.  This box was supplied during the light red/green period, and this outfit could reasonably belong there.

At some point either at the start of this period or soon after, the small parts box changed to a plain red one as per the example to the right.  This plain red box has also been seen as a spare parts box (see the axles page).  The cellophane has been removed for the photo by the owner of the outfit.  The "Castrol" bottle of oil replaced the earlier tube of oil.  This outfit has the 'correct' layout, as seen in all advertising literature and all currently known outfits with good provenance.

Super Tool Set

The Super Tool Set was originally shown in a leaflet of 1967, but doesn't appear again in any literature until it is introduced as "recently released" in the September 1969 Meccano Magazine. It is generally agreed that it was actually released in the second half of 1969. The example to the left is almost certainly from that year.  The red fluted handle screwdriver is new to this set, and eventually found its way into the 10 outfits of the 1970s.  The super tool set was never quite as useful as it looked like it was going to be, sadly.

Gears Set

The Gears Outfit B was renamed as the Gears Set, but all the parts remain in the same colour scheme and the only change is to the box design, with the cardboard sleeve shown to the left.  The original version mistakenly states that 14 models can be built – this error is later corrected.  You can see that the box to the left is using up the old stock, with a hastily-applied "15" sticker over the top, which makes it transitional.  The vacuum-formed tray should have a cellophane sheet stuck over the top, but otherwise this example is correct.

To the left is a later version of the same outfit, with an expanded polystyrene tray.

Further information

Total number of messages on this page: 35.  This is page 3 of 6.     

Richard Payn      (at 1:12pm, Fri 17th Feb, 12)

Stephen, In the description of that set it states it is a reassembled set. This might be why the wheel discs are wrong. Whoever restored it just got it wrong :-)

Stephen Jeavons      (at 10:35am, Fri 17th Feb, 12)

Thanks Richard, As it happens the top Elektrikit photo on this page has the incorrect 24a's in it. They are the brassed ones. Funny nobody else has noticed this?

Richard Payn      (at 7:08am, Fri 3rd Feb, 12)

Hi Stephen, The 4EL would have had the correct part as 24a had become zinc plated steel by 1970. I'd guess the transition during the 1960s might have resulted in a few brass 24a parts being included. As you say, it should have had its own number when the set was introduced.

Stephen Jeavons      (at 6:43am, Fri 3rd Feb, 12)

Elektrikit packaging error. I have purchased many used Elektrikits over the years. One anomaly I have seen with the earliest sets is the inclusion of non-ferrous hub discs as part 24a. The correct versions were either nickel or zinc-plated steel. This is important as the twin-cylinder Elektrikit models (E23,E24 and E25) will not work with the "brassed" versions of this part as the magnets will not stick in place. My very first Elektrikit (when I was 8 years old) had this problem and I never realised until I was in my forties that there was a ferrous version of this part and I finally got the above models to work. So even the factory made some blunders. The parts content list in the manual makes no distinction with this part. It should have had a special part no. from the regular 24a. All the 4EL sets I've come across seem to have the correct part. Stephen

Rick      (at 3:27pm, Tue 9th Aug, 11)

As was the case with the No.9 box, the 9A box was also used after the Light Red and Green period, right up until the set's demise in 1970.

Douglas Carson      (at 1:15pm, Fri 3rd Jun, 11)

You can remove the question mark beside the Set 7, Type 2 sleeve box. I have one of these. It has the two polystyrene trays with embossed Meccano logo.

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