Early Models
Meccano and Me
(To be completed - by mistake a few items are missing)
At the age of eight and a half I got my first Meccano set, I think it was an outfit No 3, I have been a few years later growing older that I did not do any more models or know where my Meccano set went… I only remembered that in 1965 or 66 walking along Piccadilly St I saw this Arcade and a little shop selling Meccano, so the early years of my childhood came back to me in the memory and without any hesitation I finished up buying a set No 6… I was very happy and soon I wanted to converted into No 7, then 8 and so on until finally my completed set No 10 was a reality.
I built a tractor from the no 10 book, later the walking robot which worked so well and (Who doesn't think in building the mighty crane!) so I did and built it, I know I did not completed all functions, perhaps was too much at the time for me, but all the framework was done and many of the mechanising.
Not very much followed after that as I was working full time and later running a business, until in my retirement in 1999, when I started again with my Meccano and soon I have built and completed an attractive imaginary model of a Fairground ride, I was very pleased and soon underwent many modifications and new looks until a model which I called The Spider Rider was the best and most impressive at this time going thought the Internet I discovered about Meccano clubs and without second thoughts I contacted the South East London Meccano club and also the West London Meccano Society, soon I was a member, this was 2006, little later I joined the HTMC and finally the Runnymede Meccano Guild.
It has been an exciting adventure where I have met many nice people with the same hobby and made many friends, I have improved my skill in building many new and better models and also participated in exciting exhibitions and meetings.
I pay tribute to the man who invented this unique toy, which is more than a toy, for me the greatest ever invented… to Frank Hornby a genius.
S. Plicio (2014)