Perforated steel strips, brass nuts and a tiny spanner. Meccano built engineers, and quite a lot of frustration.
Made in Liverpool and sold in graded sets, Meccano was the toy that assumed you would read the instructions properly. Sets went up to a number 10 outfit that cost more than a week's wages and came in an oak cabinet.
The red-and-green paint scheme of the fifties sets is the one collectors chase. Half the appeal was that it was genuinely sharp and genuinely heavy, a toy that respected you enough to hurt.
Cost back then
£1 for a starter set
Goes for now
£60–£400 for a boxed 1950s outfit
