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Melbourne Meccano Club Inc

MECCANO DIARY

Newsletter August 2003

Secretary: Graeme Thomson 16 Catherine St CANTERBURY VIC 3126 9836 7359

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MMC NEXT MEETING Sunday 14 December 2003 At Lindsay Carrolls, 8 Myuna Court VERMONT 3133 (Melway 65A3) 1.00pm Sales Table 2.00pm Meeting Starts Please bring a small plate of afternoon tea to share. A small folding chair is recommended for your comfort. FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONS Melbourne Meccano Club Inc Annual Exhibition Yes, our own exhibition! Sat & Sun 11&12 October 2003 At Bri Phil Hall,80 Gardenvale Rd ELSTERNWICK (Melway 67 H7) 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. Model Train Expo and Hobby Show Sat & Sun 15 & 16 Nov 2003, 9 am to 5 pm each day. World Vision Centre Cnr Springvale Rd & Vision Dve, EAST BURWOOD (Melway 62 D8). For more information contact Jack Parsisson on (03) 9789 5796 (jackp@meerlu.com.au). OTHER MECCANO CLUB MEETINGS. Meccano Modellers Association (Sydney) Next meeting Saturday 30 August at 1.30 pm at Coroy & Louise Boross, 8 Ascot Road, KENTHURST. Ph: (02) 9654 1396. SEQMG (SE Queensland Meccano Group) Next meeting Saturday October 25 at 1.30 pm at Jack Kruizingas, 35 Mapleton Rd, NAMBOUR. Ph: (07) 5476 3376. Paul 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 MAYLANDS usually on the first Tuesday of each month. Contact Ross Smith (Secretary) on (08) 9367 8906 for details.
Model set not sure how to describe it! Her second from the 50 Model set was an aeroplane but in the colours of the 30 Model set rather nice. Mike Maloney has been using Mrklin parts again, this time for a giant pontoon crane. The prototype was built by the Germans during the 2nd World War so perhaps he has some excuse on this occasion. Mike has completed only the pontoon and the crane tower and it will be an impressive model at a 1:80 scale. The crane jib is to be 1.2 m long so imagine the size of the prototype!

Website
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MELBOURNE MECCANO CLUB INC NEWSLETTER

Issue No 4 August 2003

MODEL CHILD
Four and a half-year-old Balke Rosneberg examines Carols Robot at the MMC Display at the 5th Bendigo Model Engineers Exhibition (Photograph courtesy of Andrew Perryman of the Bendigo Advertiser)
President Mike Maloney Treasurer Bill Davis Newsletter Editor Bill Fitzgerald

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Our fourth AGM was held at the Bri Phil Hall, Elsternwick on Sunday 10 August 2003 and continued the tradition of clashing with the Hornby auction. As a result the number attending was somewhat reduced (I hope that the names of offenders have been noted and that appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken!) Nevertheless we had an excellent turnout with 26 members plus 4 family members and 3 visitors. Those attending were: John Brand, Chris Comer, Bill Davis, Peter During, John Edgar, Bill Fitzgerald, Roger & Sandra Hall, John Hutchinson, Bill & Margaret Inglis, Graham & Mary Jost, Arthur Kirkbright, Mike Maloney, John Martin, Mark Mason, Wal. Maynard, Barry McDonald, Kimball Monger, Carol Parsisson, Jack Parsisson, Tony Press, John Riley, Graham Russell, Graeme Thomson, Jeff van Hees, Doug Ward, Andrew and Allan Weaver. Apologies were received from Lindsay Carroll, David Denner, Bruce Douglas, Neville Handcock, Reece Isaac, Patrick Russell-Young and Mike Wright. AGM Proceedings Just after 2 pm our President Mike Maloney called us to order for the fourth Annual General Meeting of the MMC Inc. Presidents Report Mikes report is on page 5. I would like to add to his report by expressing thanks to Mike on behalf of all Club members for the excellent job he has done in chairing our meetings throughout the past year. Things ran very smoothly, everyone got their say and everything was covered.

Melbourne Meccano Club Inc

In particular Mike is very skilful at encouraging members to speak about their models in front of the group and was always able to ensure that there was plenty of time available for this. Treasurers Report The Treasurer presented his Balance Sheet and Statement for the 2002/2003 financial year see page 8. Election of Office Bearers The current Secretary and two ordinary Committee members were standing down and the Secretary had received nominations for all positions except one ordinary Committee member. In

Newsletter August 2003

manual using strips rather than flexible plates for the cladding. To make life easier, John cut 12 strips to length rather than have to join strips. It turned out very well, although the mix of colours was unusual dictated by availability rather than aesthetics! The largest model on show was Graham Russsells Showmans Traction Engine from the 1938 No 10 manual in r/g rather

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than the original blue/gold. Nevertheless it looked splendid a fine entry for our Exhibition if Graham can bear to keep it assembled for that long. As Graham pointed out, several modifications were needed to build the model one that Graham has yet to do is to modify the steering so it turns the correct way! Sandra Halls first model was from the 10 Vern Elliss Meccano Did You Know Did you know that? The larger Mechanics Made Easy sets D & E included a spanner, a sheet of flexible celluloid, a pulley and a length of chain for the special model of the Blackpool Big Wheel. The large Super E set (see June Newsletter) had enough parts to make a model of the Forth Railway Bridge. It had for example: 168 264 132 120 216 12 perforated strips 5 3 3" 2

along with other numerous parts to really make it a super set. The Forth Railway Bridge was included in the new book of Instructions for 25 Models in 1904. The worm had two keys to overcome end thrust. A mystery Elementary Outfit was listed in the childrens edition of the 1906 MME manual. [Vern has just finished the post war Set 10 Railway Breakdown Crane in r/ g. It has turned out well and looks good, though some problems needed rectifying. Extra braces were needed on the axle holding the roller bearing together as there is a lot of stress at that point. Ratchet wheels were put on the luffing and lifting

Roger Hall, John Edgar, Allan & Andrew Weaver

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Walker from the Crazy Inventors series not very steady on his feet though! (cont p 10) Graham Jost showed us yet another ball roller (Tower of Babel) designed by Alan Partridge which featured in CQ. Grahams addition was to include a ball-raising device in the centre to provide continuous operation rather tricky to get the design of the latter just right according to Graham. His second item was an automatic grab designed by Tony Parmee who in turn had modified the grab from a Noel La-Bois crane from 1945. John Brand brought along a nicely finished (in yellow/zinc) Tractor and Bottom Dump Truck which appeared in the No 6 manual of the 1950s. Peter During had 3 smaller models, all in yellow/zinc which comprised a Meccanograph from the No 4 manual of the period, a box crushing machine and a crank handle operated windmill from a 1950s No 1 manual just the thing for young children in a hands-on display. John Riley showed what can be done with the parts in that box of assorted junk under the bench. He built the Locomotive and Tender from the mid 1950s No 9

Melbourne Meccano Club Inc

Newsletter August 2003

accordance with the rules, the President called for nominations from the floor for the unfilled position and Doug Ward bravely stepped forward. The President declared all Nominees duly elected. These are: Officers: President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Mike Maloney John Brand Graeme Thomson Bill Davis Annual Subscriptions

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The present membership fees of $15.00 (Victoria) and $10.00 (elsewhere) will be maintained and Family Membership will now be at no extra cost. Informal Proceedings Mike introduced our 3 visitors, Graham and Glenda Bunn with son Shaun who had found out about the Club from our web page. The story was familiar Dad had Meccano as a boy but that set is now very depleted. Now Father and Son want to get into the hobby. External Exhibitions Coordinator. Jack Parsisson has been performing this task with skill and enthusiasm for some years. But with Jack moving off the Committee it has been decided to formalise this position. Jack agreed to do the job and was appointed before he had a chance to change his mind! Exhibition SubCommittee Report Chairman Kimball Monger started by reminding everyone that there are only 61 days to go. Exhibition dates are 11 &12 October (see back page for details). Regarding models, some may say .but Im not an engineer, what can I build?. But models do not need to be mechanical some of the best Meccano models ever produced have been of buildings. What about a bird or a cat, a bunch of flowers maybe an elephant!? There are plenty of colourful parts in

Ordinary Committee Members: Kimball Monger Doug Ward

Tony Press and John Hutchinson

Peter During and Kimball Monger

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Meccano these days for artistic design. It doesnt need wheels, and doesnt have to go round and round. If you cant come for the 2 days, what about sharing with someone eg one person builds the locomotive and the other the carriages. Regarding trading, please note that this will be allowed only up to noon on Saturday. After that there is to be no trading on the site. Also, please dont tout for business stick to the spirit of the rules of the game and make it a happy event for all. Model entry forms. Jack Parsission is getting concerned at the slow return of these less than 10 so far. So please send in your forms pronto so that the sub-committee can start thinking about hall layouts etc. Model Display Tony Press had more examples of rare and unusual Meccano from days gone by. A constructor car from 1937 based on the M1 Sports Tourer of the period. Small tins labeled Morphine Syringe used for packaging small spares (nuts & bolts etc.). These were left over wartime production at Binns Rd. A Royal Meccano set (to commemorate the coronation of King George V in 1911) in its original attractive tin box

Melbourne Meccano Club Inc

Newsletter August 2003

Committee Changes

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Graham Jost who has been Secretary since the Club was incorporated in 1999 is taking a well-earned break from Committee duties. Graham is one of the foundation members who attended the first meeting back in 1984 and has been actively involved with the Club ever since. For a number of years he wrote the newsletter and was one of the de facto Club organisers before we incorporated and elected a formal committee. Graham is probably best known as a builder of attractive Meccano models of all types and sizes. He is very much into restoration of old parts and his models look a million dollars with their freshly powder coated parts and re-plated brass nuts & bolts. Graham has always been heavily involved in the organisation of our Annual Exhibition. He is now an accomplished radio and TV personality - giving interviews to publicise the Club and its exhibitions, and has done the same for various newspapers. His involvement with the International Society of Meccanomen (ISM) has resulted in several nicely illustrated articles on our annual exhibitions in the ISM magazine. Graham is now a member of the ISM Committee. Jack Parsisson is also stepping down from the Committee and he too has made a valuable contribution to the running of the Club over the years particularly in organising Club participation in outside exhibitions. Members who have participated in such events will be well aware of the effort Jack puts into this. The Club gets useful public exposure from these exhibitions and we have obtained several new members as a result of this. Jack intends to continue in his role as External Exhibitions Coordinator which is good news for the Club and the members who exhibit at these exhibitions. Thank you Jack. Jack is also a prolific model builder and is well known as the producer of the Jackano range of Meccano replica parts as well as a range of non-standard parts of his own design. These parts are of excellent quality with an enamel finish in a range of colours and are highly recommended. Several members are regular customers although most of the sales are to NSW with overseas buyers in several countries as well. Bill Fitzgerald, our Newsletter Editor, also comes to the end of his three-year term on the Committee but will continue to write and publish the bi-monthly newsletter. Those of us relatively new to our Club may not realise that Bill was perhaps primarily responsible for its foundation. Following increasing adult Meccano interest up to the early 1980s, it was he who invited a number of interested Meccanomen to meet at his home in September 1984. I still remember that fabulous evening, the first of many that were subsequently held in members homes over the next few years. Bill took over the as editor of our Newsletter from the October 2000 issue. He immediately put his stamp on it in the form of extended reporting, vastly improved layout, a centrefold showing selected models from our 2000 Annual Meccano Exhibition (the first at our Gardenvale venue and as an incorporated Club), providing a decent header and introducing the present A5 format. Newsletter production, which he does almost alone, involves a massive effort, and we are all much indebted to him for his continuing contribution. These days it is a quality Newsletter of which we can all be proud. Bill says that It is a task I enjoy although if someone else wants to have a go, I will happily stand aside! One thing that would improve the quality of the newsletter is contributions from members. I get a few of these, but I would really like a lot more. All members please note. [by order Graham Jost!!!]

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Melbourne Meccano Club Inc

Newsletter August 2003

PRESIDENTS REPORT 2003

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Melbourne Meccano Club Inc. Balance Sheet and Statement of Receipts and Expenses for the year 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003 2002/03 $ Balance at 1 July Add Receipts Club Exhibition Admission Membership Fees Donations Sales Club Badges Exhibition Mags Bank Interest Less Expenses Insurance Premium Club Badges Exhibition Mag (Post & Distr.) Club Exhibition (inc. Hall hire) Newsletter (Prodn and Post) Admin. & Refreshments Hall Hire (exc. Club Exhibn) Govt. Charges (BADT) Net Income Balance at 30 Jun Comprising: Bendigo Bank cheque acct Bendigo Term Deposit Petty cash on hand Club Assets Cash & Term Deposit Other Items (est. total value) Current Liabilities condition. A quite uncommon item.
8) (cont p

We come to the end of the 4th year of the Clubs existence in pretty good shape. $ Our bi-monthly meetings have been quite well attended throughout the year usually between 30 40 members. Apart from our Exhibition, we have had no special activities, but the normal format of social interaction, sales and purchases, information exchange, and display and discussion of models and memorabilia appears to have been acceptable. Nevertheless, the committee is always open to suggestions for improvement or alternatives. I wish to express my appreciation to all members of the Committee for their participation and enthusiasm we have spent quite some time this year in deliberation and resolution on the matters of public liability insurance, and on the terms of reference for the Exhibition Sub-committee. In particular, I thank Graham Jost for his very competent handling of the Secretarys position his presentation of minutes and committee agenda has assisted our task greatly. Bill Fitzgeralds production efforts on the Clubs Newsletter have created vast improvements in content and presentation and in timely distribution to members. And Jack Parsissons organizing and arrangements of Club exhibits have created quite a demand for our participation amongst other club organisers. To these three in particular, I believe the Club owes a debt of gratitude. Unfortunately this year each is obliged to stand down from the Committee, but I know that they will continue to contribute to the Club in the coming year. As the Treasurers report will show, the Club is on a sound financial footing in fact, we are looking for useful ideas for making effective use of these finances! Our Exhibition last year was a great success, thanks to a hard-working Subcommittee, and has set a standard to maintain this year. I urge all members to assist with your participation this year. Thanks also to the host of our unofficial website, Paul Johnstone, who has helped us become recognized among Meccano enthusiasts in countries throughout the world if you have access to a computer, then I can recommend a browse form time to time, especially if you are unable to get to Club meetings. Finally, thanks to those members who quietly arrange for the setting up, tidying up of the Hall for meetings, and provision of refreshments. Your efforts are appreciated. with raised embossing on the lid. It was one of the first sets to have base and sector plates. Not to be upstaged, John Hutchinson produced a No 4 set, also from 1911 with its key-locked gears and pulleys in excellent

2001/02 1946.80 842.85 1170.00 505.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2517.85 0.00 0.00 0.00 487.38 590.79 0.00 150.00 35.50 1263.67 1254.18 3200.98 3185.08 0.00 15.90 3200.98 930.00 Nil

3200.98 1912.00 1045.00 340.00 240.00 234.00 21.44 3792.44 935.00 764.50 625.17 551.25 428.45 122.35 100.00 44.80 3571.52 220.92 3421.90 1398.91 2021.44 1.55 3421.90 1100.00 Nil

Roger Hall was more up to date with an attractive block setting crane in nicely

restored r/g parts from the No 3 manual of the 1950s. Rogers other models were a Ferris Wheel in immaculate yellow/zinc French Meccano (based on a model which appeared on the internet) and a

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MMC at Bendigo Model Engineers Exhibition
Carol and Jack Parsisson, Roger and Sandra Hall, Mike Maloney and Graham and Mary Jost made our first Club pilgrimage to Bendigo to participate in the 5th Bendigo Model Engineers Exhibition at the Kangaroo Flat Leisure Centre on the first weekend in July. It was a fine weekend in all senses. Set-up was on Friday evening with no less than 29 of table space at our disposal. Saturday saw the beginning of a weekend of interested visitors during the two days. Carol showed an impressive display of many models from modern sets including the neat crane from the 7080 anniversary set, and dispensed plenty of information as to how to start the hobby and where to get what! Jack had a nice selection from his large collection of delights in red and green including a fine cement mixer truck, his marine engine and the NZ portable engine. Roger and Sandra brought along several of their current set models, but being there for only a part of Saturday, sorry folks I omitted to note exactly what and you also missed my photo opportunity! Mike showed several of his models, including his Marklin crane, small beam engine, automatic excavator and Meccano/ Marklin truck. Graham showed his MM braider, new ball roller and Rocket of yore. The

Melbourne Meccano Club Inc

whole was a most satisfactory and enjoyable experience Im sure well be invited back again in two years time. Graham Jost (Photos by Graham & Jack) [The Club also obtained some welcome publicity from an article about the exhibition which appeared in the Bendigo Advertiser. The picture on the front cover was taken by one of their reporters and permission to reproduce it is gratefully acknowledged by the Club.]

Newsletter August 2003

Labassa Open Day Meccano Show by Graham Jost A stalwart five Jack, Kimball, Sandra & Roger and Graham fronted up to the National Trusts Labassa mansion on a fairly nippy July 27 to put on another Meccano treat for the fans. (It should be noted that model railways folk were also there clockwork and electric inside, and steam outside). Labassa is not noted for its lightness inside, so things were just a tad glum, illumination-wise. But we were each provided with a table space of our own in the large drawing (?) room on the ground floor on the left. These we well filled as per usual, but sadly, we were not allowed to take photographs, though for the life of me I find it difficult to understand when walls are covered with nothing but ancient paint, and ceilings and cornices are so far away that any flash is probably still on its way there. But a Trust photographer had the necessary dispensation and took the two photographs included here. The Trust was very pleased with the numbers of folk through though something of the order of 400+. This meant that there was always someone or some several to be found in front of each table, so we were

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kept busy. All the usual questions I really must make a note one day of: how many parts?, how many nuts and bolts?, how long did it take to build? and occasionally how much is it worth? The honest answer to this latter is usually in the unbelievable category even for the builder! It was a good day, and most likely we will be invited back. They certainly were pleased to have us, and even provided continuous tea and coffee and lunch! It would be nice to see some new exhibitors, though. How about it, folks a new face or two?