Category:Meccano sets

A 1931 advert explaining the sets and accessory sets, and their numbering [image info]

Most of the early Meccano sets and accessory sets were devised as part of a very well thought-out system, although there were a few changes in how the sets were numbered (or lettered).

The main sets were numbered, with each numbered set expanding on the number of parts included in the previous one, so that Outfit No.5 would be guaranteed to include all the parts in Outfit No.4, and more.

Standard "Accessory Outfits"

To make purchases "risk free", customers could then buy upgrade sets (the Accessory Outfits). For example, if someone already owned Outfit No.5, but wanted to progress further and now wished that they'd bought Outfit No.6, they could buy Accessory Outfit 5a, which would turn their collection of parts into the equivalent of a No.6 set (after which they could buy Outfit 6a, which would expand their collection further, into the equivalent of Outfit No.7).

Specialist "Accessory Outfits"

There were also more specialised accessory outfits, such as the Special Inventor's Outfit, which provided more specialised mechanical parts that didn't exist in the main sequence, and the Elektrikit sets, which provided a range of special parts (including insulated plates) that could be used to turn Outfit No.3 into an electrical experimenter's kit, complete with printed card dial faces for making Meccano-based instrumentation.

External links

• Melvyn Wright, Tabulated Contents of Outfits 1958-64 (melright.com)