BAYKO Parts Price Lists

Arguably this document is, at least in part, a Flier, but justifies its inclusion in this section as well by also containing the earliest published Parts Price List that I've seen outside the BAYKO manuals.

Sets prices are at the top of the reverse side...

...with standard spare parts prices lower down.

To view a correctly orientated version of the front of this document, just click the image [above, left].

This Price Card shows the entire range of spare parts and sets available following the launch of the 'New Series' BAYKO sets in 1939. The 'New Series' period ran to around 1941 before the war needs overtook BAYKO. Based on the Set Prices quoted, I believe this card dates from 1940. There are several points of interest in the Parts Price List [top of section] : -

The wide range of [now] rare white parts which were available, including all three styles of Window, all four styles of Turret and the Bay Window Cover.

'Oak' Domes, which are extremely rare, are mentioned - but not Red ones! If you look [below] at the 1945 Price Post Card, you will see that this omission was continued...

'Oak' Pinnacle Roofs and Platforms, both of which are extremely rare, are not mentioned at all, though they certainly exist.

'Oak' Turrets are mentioned, in all four styles, though I only know of one Long Turret.

The Small Roof is, like its two larger cousins, stated as being available in Green - alas I have never seen one!

There are two further points of interest on the Sets Price List [above] which was on the back of the card : -

The similarity of prices between the 'New Series' sets and the earlier sets - compare those here with the first BAYKO Price List at the top of the page...

The fact that the Conversion Sets for the earlier style sets are still available, presumably as a service to existing owners. Interestingly, this was a precedent which MECCANO followed some twenty years later after they too fundamentally change the product.

It is interesting to compare this Price Card, and of course its prices, with the one immediately below, which is around a year later.

There is one final, slightly confusing detail. The card actually has what certainly looks like a contemporary hand written comment "War Prices" on the Sets Prices side - I have cleaned this off the image shown. This makes no sense at all as the card below is certainly more relevant to war time, not least because the newly introduced Purchase Tax is included.

This is a later version, from 1941, of the earlier 'New Series' Price Card [above], and the differences are interesting. The right hand column of the Parts Prices [top of section] includes two new entries : -

Small Floors [9 x 13 holes] - we know from elsewhere that these were introduced just before the war as part of Plimpton's response to the metal shortage and high prices which lead them to replace Tie Bars.

Medium Floors [11 x 15] - this is slightly confusing as observation tells us that these were introduced in the early days, probably 1935. I therefore suspect that this was simply the correction of an initial omission from the earlier card, though that doesn't entirely explain the presence of Floors [23 x 15] in the list, these having been dropped, from sets at least, in 1935.

All the [then] standard Bricks have increased in price compared with the earlier version. We tend to think that 'price point' is a relatively modern marketing concept, yet the way that the increase has been implemented maintained the price, but reduced the number you got for your money.

The Set Price List has three points of interest : -

The conversion sets for the old series sets are still available.

The prices of all sets, and conversion sets of both series, have gone up substantially.

This Set Price List, for the first time, includes Purchase Tax [here charged at around 22.5%] which the budget introduced on April 6th, 1940.

BAYKO slowly but surely was unwinding itself from the second world war and Plimpton's war work.

The range of parts is based entirely on the pre-war 'New series' range and includes many of the more ornamental colours we all cherish...

...though, oddly, Domes are still only shown as only being available in White.

Notice that it doesn't include the Flat Roofs which were a key post-war innovation...

...nor does it include any of the pre 'New Series' parts.

You may also have noticed that the Steps are recorded as being red, which, as far as I am aware, never materialised - only grey Steps were produced after the war, or were they...

Chris Reeve owns a delivery note, dated October 17th, 1945 which specifically lists Straight Steps (red) as part of the dispatched order...

Also significant is the fact that there is no mention of ½-Brick Rods which were available almost immediately after the war, in sets.

This leaflet, shown courtesy of Peter Crook, represents the first post-war venture back into the familiar mix of set and parts prices on the same sheet. Peter owns one of these with a 1948 British Industries Fair sticker on it which nicely confirms the date for us - the leaflet itself is undated.

In many ways this leaflet is most interesting for what is missing from the parts list. While the Turrets, Domes and Pinnacles are still there, though we know from elsewhere that availability was intermittent, the range of new parts featured on the leaflet below are conspicuously absent here.

Continuing a theme developed earlier [above] there is still no direct reference to Red Domes being available.

The above document, dated April, 1949, is the earliest example I have of what became a standard format for both domestic and export markets : -

Sets and supplementary parts prices on one side...

...and standard spare parts prices on the other.

The Price List below is dated only a month after this one, and yet the prices are significantly different. I think the difference is due to a change in the purchase tax rates catching Plimpton by surprise.

This is the first Parts Price List I've found so far which specifically mentions Red Domes.

The launch of this document, with its significantly enhanced range of parts, is quite well synchronised with the first post-war adverts in 'MECCANO Magazine', and 'Toy Trader', a leading publication for the toy trade. It strongly suggests that Plimpton were beginning to throw off the shackles of post-war austerity and rationing...

The above document, printer's coded February 1950, is the next to follow the format : -

Sets and supplementary parts prices on one side...

...and standard spare parts prices on the other.

The above document, printer's coded May 1950, is the next to follow the format : -

Sets and supplementary parts prices on one side...

...and standard spare parts prices on the other.

The above document, printer coded October, 1951, yet again follows the by now tried and tested format : -

Sets and supplementary parts prices on one side...

...and standard spare parts prices on the other.

The above document, printer coded December, 1951, yet again follows the by now tried and tested format : -

Sets and supplementary parts prices on one side...

...and standard spare parts prices on the other.

The set price list contains the earliest mention of the availability of set #4 that I've found, though I suspect that the print date here is a little ahead of the actual release date and that the generally accepted date of February 1952 still holds good.

The above document, printer's coded May 1952, yet again follows the format : -

Sets and supplementary parts prices on one side...

...and standard spare parts prices on the other.

From early 1953, Plimpton settled on a 4-page BAYKO Parts Price List [below]. It survived beyond the MECCANO takeover. The 4-pages were achieved by a simple vertical fold down the middle. As well as the common format, they were all printed on the same, cheap, mat paper.

Anybody who's ever seen a BAYKO set will surely have seen one of these. They are, by far, the commonest BAYKO price lists and, in their various guises, thousands have survived. This isn't surprising as millions [literally!] were printed, with individual print runs of up to 200,000!

There are, I believe, six domestic versions of this document and there's also at least one Irish version...

...but I will gradually add others, if any, as the opportunity arises.

Though the earliest versions don't have one, where there is a printer's code, I've included the batch number from it as an extra guide to identification. All these codes include the document identifier "Ref No 25".

Where different versions [with different batch numbers] of otherwise identical price lists, exist, I've only included one of them, the changes in data being the key focus, rather than an exercise in piling up images.

One small point of interest, before we move on - these parts price lists were the first to restrict the range of standard BAYKO Rod sizes up to 8-Brick, with sizes 9-Brick through 12-Brick now requiring special ordering.

Just click on any of the images below to see a version four times the size. Enjoy!

Back to a much simpler format with this much more utilitarian document from MECCANO - a BAYKO price list.

Surprisingly, given the date, this leaflet shows both BAYKO sets and the full range of spare parts from the Plimpton era.

This BAYKO price list is dated as May, 1960.

This all seems to suggest that MECCANO's flirtation with Plimpton era product was more structured than previously thought...

...though there are several parts [and all the sets] which have no marked prices, so they may not have been available.

Sadly there are no MECCANO part numbers for the Plimpton era parts which MECCANO dropped when they restructured BAYKO.

This Price List should be viewed in contrast to those below, which are identical in style, but, of course, they contain details of MECCANO's own production.

Thanks to Mick Burgess for this one.

Here MECCANO is repeating the price list format from above, but this time with the more predictable MECCANO era BAYKO sets and parts.

This shows the prices for both BAYKO sets and the original range of spare parts as they applied shortly after BAYKO's relaunch.

This BAYKO price list is dated as February, 1961.

This Price List should be viewed in contrast to the one below, just six months later...

...you'll notice that the prices had already gone up!

Uniquely among its peers, this particular MECCANO BAYKO parts price list does not feature the dimensions of the four Roof sizes - all the others [below] do, though I've never fully understood why.

Thanks to Neil Baldry for this one.

Again the same the price list format as above, but, alas, not the same prices...

...guess which way they've changed!!!

This, again, shows the prices for both BAYKO sets and the original range of spare parts as they applied still less than a year after BAYKO's relaunch.

This BAYKO price list is dated as August, 1st, 1961.

One of the more unusual features of this price list is the inclusion of details of the actual dimensions of the 4 different sizes of Roof pieces...

...apart from the similar price lists below, I can't bring to mind any other example in BAYKO's history where dimensions are given in inches...

...every other example I can think of uses the number of holes or, in the case of Rods and Pillars, how many Bricks match their length / height.

This Price List should be viewed in contrast to the one below, after the launch of the new parts...

...you'll notice that the prices had gone up again!

Again the simpler format with this MECCANO era BAYKO price list.

This shows the prices for both BAYKO sets and the final range of spare parts as they applied at the end of BAYKO's life.

The printer's code dates this BAYKO price list as April, 1962, matching the date at the top.

Clearly the most noteworthy point here is the first mention of set # 15 and conversion set #14C - and, of course, the range of new parts...

...though we appear to be a little premature as the sets weren't actually launched until August, 1962.

The use of actual dimensions for the four BAYKO Roof sizes is in evidence again.

A further point of interest is the comment at the top of the leaflet : -

This flier, apart from the changed date, print coded June, 1962 in this case, is almost identical to the one above. The prices quote are identical.

It maintains the comment, at the top of the leaflet : -

There is, however, one interesting addition, which appears to give us an accurate date for the launch of the MECCANO era BAYKO Retail Packs : -

This date is further confirmed by a MECCANO general products order form, also dated June, 1962...

Yet again the pricing information is the same as the two fliers above...

The reference to the MECCANO era BAYKO retail packs is still there...

The earlier reference to withdrawal of Purchase Tax Surcharge has been replaced by...

...the exception, I'm pretty certain, only refers to the manuals and leaflets, which were exempt - as indeed they would be today from the dreaded V.A.T.!

The Roof dimensions are still there.

I find this very strange...

...unless I've missed something, the contents of this list, including all the prices, are identical to the one above, which is 9 months older...

...but if you look at the type-setting, it is significantly different in a number of ways - it's no wonder MECCANO were having profit problems.

The printer's code dates this BAYKO price list as August 1963...

...I can't be absolutely certain, but this may well be the last of the BAYKO fliers as the product came off the market early in 1964.

Either way, it comes pretty close to being BAYKO's swan song...

...if you know any different and can help with information on a later flier or price list, them I'd love to hear from you.

...perhaps you can explain why the BAYKO Roof measurements are still included!

The dating here is simple - it says 1965 in the top left hand corner! The month comes from the date code in the bottom left hand corner.

I think this document quite nicely supports the theory that, between 1964 and 1967, MECCANO really adopted a minimum spend policy for BAYKO...

...this document is certainly never going to impress!

I strongly suspect that this document was only really intended for use by the retailer, rather than be handed out to the customers, but, as I can't prove it, I thought I'd best include it in this section.

Nevertheless, the full post-1962 range of MECCANO era BAYKO parts is still arrayed in all its glory.

Oddly, the Roof dimensions have even made it this far!