MECCANO General Products Price Lists
Including BAYKO

This first, and largest, section contains MECCANO General Products Price Lists, a long serving MECCANO document, which 'absorbed' BAYKO throughout their limited tenure.

The catalogues [below] fulfil a similar role, but were directed more towards the toy-buying public and were thus generally charged for. They are set out at the foot of this page…

As far as I can tell, this is the first document of its type to include BAYKO Building Sets - here proudly displayed bang in the middle of the front cover. If you slide your mouse over the image, the BAYKO section will be highlighted. This prestigious position continued for quite a time. The “NEW” descriptor is interesting - don't forget, the takeover was in September of the previous year!

There is an element of ambition, if not over optimism, in this document. Sets #11 and 12 didn't arrive until just before Christmas 1960. Set #13 certainly was nowhere near being available at the time, emerging early in 1961, and set #14 only emerged a few months later!

This four page, folded leaflet format became MECCANO's standard for both the domestic and export markets. It was used regularly, though not exclusively, for several years. The conversion sets, #11C, #12C and #13C, drifted into toy shops a few months afterwards - not unreasonably.

An obvious point of interest with this particular version [right] is the inclusion of the Hamleys logo and address, preprinted in the bottom section. Compare this with a less favoured MECCANO products retailer, i.e. smaller local toy shops, who would normally have to add their own rubber stamp.

This [right] is the 1961, MECCANO General Products Price List, with BAYKO proudly displayed on the front cover…

…indeed, at this stage, BAYKO, no longer “NEW”, seems to rate #2 in the product priorities, second only to MECCANO itself, maintaining its mid front page position. Slide your mouse over the image to highlight the BAYKO section.

This four page, leaflet is print-coded August, 1961, and is created from a double-sided sheet with a single, vertical fold

To me, the shape of this leaflet certainly seems a little unusual…

…I'm not sure, but it isn't based on the old foolscap paper size [folded in half vertically] which is the only paper size of the period that I'm familiar with…

…whatever its name, the resultant size is unusually tall and thin.

The prices shown on the sheet have actually gone up slightly since the MECCANO General Products Price List above, which was print-coded thirteen months earlier…

…this is, perhaps, more than a little surprising, when you consider that MECCANO era BAYKO had only finally been relaunched less than nine months earlier, sneaking across the line just before Christmas, 1960!

Sadly, inflation was plaguing even BAYKO!

This [left] is the 1961, MECCANO General Products Price List, which, again, includes BAYKO, proudly displayed bang in the middle of the front cover. Slide your mouse over the image to highlight the BAYKO section.

The element of ambition in this document, compared with the previous year [above] is less pronounced, because set #13 was certainly now available at the time this document went to press, and set #14 emerged during the year covered by this Price List.

This four page format created from a double sided sheet by a single, vertical fold. This was MECCANO's standard format, for both domestic and export markets, being used regularly, though not exclusively, for several years.

The key point of interest with this leaflet [left] is the inclusion of the Hamleys logo and address, preprinted in the bottom section. Whereas a less favoured retailer, i.e. smaller, local toy shops, would invariably have to add their own rubber stamp.

This [right] is the August, 1962, MECCANO General Products Price List as issued through Hamleys.

This, apart from the specific Hamleys branding, is one of a long line of such documents produced by MECCANO.

The BAYKO entry stays bang in the middle of the front page of this leaflet. If you slide your mouse over the image you'll highlight the BAYKO section.

It is dated 1962. There is a printers code on the back page which is what narrows this down to August.

It follows the standard format of a double-sided sheet, with a single vertical fold, creating four pages.

Given that mainstream BAYKO production stopped just a year and a half later, it's interesting to see that BAYKO was still given such a prominent position.

This [left] is the May, 1963, MECCANO General Products Price List as issued by Hamleys.

This, apart from the specific Hamleys branding, is one of a long line of such documents produced by MECCANO, indeed it was their standard format.

The BAYKO entry stays bang in the middle of the front page of this leaflet, slide your mouse over the image to highlight the BAYKO section. It is dated 1963 and there is a printers code on the back page which narrows this down to May.

Again a double-sided sheet with a single vertical fold, creates the four page format.

Given that mainstream BAYKO production stopped in less than a year, it's interesting to see that BAYKO was still given such a prominent position.

This [right] is the 1964, MECCANO General Products Price List, with BAYKO still displayed proudly on the front cover, Slide your mouse over the image to highlight the BAYKO section…

…even though the full-throated roar of BAYKO marketing and production ceased at the start of the year, after 30 years of challenging, amusing and educating the youth of Britain - and many other places on the planet!

This four page, single, vertical folded leaflet is print-coded January, 1964, and presumably hit the [toy] shop floor shortly afterwards.

The shape of this leaflet certainly seems unusual…

…I'm not sure of the logic, but marketeers generally seemed obsessed with making things bigger for maximum impact, so that may be part of it.

The prices shown on the sheet are unchanged from the previous year…

…not a lot of compensation for the death of the world's finest construction toy!

Left is the 1964, MECCANO General Products Price List as issued by Hamleys.

This, apart from the specific Hamleys branding, is one of a long line of such documents produced by MECCANO.

Click here to see more about BAYKO in Hamleys.

The BAYKO entry stays bang in the middle of the front page. Move your mouse over the image to highlight the BAYKO section.

This is a double sided sheet, with a single vertical fold creating the four page leaflet, which is dated 1964. There is a printers code on the back page which narrows this down to September.

Given that mainstream BAYKO marketing and production stopped in early 1964, it's interesting to see that BAYKO still took such a prominent position, albeit, as far as I can determine, for the last time…

…frustratingly, PLAY-DOH had pushed BAYKO down slightly.

This [above] is the 1965, MECCANO General Products Price List - well, almost…

…this particular version was specifically printed for Hamleys, a large toy store in London.

This document appears to confirm my suspicion that, though all support was removed from the market in early 1964, BAYKO was still made available, perhaps through 'selected' (?) retailers, perhaps more widely, for some time afterwards, but without any marketing support…

…milking it in other words.

By now BAYKO has now been relegated to the top of page two - slide you mouse over the page 2 image [right, above] to highlight the BAYKO section.

Made as a single, double-sided sheet with a single, vertical fold, creating the four page format. It is actually date-coded September, 1964.

The prices shown on the sheet are still unchanged.

This is a general MECCANO products price list [move your mouse over the image to highlight the BAYKO section] and is the last one with BAYKO still displayed on the front cover…

…which has to be a little surprising, given that BAYKO marketing support had ceased more than a year earlier…

…and BAYKO had previously been relegated to page two!

The leaflet is actually print-coded December, 1964, which might help explain BAYKO's boomerang!

At least MECCANO had the decency not to put up their BAYKO prices this year!

There are 2 other vultures at the feast…

…PLAY-DOH - actually produced in the old BAYKO factory space…

…and CLiKi & CLiKi-PLUS - MECCANO's next attempts to corner the plastic construction toy market.

The document is a simple, double sided sheet, with a single, vertical fold, thus creating the familiar four page format and is essentially the same odd shape as the 1964 version : -

This [above] is a general MECCANO products price list with BAYKO, perhaps not altogether surprisingly, relegated back to the inside pages…

…and also downwards - to the middle of page two in fact.

Slide you mouse over the Page 2 image [above, right] to highlight the BAYKO section.

The document is dated July, 1966.

Surprisingly enough, more than 2 years after MECCANO ceased all marketing support for BAYKO, they had the brass neck to actually put up the prices of their residual stock!

This is a basically identical to the standard version [above], but this time with the commercial details of Hamleys, a large, London based, toy shop added to the bottom of the front page.

The document is a simple, folded, four page format and is dated September, 1966.

This is almost the last piece of MECCANO era literature that I've been able to get hold of which makes any reference to BAYKO, which, if nothing else, makes it something of a sad piece, despite its comparatively up-beat colouring.

This is a general MECCANO products price list with BAYKO again relegated to the inside pages - even farther down page two in fact. If you slide your mouse over the page 2 image [above, right] you will highlight the BAYKO section.

It is a simple, double-sided sheet with a single, vertical fold, creating the familiar four page format.

The document is date-coded January, 1967.

Rather cheekily, MECCANO put up the prices of their residual stocks of BAYKO yet again!

This is another version of MECCANO General Products Price List, contemporary with the one above. This too, is one of the last, I've been able to get hold of which makes any reference to BAYKO.

This is a general MECCANO products price list with BAYKO again relegated to the inside pages - page two again. Slide your mouse over the page 2 image [above, right] to highlight the BAYKO section.

It is a simple, double-sided sheet with a single, vertical fold, creating the familiar four page format.

It is again dated January, 1967.

There are two discernable differences from the previous document : -

► The colour of the paper.

► The missing “UK” from the top right hand corner.

The latter may have some significance, but, if it has, I'm not aware of it I'm sorry to have to admit.

There is a MECCANO General Products Catalogue which sets out the expanded product range for 1960, and, as such, may well have been available late in 1959. In a BAYKO sense, it appears to be extremely confused, and, I believe, warrants a page to itself…

Just for completeness, there is also a similarly confused leaflet from around the same time, which you may find interesting…

Following swiftly on from those confused documents, just three years later, Mr. MECCANO set about re-arranging the deck chairs on his increasingly uncommercial Titanic by adding annual MECCANO General Product Catalogues to his portfolio. These were actually excellent small booklets with headline information on the company's key individual product ranges.

They immediately became standard formats and were used, either in English, or the local vernacular, in several areas across the globe.  If you are interested in the export versions, I suggest you review the export documentation in general, to get an idea of the local context…

The three home market catalogues are set out below : -

In some ways this catalogue is the most significant document from the MECCANO BAYKO era, for the simple reason that the format was copied, with translations where appropriate, for markets all over the world.

The two BAYKO pages claim alphabetical superiority and appear as pages 2 and 3, though, confusingly, the BAYKO prices actually appear on the last page of the pull-out section. This presumably facilitates the export market support, allowing the same BAYKO script to appear, unchanged, alongside a distinct local price list.

Slide your mouse over the beige prices page [above, right]
to highlight the BAYKO prices section…

…click anywhere on the prices page image [above, right]
to launch an easier to read, larger section.

The U.K. version of the 1964 MECCANO Products Catalogue, shown here, provides the basic template from which the other, export versions were created.

However, unlike the 1963 equivalent, the actual design details of the front cover [above, left] varied according to the product range carried in each market.

The BAYKO page shown here [above, right] is produced on the inside of the front cover, which was not standard for all markets, though the actual page design was.

The BAYKO prices [left] appear on the first page [of two] of the pull-out price list section. Again this was not standard for all markets. Click anywhere on the image for a larger image of the BAYKO set prices.

This catalogue, its export equivalents, and the slightly later version [below] represent the last form of direct marketing for BAYKO.

I have two export versions of this catalogue : -

Slide your mouse over the pale blue prices page [above]
to highlight the BAYKO prices section…

…click anywhere on the prices page image [left, above]
to launch an easier to read, larger section.

Superficially, this MECCANO General Products Catalogue is the same as the earlier 1964 version above. I say this is the later version, as it now includes PLAY-DOH, which didn't get mentioned elsewhere before 1965. However, I have to admit that the pricing page [left] still says 1964.

The main difference which has been made to the Front Cover [above, left] is the inclusion of the PLAY-DOH box as the cow-catcher of the locomotive.

As far as I can tell, the BAYKO page shown here [above, right] is identical to its predecessor.

The BAYKO prices [left] again appear on the first page [of two] of the pull-out price list section. Here the BAYKO prices have remained unchanged from the earlier version, but the price list itself now also includes the PLAY-DOH prices for the first time.

This catalogue, and its export equivalents, represent the last form of direct marketing for BAYKO, though BAYKO was still mentioned in MECCANO General Products Price Lists as you can see in the various examples above.

Slide your mouse over the beige prices page [above]
to highlight the BAYKO prices section…

…click anywhere on the prices page image [left, above]
to launch an easier to read, larger section.