BAYKO Sets #1 to #5 Instruction Manual -
1934 - Earliest Version

The factor which clearly identifies this as the earliest version is a typo on page 27…

…the model bears the heading - “LARGE BUNALOW WITH GARAGE” - which had been corrected before the next version was printed.

The version shown here is courtesy of Bob Burgess.

There is a further interesting anomaly in the model of a “Bungalow with Front Porch and Side Verandah” depicted on page 8 below…

…the 2 Windows which flank the front porch on the model are clearly white, not the green which would have matched the others on the model.

Officially these Windows weren't produced for several months, until the #6 set was launched!

There is no printers code to confirm the date that the manual was printed, however, it can only be either 1933, for the 'kitchen table' production run before Christmas that year, and / or early 1934.

The use of black and white photos for all the models shown in the manual must have represented a significant investment and commitment to the future of BAYKO.

The manual comprises 48 black and white pages, including photos of models, all on glossy, white paper, with a two colour cover, printed in red and green on thin, beige, mat card.

Oh yes - there's something odd about the models photographed for this manual - can you spot it?

…the answer is down at the bottom, just after the last page.

If you look at the bases used in the pictures you'll see that they aren't BAYKO bases at all, but blocks of some kind, varnished and drilled to provide the necessary holes…

…the evidence can be seen in the photographs. You can see the occasional hole drilled for a previous model as the “bases” were re-used…

…thanks to 'eagle eyes' Gary Birch for noticing this!!!

If you would like to view the complete manual, hot off the press as it were…