BAYKO Parts List - 1935 to 1939?
Ornamental Additions Sets

The exact date that Plimpton ceased production of these Ornamental Additions Sets is uncertain, though they are not mentioned in any literature printed after 1938. There were three of these sets, numbered[?] sets A, B and C. None of them included Rods or Bases, so were clearly not stand-alone sets, but rather intended to let little Johnnie or Jeanie 'ornament' their latest project, as indicated in the standard manual of the day…

One school of thought has it that production of these Ornamental Additions Sets ceased, in 1938, with the introduction of the 20s series Special Sets.

I do, however, know of at least one set which was bought after war had been declared, but this could, of course, have been residual toyshop stock.

I do own one, unlabelled set A in a red box, which looks similar to late conversion sets [#1A to #5A] produced after the 'New Series' introduction, suggesting it could have been very late - 1939 or 1940‽

In a more positive vein, I've acquired the Ornamental Additions Set C [right] which is made up largely of BAYKO parts, including a rare White Arch, produced during, and unique to, the 'New Series' era, launched in 1939.

Of course, this could have been due to the efforts of a wartime retailer with an empty box to fill, any later and the rarity of the white Arch would have made it an expensive filler.

My instinct tells me that this particular BAYKO set was produced during the 'New Series' era, or, just possibly, slightly earlier in 1939, as the pre-launch production got under way.

It's interesting to compare the contents of this 1939 Set C with the much earlier version [right, below].

Ornamental Additions Sets were intended to supplement the standard range of sets.

Detailed below are the complete parts lists for the BAYKO Ornamental Additions Sets from this production period.

I hope you find this useful.

If you've spotted an error in the list or want to debate any of the figures…

BAYKO sets, at this point, were being made throughout from BAKELITE, and Ornamental Additions Sets were no exception…

The following colour codes refer to sections in the main table [below] : -

Well, there's no certain method, but there are some strong general pointers.

► If the legend at the top left of the set label says “PATENT APP No 32235/33” then it's from 1934.

► The darker the Roof, [sorry if yours is a set A] the earlier the set. Bright Roofs emerged c. 1937.

► The brighter any White Pillars are, then the later they are - there is definite graduation here, not a single date.

► Brown Pillars and Dark Green Arches are probably [sorry!] 1935 or 1936.

► White Arches and exclusively bright White Pillars, suggest 1938 onwards.

The earliest “Red Pillars” were Brown, and later, possibly a form of 'oak'.

The Green colour of the Arch varied considerably, i.e. from a very dark almost olive green, via a mid green, to a very pale green. Finally they were replaced with white.

Later versions of BAYKO Ornamental Additions Sets had all White Pillars rather than half Red and half White.

Uniquely, the Ornamental Additions Sets did not include an instruction manual. Yes, I do know that conversion sets generally didn't include manuals [except set #3X]…

They were, however, first mentioned in the second style of BAYKO manual…

Just a quick environmental reality check. Nothing better demonstrates the lack of green credentials [despite their colour!] of the original BAYKO Roofs than these sets. Without the Roofs [and marketing constraints!] the total contents, even of Ornamental Additions Set C, would have fit easily into a couple of small margarine tubs, massively reducing its carbon footprint.