Page created September 04 2016 Revised 12/01/17

This is the second model I have built using my 1930 number 7 set I keep in Oshawa, Canada. Again not a very ambitious model but one I think with a lot of charm and with a real vintage feel also given the limited time on my hands for model building on holiday. This one is from the 1931 Instructions for outfits 00 to 4 the model is 4.43 Motor Breakdown crane.The model is an improved version of one going back many years before this version was published. Meccano clearly thought it a popular as it re-appered in 1934 using the new blue and gold parts with the structure filled in with flexible plates, I must build that too it would make a nice companion to this model. I built the model much as the brief instructions and two pictures indicated although I did not make the crane rotate, did they on Breakdown Cranes? and Hey! I did not want to scratch the resprayed p/n 52 it was to rotate upon. After the model was completed I was once again very pleased with it and thought how good it looked in the old red and green parts. Its amazing how similar they are to the post war green parts although the red is a much deeper crimson shade rather similar to the engine colours of the LMS Railway. Note how nice those 86 year old tyres are and how good the shiny parts and brassware are too. Part of the original instructions are shown below. I built another version of this model back in 2003 using older nickle and red parts click here.