Meccano Super Models

In the spring of 2003 I had decided to return to building super models, but it was imperative that the next one be less expansive than the dragline due to space limitations in my Meccano room. After browsing through the book "The Meccano Supermodels" I saw a model which I wished to build. I began gathering parts from my storage cabinet, but noticed that I hadn't enough, so I made a list of the shortages and ordered them. In spite of the shortages, I began building the model, but after completing the wagon was forced to suspend building as I needed some of the missing parts to proceed. I used the time waiting for my order to arrive to refurbish some very old Meccano parts by stripping off the old paint and repainting them with spray paint. Furthermore, I built the models from sets #9550 and #7080. But when the ordered parts arrived, I was able to proceed with building the super model, a very pleasurable matter indeed.

This is the wagon without the crane. The axle rod going through the boss of the gearwheel #27b is used as the drive shaft for four of the eight wheels. The gearwheel is used as the lower plate in the bearing #168, instead of part #168b. A pinion #26 drives this gearwheel and thus provides the slewing function of the crane.

The outriggers are not built as described in the leaflet. I noticed when building these outriggers that they did not move in and out smoothly, so I looked for a better solution. I found it using an angle bracket #12 and a strip #6a, as can be seen in this photo. This is a view from below.

The suspension for the bogies is on both ends of the axle rods built from two strips #5 and one strip #6, all stacked and mounted straddling the axle rod. To the centre hole of the strips #5 is fixed a collar #59, which carries the axle rods through its centre bore. Also visible in this photo is one of the two hand wheels used to operate the brakes, which are mounted on four of the eight wheels. Braking is accomplished by turning the hand wheel.

One of these two levers controls the hoisting and lowering and luffing of the jib, while the other is for driving the wagon and swivelling the crane. The two levers at the left in the background are the brake handles, and keep the jib and the hook in their place. On the right is the steam boiler on which a manometer is represented by a pulley #23b, and a water gauge built from an axle rod #18a and two handrail supports #136.

The gearbox is kept very simple and at its core is a main axle driven directly by the motor. This axle rod carries the pinions #26 which mesh with gears #27a which provide the hoisting, luffing, driving, and swivelling via the various control levers.

Because I haven't got a pulley #152 as indicated in the leaflet, I built one up myself using two flat trunnions #126a, two pulleys #23b, six spacers #38a, four washers #38, and one hook #57a.
The control unit is mounted on the model, but it is not operational i.e. it is not connected. The reason is that I was unable to use a small piece of resistance wire to lower the voltage to the 12V required by the motor.
The complete model, of course, has a roof, but to play with the model it is advisable if not necessary to remove the roof to allow access to the controls.