MCS  DATABASE  2004  compiled by Tony Knowles

 

GENERAL

      The Database parameters are those that have been found to be most useful, and they have been taken from MCS, OSN, and other sources. Where possible dimensions have been checked by actual measurements, but even then it should be remembered that they have often come from a single sample. Variations may also be found from wear, manufacturing tolerances, or changes deliberately made by the manufacturer at different times.

      The sort is alphabetical, with COMMENTS opposite each entry that contain additional information, and notes that may help to bring the system to mind.

      In order to get all the information across one page opening, many abbreviations (codes) have been used. These, which sometimes vary from column to column, are shown in lettered groups below. Where abbreviations are used in a column, the appropriate group letter is shown at the head of the column. The only exceptions to this are the narrow columns that separate the main columns. They are normally empty but sometimes house the abbreviations given in Codes A - these have the same meaning in all the 'narrow' columns, and they always relate to the entry on their immediate left.

      Except in the DATES column one or more hyphens (-- for example) indicate that the feature doesn't exist in that system. Blank spaces show where data are lacking.

 

NOTES ON THE COLUMNS

REF (Reference Codes) These are used mainly to help in moving from one page to the opposite one, but also sometimes to save space under COMMENTS.

NAME  The names of the systems generally follow MCS practice except that Cyrillics have been transliterated. MCS is not entirely consistent in that sometimes the maker's name is given followed by the name of the system, and sometimes one or other is used on its own. Partly because of this some cross- referencing has been included, particularly where there are differences between the names in the /NZ & /FB versions of MCS. MCS names that are not used are still included but with no details, and the new Name is shown in the Comments column. Where different names have been used for one system, in different markets for example, or in the same market for bilingual sets, all the names that are known are listed, but the full details may only be included once, with cross-references to & from the alternative names.

Mfr (Manufacturer) This column needs completing but the intention is to give the manufacturer if more than one system has come from the same maker, or, in some cases, where a system has been made by more than one company. Codes used so far are at 'B'.

TYPE (of System)  Each type of system is allocated a two-letter codes from List ‘C’, using the priorities given in OSN 4/72. A second code can be used to allow cross-referencing, but so far this has only been employed to a limited extent.

CY (Country)  ‘D’ Codes. This is the country of the company that made the system itself or who had it made for it, unless the name was changed for a specific market. Thus STEEL TEC, though made in China, is listed under U.S.A. because REMCO is an American company; and BUILD-X, though the parts were MERKUR, is Canadian because the name was
used only in Canada.

-DATES- (Manufactured From---To)  The two Years are shown by their last two digits, spaced apart by 3 hyphens. They are followed by any necessary qualifying Codes ('E'), which for the start year supplant one or more of the hyphens. To avoid confusion, 20^th century years through 1905 are in italics. End dates in particular are often uncertain because products were in the shops well after production ceased.

Matl (Material) This shows (Codes 'F') the main materials from which systems are made; brassware or a few plastic parts are not noted.

THREAD  This column is the thread of the Nuts & Bolts. Common abbreviations are used rather than Codes, and examples are shown at 'G'.

BS (Boss) - THREAD   Codes for the types of boss are given at 'H' The threads used in the tapped holes in bosses are again at 'G'.

DP (Diametral Pitch)  The value given, to nearest integer, is for straight gears. The corresponding value of the Module is usually given under COMMENTS if it looks as if it was the original parameter.

Parts (No of different parts in a system)  Tools are counted, except special tools in DIY sets, but not literature. Where a system existed over a long period of time, all different parts are included in the entry, even if they were not all current together.

Pitch (Hole pitch)   Given in mm, see Codes 'I'.

dST, dBS, DAXL  dST is the i/d of holes in Strips or the nearest part if a Strip wasn't available to be measured. dBS is the diameter of the bore of bosses, but is not given for 'eyelet' bosses unless the internal diameter is inappropriate to the size of the Axle. DAXL is the o/d of Axle Rods. All values are in mm with normally 1,1,2 decimal places respectively. Fewer places denote poor information, often MCS gives nominal sizes. 'm' after any of these values, & after the hole Pitch, indicates that the total variation found was more than .1mm (.05 for DAXL), and a mean value has been given. (dBS was often quoted to 2 decibel places in earlier editions of this Database, but the variations often found, & the difficulty of measuring bores accurately, did not justify continuing such precision for new entries.)

     A ‘t’ in the narrow column after DAXL indicates the use of Threaded Rods as axles in the system, with, unless otherwise noted under COMMENTS, the same thread as the N&B.

NB  N is the shape of the Nut, B that of the Bolt head - see 'J' Codes.

MF  M and F are the material and finish of the Nut and Bolt, as given by Codes 'F'.

A/F  The size of the nut across flats in mm, see Codes 'K'.

DHD  The diameter of bolt head in mm (or A/F for hexagonal heads).

COMMENTS  Most of the abbreviations used are in Codes 'L.' Some others from Codes A-K also occur and their meaning should be obvious from the context.

MORE INFORMATION PLEASE

There are many gaps in the Database & if you have any information on any of them, or spot any errors, please let me know. Equally suggestions for improvements in the layout, & any other comments, will be welcome.

 

 

CODES

 

Codes ‘A’ (for narrow columns after each entry)

*   means see note under COMMENTS on the right- hand page. With more than one * on a line, the notes are in order.

?   some significant doubt

+   more than

a   approximately

e   estimated

k   known

m  mean

p   probably

t  Screwed Rods are used as axles (only after DAXL).

w  hole pitch, only for holes in wheels or discs, e.g. in some DIY systems.

x  multiples of value shown, including half.

Codes ‘B’  (Makers)

AK  August Kirchhoff

BM  British Metal

BR  Braglia

BU  Butcher

CK  Construction (later Eitech)

EP  Epoch Co.

FA  FALT

FL  Fleischmann

GB  Gabriel Erector

GE  Gédé

GT  Gilbert Erector

HU  Hustler Toy Co.

HW  Hans Wünsch

ID   Ideal Erector

JP  Jouets de Paris

KM  Keim & Co.

KO  Kosmos

KR  Krause & Co.

MA  Märklin

MC  Meccano

MD  Martinaud

ME  Merkur

MF  Meccano-France

MK  Markes & Co.

MR  Mercator

MT  Metalcraft

MU  Meccano USA

PH  Philips

PL  Polylong

RI   Richter

SK  Stockmann

TE  Temsi

TR  Trix

WA  Walther

WK  Wilhelm Kraus

WS  Wisdom

Codes ‘C’  (Types)

AR  Certain Argentinean

AS  Aerospace

BD  Buildings

BX  BAUFIX type

CH  Certain Chinese

CK  as CONSTRUCTION

CR  Road vehicles

DK  as DINKY BUILDER

DY  DIY type

ER   ERECTOR type

ES  Electrical/science

HA  Certain Hungarian

PR  Professional type

LG   Hole pitch >12.7mm

MA  MÄRKLIN type

MB  Matchbox & similar

MC  MECCANO

ME  MERKUR type

ML  Very like Meccano

MM  MC & MA features

MP  Meccano principle but significant differences

NM   Non-Meccano type

OO  Not enough data to classify

PH  PHILIPS type

RT  Mainly Rods/Tubes

SM  Hole pitch <12.7mm

ST  STABIL type

TR  as TRIX (inc MCX)

UK  Certain UK

Codes ‘D’  (Country)

AL  Australia

AR  Argentina

AS  Austria

BE  Belgium

BS   Belarus

BU  Bulgaria

BZ  Brazil

CA  Canada

CL  Chile

CN  China

CO  Colombia

CZ  Czechoslovkia or Czech Republic

DE  Denmark

ES  Estonia

FI   Finland

FR  France

GE  Germany (GEE if made in GDR)

GR  Greece

HK  Hong Kong

HU  Hungary

IC  Iceland

IN  India

IS  Israel

IT  Italy

KO  Korea

JA  Japan

ME  Mexico

NE  Netherlands

NO  Norway

NZ  New Zealand

PO  Poland

RH  Rhodesia

RO  Romania

RS  Russia

SA  South Africa

SD  Sweden

SL  Slovenia

SP  Spain

SW  Switzerland

TA  Taiwan

UK  UK

UN  Ukraine

UR  Uraguay

US  USA

YU  Yugoslavia

VE  Venezuela

Codes ‘E’  (Dates)

Examples:

20a = after 1920

20b = before 1920

20c = circa 1920

20k = known in 1920

20l, 20m, 20e = late, mid, early 1920s

20s = 1920s

W1,2 = WW1,2

95+ = production in 1995, & continuing at that time as far as is known.

p or ? after any of the above, as in Codes A.

Codes ‘F’   (Material/Finish)

a  [spare]

b  buff

c  rubber

d  see end *

e  grey

f  [spare]

g  green

h  white

i  [spare]

j  cream

k  black

l  see end *

m  see end *

n  brown

o  orange

p  plastic

q  card

r  red

s  silver

t  stone

u  blue

v  various colours

w  wood

x  gold

y  yellow

z  transparent

A  Aluminium (Alloy)

B  Brass

C  Copper

D  Dull plated

E  Grey metallic

F  Steel

G  Green metallic

H  White metallic

I  Iridescent

J  Brown metallic

K  Black metallic

L  Metal

M  Chrome plated

N  Nickel plated

O  Orange metallic

P  Bright plated

Q  Bright Zinc plated

R  Red metallic

S  [spare]

T  Tin plated

U  Blue metallic

V  Various

W  [spare]

X  Gold metallic

Y  Yellow metallic

Z  Zinc (Alloy)

* l, m, d  preceding colour means light, medium, or dark. Eg.  lr = light red.

Codes ‘G’  (Threads)

Examples:

6BA

1/8W = 1/8" BSW

8-32 = diameter code – tpi (as used in USA)

M4 = 4mm dia metric

4x.8 = dia x pitch(mm)

5/32x40 = dia" x tpi.

a  after any = approx.

(details of threads are given in OSN 7/169)

Codes ‘H’   (Bosses)

b separate threaded boss

c  collet fixing

d  double-tapped

e  eyelet

k  key fixing

o  not tapped

p  push fit

t   tapped

s  single-tapped

-  no boss

Codes ‘I’  (Hole Pitch)

Lg, Sh,  value not known but >, < 12.7mm.

Var   variable.

w after: in Wheel or Disc.

Codes ‘J’ (N&B)

A  cheese with slight taper & rounding.

B  button

C  cheese

D  dome

F  fillister

H  hexagonal

K  countersunk

M  mush

P  pan

R  round

S  square

T  tapered cheese

V  various

U  truss

W  wing

Lower case letters are used for crosshead Bolts; and underlined lower case for Bolts with a recess for a key, with or without a screwdriver slot.

Codes ‘K’ (Nut size)

If exact size unknown:

L = large like MÄRKLIN

S = small like MECCANO #37c

Codes ‘L’ (Comments)

AB   Angle Bracket

abt   about

A/C   Aircraft

AG   Angle Girder

al   light alloy

ald   instead of

alt   alternate

brkt   bracket(s)

bs   boss(es)

c   circa

cat   catalogue(s)

cf   compare with

CL   centre line

cren   crenellated

ctr   centre(s)

d, dia   diameter

DAS   Double Angle Strip

diff   different

d/t   double tapped

e   early, earlier

est   estimated

exc   excluding

fl(gd)   flange(d)(s)

F/Pl(ate)   Flanged Plate

fr   from

h   hole(s)

hd   head(s)

id   inside diameter

ill   illustrat(ed)(ion)

inc   including

k   known

l, lg   long(er), large(r)

lt   light

man   manual

mkd   marked

ML   MECCANO-like

od   outside diameter

pat   patent

perf   perforated

p, plas   plastic

p-f   push fit

pl   plate(s)

P/Pl(ate)   Perf. Plate

PL   parts list

ply   pulley(s)

PN   part no.

poss   possible

prob   probably

pt   part(s)

qqf   sometimes

rd   round(ed), road

SAS   Single Angle Strip

sf   except

sim   similar

sl   slight(ly)

sltd   slotted

sm   small(er)

sp   hole pitch, spoke(s)

sp, spec    special

Spkt   Sprocket

sq   square

ss   without

s/t   single tapped

std   standard

str   strip(s)

thrd   thread(ed)(s)

Trun(s)   Trunnion(s)

typ   typical

var   various

vert   vertical

w   with

whl   wheel(s)

W/P   Wheel/Pulley

+    plus

>   up to

MECCANO PNs are used to describe parts, so a 126 is a Trunnion & 126,a is a Trunnion & Flat Trunnion. These PNs are also used to describe modified parts, thus a 7h 126,a means a Trunnion & Flat Trunnion but with holes replacing the cut-outs.