Wes Dalefield - Meccano Biography:
My
first introduction to Meccano was in 1961 on my seventh birthday when my father
gave me an outfit 3. I still remember it as a light green and red outfit in a
yellow styrene pressed plastic inner in a cardboard carton. The parts where held
in place with green and red headed pins. The 3A up until 6A followed on
Christmases and my birthdays to make up an outfit 7. This was the largest outfit
that could be purchased in New Zealand at the time because of import
restrictions. My father also repainted his Meccano and then gave it to me. After
that he bought parts for me at one of the local motorcycle dealers, Pink and
Collison. Oh the frustration. We could never buy the parts that I wanted though.
The highlight for me was the Elektrikit set that I was given. I built most of
the models in the manual and it was a good introduction to electricity and
magnetism.
This frustrated childhood required therapy. So after I got
married I finally built the models that I wanted to build such as the
blocksetting crane and the walking dragline with the help of MW Models.
Fortunately I met up with John Ince who introduced me to Bruce Geange and things
lead on to the Manawatu-Wanganui-Taranaki Meccano Club. Here I met many
wonderful Meccano folk and still keep in contact with them.
My wife’s work has meant that we have had to move around
the world several times. In fact my blocksetting crane, which I have never taken
apart, must be one of the most travelled Meccano models in the world. Every time
I have moved I have got the movers to make a special set of boxes for it.
Fortunately I have been able to keep in touch with other Meccano enthusiasts
through the Internet. I have also kept in contact with New Zealand by creating
and editing the NZFMM website.
I soon realised that I could never be a collector moving
around so much so I started, with a lot of help from Roland Jaggard in the UK, a
collection of images of various sets from Binns Road. This continues to grow.
www.dalefield.com/nzfmm/slap/index.html
