Meccano

Meccano had the tag line - "your hobby is for a lifetime" and for many it was. It was always rewarding, but a lot more work than Lego - Today we take a nostalgic look at Meccano. For over 100 years it's been around pleasing sons and fathers alike. But how did it all start. Initially "Mechanics Made Easy" was a model construction kit consisting of perforated metal strips, metal plates and girders, shaft collars and axles for mechanisms and motion, and nuts and bolts to connect the pieces in 1901 by Frank Hornby. By 1908 Frank Hornby registered the Meccano trade mark, and formed Meccano Ltd.


Every school boy is familiar with the Meccano sets and how they were numbered. Initial sets were numbered 1 to 6. Meccano Set 7 was released a few years later. Of course Meccano was often the boys alternative to Lego. more pricey but certainly more manly.

Frank Hornby is still associated with Meccano all these years later and enthusiasts worldwide have formed many clubs and websites. Newsagents still have magazines on shelf's such as Constructor Quarterly, The International Meccanoman and the ModelPlans series of instructions. Most fathers normally will find at least one occasion to buy and build a Meccano set with their sons.

Kojak Detective Game

Kojak board game by arrow games ltd - This has to be the worst bored - sorry i mean "board" game ever. the game play was minimal. In fact as with most board games that are churned out a factory with a popular TV show attached to it, it is no more than the same game repackaged and popularised for the fleeting moment. Who loves you baby? You may ask!


The game was for 8 years and up. It was based on the streets of Manhattan, New York. 4 detectives competing to make the most arrests in the Manhattan South precinct as they try to solve 4 crimes. A crude roll & move game has cars moving round the track, collecting Contact Cards, Trap Cards, Warrant Cards by making exact rolls onto certain squares. Kojak board game by arrow games ltd was no more than a case of getting your assignment with a Contact Card, move a car into the right car park for surveillance, move the criminal into the red space using Trap Cards and book 'em Stavros. For 1975 this game was pretty poor.

Kojak was a very popular cop detective show in the seventies. Most will remember Telly Savalas who played Kojak due to his incredibly bald head. Any kid at school who stuck a half football on there head was Kojak as was any guy loosing his hair. Kojak also had the problem of smoking in early episodes, which wasn't great for kids as they also needed something to stick in there mouths. The answer was a lollipop. I think we had one called a traffic light lollipop, as it started off red and then went to amber and finally green. Now our lungs were safe and our teeth could rot!

So what else sis the Kojak game have about it. It was so forgettable that if anyone else has any memories, then let us know by posting a comment below.