Editing Meccano (section)

=== Meccano becomes independent ===

In 1985, General Mills left the toy business completely, selling off their toy divisions. Meccano was sold out to a French accountant, Marc Rebibo, and, once again, all existing Meccano sets were scrapped. The "Meccano Junior" sets were replaced with three "Premier Meccano" sets and two "Motor" sets (including a six-speed motor) were introduced. Due to high demand, the old Meccano No.1 to No.10 construction sets from 1981 were re-introduced.

In 1989, Marc Rebibo sold what remained of Meccano to Dominique Duvauchelle. [[Hex key|Allen head]] zinc plated steel bolts replaced the original slot-headed brass-plated bolts and the "Plastic Meccano Junior" sets were brought back. With younger model builders in mind, many theme sets were also introduced, including the "Construction and Agricultural" 200-Series & 300-Series, the "Space" 100-Series, and the "Dynamic" 400-Series minisets. The old-style No. 5 to 10 sets remained in production until 1992.

In 1994, additional theme sets were introduced and a [[Pullback motor|pull-back friction motor]] was added to the Plastic Meccano System. In 1996, "Action Control" sets with [[infrared]] controls were added and 1999 saw the introduction of a "Motion System" range of sets that changed the look of Meccano completely. There were six one-model sets, two five-model sets, and five new sets numbered 10 to 50, the 20 to 50 sets being motorised. A complete change from the normal practice (sticking to a single majority colour) was that every set had its own colour scheme, often in bright neon colours.

In 2000, Nikko, a Japanese toy manufacturer, purchased 49 per cent of Meccano and took on its marketing internationally through its established channels for radio-controlled toys. Development and design remained with Meccano SN, based in [[Calais]], France. Nikko launched a successful range of new sets, including "Crazy Inventors" and the "Future Master" range. Significantly, Nikko radio control and programmable electronics started to appear in the System. However, under commercial pressure, Nikko sold its interest in the Meccano name and System back to Meccano SN, the French parent company, in August 2007.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/12038966 Meccano revives French production] ''[[BBC News]]'' 24 December 2010</ref> During 2013, the Meccano brand was acquired in its entirety by the Canadian toy company [[Spin Master]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Strauss|first=Marina|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/spin-master-acquires-iconic-meccano-in-bid-to-take-on-lego/article13746703/|title=Spin Master acquires iconic Meccano in bid to take on Lego|work=[[Globe & Mail]]|date=13 August 2013|access-date=25 February 2014 }}</ref>

[[file:Modern Meccano .jpg|thumb|Modern Meccano and its tools]]

Meccano today is very different from its heyday in the 1930s to 1950s. The target market of youngsters has not changed significantly; however, the mass market, instant-appeal approach does not always satisfy serious Meccano enthusiasts. For example, it is often difficult to obtain original spares.

Many parts were introduced since the Liverpool factory closed under the French-and-Japanese running of the company. These included plastic parts, can motors, and modern battery holders. Metal became an expensive raw material to work with and many of the metal parts were replaced with plastic parts. Allen (hex-headed) zinc electroplated steel bolts replaced the slotted bolts.

Original specialist parts, such as very long (up to {{convert|2|ft|1|adj=on}}) angle girders, loom shuttles, printing rollers, etc. often required for large Super Models are becoming more difficult to obtain. There are replica manufacturers who satisfy the needs of enthusiasts who wish to build models requiring these parts.

What has remained the same during all these years is the [[Imperial unit|Imperial]] {{convert|1/2|in|1}} perforation spacing and the {{convert|5/32|in|1}} inch [[British Standard Whitworth|whitworth thread]] for nuts and bolts (and other threaded parts). These unchanged standards and complete interchangeability of parts results in many modern models functioning perfectly with Meccano components that are more than 100 years old and vice versa. Indeed, old and new parts can be intermixed with impunity, the only problem being the odd mixture of colour schemes.