In the 1950s it was a case of saving pocket money and then going to the corner shop to buy a few spare parts of BAYKO. The shop window showed a large model of a BAYKO country club. One could only look at it with envy!
When the production of BAYKO stopped in the early 1970s, it became necessary to rely on newspaper adverts and toy fairs for building up and expanding collections of BAYKO.
Then in the early 1990s, a few of us who had met at toy fairs formed the Bayko Collectors' Club which has expanded and flourished ever since.
Limited amounts of BAYKO are available ouside of the UK, mainly in countries with historical British connections. However BAYKOSHOP is now able to help overseas collectors by supplying a wide range of sets and spare parts, all of which have been carefully checked to ensure quality and completeness of the sets. This avoids the all too frequent problems which can arise from buying an incomplete set and not being able to complete the building of a model because of missing parts. That is when we can help.
These pages show only a small selection of what we have available. We are currently downsizing one of the largest BAYKO collections which includes pre-war parts and sets and also shop dealers cabinets.
We have collections of other construction toys such as Arkitex, Cliki, Minibrix and Meccano.
BAYKO stands out as a construction toy that combines plastic and metal components. It was originally designed to create a wide range of structures, from houses and churches to railway buildings, for intricate train layouts. What started as a child's plaything has now garnered a global community of adult enthusiasts who appreciate its unique features.
Innovative Design by Plimpton
BAYKO was invented by Charles Plimpton, who wanted to pioneer the use of Bakelite plastic for building models. The system revolved around strategically placing plastic bricks, windows, and doors using metal rods inserted into rows of holes within a plastic base structure. To further enhance the buildings, floors made of paper/phenolic resin industrial laminate material were added, followed by plastic roofs and chimneys to finish the structures.
Evolution of BAYKO
Originally, the pre-war BAYKO sets featured brown and dark green parts, along with cream-coloured components made from aminoplastic thermosetting molding compounds due to the colour restrictions of Bakelite. The development of resins by Bakelite Ltd. and British Industrial Plastics Ltd. led to the introduction of lighter shades like red, orange, and pale green.
Sources of Inspiration for BAYKO Models
Charles Plimpton's original designs appear to have been influenced by the 1920s and 1930s designs of houses in the town of Wallasey where he lived. The town hall, shown inside the cover of the instruction manual, is similar in appearance to Wallasey town hall. The designs were hardly altered for many years until the business was acquired by Hornby who made changes, following the establishment of "Meccano Bayko" with flat roof and roof end systems and all of the parts produced by injection moulding of polystyrene. Some new models were introduced but the choice of yellow as the colour for doors and windows did not appeal to everyone. On the other hand, the red pantile roofs in Sets 14C and 15 are particularly attractive.