A Better Incentive

Meccano competitions are a growth industry.  Most clubs have one or two, exhibitions have their own, and this year two new international competitions have appeared, both offering substantial prizes.  Competition is running into competition.

Names and reputations are made by winning competitions, one's name engraved on the Issigonis Shield being Meccano's ultimate apotheosis.  So, does the roll of competition winners fairly reflect the achievements of all Meccano modellers?  I think not.  Although their rules may emphasise different aspects of Meccano modelling, competitions take a blinkered view, confined to the entries that year in that competition.  Take Bob Brooker, for years the star of exhibitions, with barely a trophy to his name.  Or purist Mike Brammer, arguably the UK's finest Meccano engineer, but unknown outside the MMG.  They, and many like them, have steadily advanced the frontiers of Meccano without formal recognition or reward.  Other than by the haphazard lottery that competitions are, the movement has no means of bestowing it.

We have enough competitions now.  What is needed is a forum for judging a modeller's whole oeuvre.  The Society of Advanced Meccano Constructors assessed eligibility for membership by studying the candidate's last ten models, or photographs of them.  Decisions were made, at leisure, by a panel of experts.  Such a system should be available to all.  The award, whether prize, order of merit, distinction or qualification would carry real prestige, and be the best incentive of all to keep up the good work.