Merit racing car kits

Several generations of British children during the 1940s-70s would have woken up on Christmas morning to find a toy or game with the name Merit on it. The diverse range of products made by J and L Randall Limited of Potters Bar covered anything from stationary steam engines to board games for all the family. Who can remember the Magic Robot who could point to the right answer in a quiz, or the Driving Test game, similarly worked by the use of magnets? More studious youngsters would have preferred to experiment with a chemistry set, and Randall’s made these, too.

Merit was also an early entrant into the plastic assembly kit market. For their time these were surprisingly accurate models, and the most soughtafter are a 14-strong series of 1:24-scale racing cars. In the post-war years, Italy dominated motor sport and Merit’s choice of cars included the Maserati 250F and 4CLT. Like most toy manufacturers, though, Merit was fiercely patriotic and its range also included the Vanwall, Lotus Eleven, Aston Martin DB3S, Jaguar D-type, Cooper 500 MkIX and even the BRM Type 25. Two of the kits – the Alfa Romeo 158 and Lago Talbot (sic) – were issued as Superkits with engine detail, and the tooling for these was later used by a Czech company called Smer that, some

60 years later, still lists them as being available.

The Smer reissues are ideal for those who want to have a go at building the kits; but if it’s collectability that you’re after, look for an original ’50s unbuilt issue, boxed and with the original instructions and transfer sheet intact. Some purists will even want the little rubbery capsule of glue that came with many kits in those days.

These kits won’t be cheap, at £25 to £50 each, but they can still be found – and few period toys are as successful at recapturing the excitement of post-war motor racing.