CASH IN THE ATTIC

EVERY week we give the low-down on the value of forgotten treasures that may be gathering dust at home.

A MECCANO ‘Motor Car Constructor’ kit from 1932 complete with instructions and box was recently valued at £600 – but some sets can go for thousands of pounds.

Invented in 1901 as ‘Mechanics Made Easy’, it was renamed Meccano seven years later – to sound like the educational phrase ‘Make and Know’.

A Meccano ‘Outfit No10’ from 1937, below, in original green enamelled wooden cabinet sold for £1,450 last year. It contains dozens of parts to build toys including cars and planes.

But a later No10 set from 1939 with extra accessories that enable owners to add more elaborate finishing touches when building vehicles and working cranes, can sell for £2,000 or more.

Meccano car kits of this era often included electric motors, a clutch, three-speed gearboxes, suspension and working brakes.

The firm was started by Frank Hornby in Liverpool – inspired when staring out of an office window at a crane.