BAYKO Sets #0 and #1 Instruction Manual -
1946 - 8 Page Version

This is the earliest version of the post-war Instruction Manual which was produced by Plimpton, in 1946, for the first post-war BAYKO sets and is shown courtesy of Chris Boutal.

It is also possible that this was used as an export version to support Plimpton's assault on the global construction toy market.

Whatever its exact intended use, we should remember the severe climate of austerity and the very real post-war material shortages which prevailed at the time this manual was produced. This lead to some difficult sourcing decisions, creating a fairly chaotic situation, printwise, with set contents being printed on separate sheets, and, again, a separate “How to Build with BAYKO” leaflet.

This manual comprises just 8 pages, printed in red and black on white, gloss paper, with a full colour cover.

The first three pages and page five of this manual [below] were replicated exactly in the subsequent sixteen page version.

In the following version, page 4 [below] is almost identical, except that the later version includes a table explaining the meaning of the abbreviations used on the model plans, the lower central plan having been raised slightly to accommodate it.

Pages six and seven are both unique to this manual, though the models depicted do appear in later manuals.

At first sight, the last page appears identical to the last page of the subsequent sixteen page version, apart from the page number. However, for some inexplicable reason either the heading has been moved five millimetres [0.2 inches] to the left, or the body of the page to the right. This is not simple colour registration, as the black part of the heading has also moved. Interestingly, the photographs of BAYKO models shown include pre-war Large bases and Wall Capping - in a post-war manual remember!!!

Size 220mm x 140mm = 8.6 x 5.5 inches.

If you would like to see the manual hot off the press, as it were…