Hi, I'm Pete Bradley, A.K.A. “The BAYKO Man”. Welcome to my BAYKO web site - www.baykoman.com - the world's biggest and brightest BAYKO website! I hope that you enjoy the comprehensive [what do you mean obsessive‽] yet lighthearted approach I've striven to achieve in this labour of love, which I hope you will enjoy and revisit regularly! |
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This web site is dedicated to all things BAYKO. |
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BAYKO, the world's first [and finest!] plastic construction toy, was produced in Liverpool between 1933 and 1967 [exactly the middle third of the 20th century] though the first, and last three years were restricted. The earliest sets were called BAYKO Light Constructional Sets - a harmless [shameless‽] pun on the BAKELITE from which most of the parts were made. |
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I've tried to be as accurate as I can, hopefully without being pedantic, but I will always welcome any arguments, comments, criticisms, corrections, disagreements, or praise[‽] coupled with, of course, any new BAYKO-related information you may have to share - with full attribution, of course. |
I plan to continue to update the site regularly so I believe it'll be well worth your making more than one visit, after all there are already : - |
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► well over 500,000 words… |
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► on not far off 500 pages… |
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► with around 5,000 images… |
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► plus ALL 59 BAYKO manuals - fully animated! |
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I hope that you will enjoy your visit to www.baykoman.com and that you return "many a time and oft" and also tell your friends [BAYKO or sadly, BAYKO-free!] about the site and, of course, about BAYKO. |
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The photo [left] shows me at the ripe old age of 2 - I think… |
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…my mother agreed and said it was taken in Morecambe in 1952! |
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It's good to see such an early example of my incurable [who wants a cure‽] addiction to ice cream, which clearly pre-dates my [benign‽] addiction to BAYKO… |
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…my first BAYKO set didn't arrive until I'd reached the venerable age of 6! |
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I'm a collector not a dealer [you'll find links to some excellent dealers elsewhere on the site - left hand panel, green section "Links"] so I'm always keen to acquire more BAYKO, particularly pre-war items rescued from your attic or cellar. |
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I can offer a good home to your BAYKO! |
I'm more than happy to provide mutual links to sites run by other BAYKO collectors and, of course, there is already a link to the BAYKO Collectors Club website, which I thoroughly recommend. |
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I welcome mutual web links [clubs, individuals or museums] supporting any construction or related toys. |
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I'm happy to help with publicity for exhibitions in which BAYKO or other construction toys will be featured. |
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All you've got to do is let me know… |
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I've a large collection of BAYKO models, sets, literature, even packaging, and enjoy attending both the BAYKO Collectors Club meetings and the occasional exhibitions… |
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…it gives me a chance to talk about my favourite subject! |
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Now that KELLOGG's have long since signed my release papers, [Hooray!!!] I'm free to attend exhibitions, around the country, much more frequently. |
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On a personal note I'd like to register my thanks, both in recognition, and in anticipation, of people who make direct contributions to the site. |
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I've been able to identify a source of 1-metre and 2-metre long replica BAYKO rods of the correct gauge to help you build larger models - there's no excuse now for not having a go!!! |
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You can click on almost all the images on the site to show a larger, more detailed version. You can then choose either to close the larger images with the green button provided, or simply wait and let them self-close, which they will do after 2 minutes. |
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If you enjoy the site, why not add it to your list of favourites? Click here to add BAYKO by THE BAYKO MAN to your favourites. I wish you many happy returns!!! |
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I've tried to make navigation around the site quite simple. |
You can use the left hand panel at any time to move around the site. |
You can then use the table of related links at the foot of most pages - below a panel like this - to find out more about any particular topic. |
Or you may just like to check out the baykoman.com ‘ABOUT’ page. |
Now it's up to you - I hope you enjoy both BAYKO and my web site!!! |