Merit

Merit was a company that made model railway accessories for years in the UK. They had a wide range of subjects and even made a few buildings in kit form. I don't know if they were related in any way to the firm that made 1/48th scale aircraft kits. They seemed to fade out of sight several years ago and I assumed they had gone out of business but their accessories started appearing in the local model shop again a few years ago. I see them from time to time although I haven't seen all the sets that they used to do.

Their stuff was generally pretty good and included useful subjects, like oxygen and acetylene bottles, oil drums, packing cases and barrels, that weren't easy to find elsewhere. Their other great virtue was that their stuff was cheap!

Their subjects were always based on British originals but some would be anonymous enough for general use. Most were in polythene and self coloured or partly painted.

Gordon McLaughlin