CONDOR Costruzioni meccaniche - Tin toy - Condor n.6 anni '60 - 1960-1970 - Italy

Meccano Condor Mechanical Constructions set No. 6 from the 1960s.
As is known, Condor Mechanical Constructions was one of the most complete and well-made Italian competitors to Meccano Ltd Liverpool.
Condor was a Milan-based company specialized in producing packaging for pharmaceutical products. In the 1950s it acquired Disco Ludendo, a historic toy manufacturer dating back to the 1930s.
Disco Ludendo produced sets from No. 00 to No. 4.
Condor renumbered its production from set 1 to set 7 in the 1950s.
In the early 1970s the range was restructured from 1 to 8; however sets 1‑2‑3 remained practically identical. Sets 5‑6‑7 became respectively 6‑7‑8.
There was therefore only one modification in sets 4 and 5 (and the consequent 3A and 4A).
Condor was clearly a clone of Meccano, with the advantage of costing less, not least due to lower transport/import costs; all the parts are copied from Meccano (the coding and numbering of the parts appear different and original), and yet the parts are very well made, some almost superior to the English parts, and the green, red, and blue paintwork is excellent. The zinc plating/nickel plating of strips and angles appears to be less good. Some rare parts are of original design, such as the rails No. 40-40a–40b.
What is entirely missing in Condor’s production are the large Meccano parts, such as 167, 168, 145, 143, 118, 146, and the rail-specific parts 120, 121, 149, 158.
Compatibility with Meccano is total, since everything is based on the 1/2 inch module.
Regarding the packaging: the box is wooden with four shelves (three plus the bottom), sturdy but rather rough plywood, not treated in any way. There is no trace of the handles and lock with key that Meccano sets had, whose wood was a more precious and finished oak (with dove-tail corners). The parts are fixed to yellow cardboard sheets by clips (Meccano, at least up to 1961, still tied the individual parts with green and red cord).
This No. 6 set from the 1960s is complete. The wooden box is in excellent condition. And all the perforated yellow card inserts and all the fastening clips are present as well.
In conclusion, it is a set suitable for Builders who demand undistorted parts in excellent/good condition, but also for Meccano collectors who want to supplement their collection with a good piece from a historic Italian company.
The manual for No. 6 is present, as is a rare Disco Ludendo manual, undated but datable to the 1930s/1940s.
The box measures 40.5 x 31.5 x 10.3 cm and weighs 5.25 kg without packaging.
Therefore international shipping costs are not negligible."