This model of an early nineteen fifties Isetta bubble car was originally published in the October 1957 French edition of the Meccano Magazine. The first page of the instructions is shown on the right, the full instructions can be down loaded from Rémi's Meccano Pages

I thought it was a rather cute little model and would be great fun to build, in doing so I followed the original design but made some changes to the construction method and details. Like all Meccano plans there is always room for changes and improvements. The parts I used are are 1978 yellow plates and zinc parts. The front tyres are modern French products. The model is driven by an early nineteen fifties Meccano "Magic" clockwork motor, this powers the Isetta along at a reasonable speed.

These small "Bubble" cars were popular in the "post war" period in Europe, they were relatively cheap and very economical to run. The Italian Isetta was one of the most popular types and was built under licence in Germany by BMW also in the UK and several other countries. It was powered by 236 cc(9.5 hp) twin cylinder two stroke motorcycle engine. Top speed was only about 75 km/h (47 mph).

Below is an illustration from a contemporary BMW brochure for the car. The happy family of three do not appear to have quite the comfort or safety features of a modern BMW!