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From the Editor – June 2026
It remains a source of wonder to the rest of us that the Government and people of the United States are continuing to tolerate the presence of a clearly deranged, totally incompetent and shamelessly self-serving bully in the Oval Office in the shape of Agent Orange (AO). His willingness to spend 400 million dollars of taxpayers’ money vandalizing the historic While House through his fantasy ballroom/bunker project (of which the sole beneficiary will be his own ego) shows clearly how totally out of touch he is with the economic realities facing many of the people whom he was elected to serve. Did I say serve?!? He doesn't know the meaning of the word!!
His bullying of the international financial and insurance industries into supporting his latest international witch-hunt by blacklisting a French judge (not an American, hence not within his jurisdiction!) almost beggars belief for the degree to which it exposes both his childish vindictiveness and total lack of respect for international law as well as confirming the total spinelessness of those around him. The judge’s “crime”? Signing the warrant for the arrest of the leader of a country which is widely viewed as being actively and openly engaged in genocide and war crimes to an extent that warrants legal challenge. The issuance of a warrant simply provides that leader with an opportunity to defend his country’s actions – what’s wrong with that? The warrant only represents a “crime” if you see genocide and war crimes as a legitimate exercise of power which should not be subject to legal challenge. I suppose it’s good to have irrefutable confirmation that AO supports such actions – who’s next, I wonder?
AO’s efforts to continued collecting tariffs in spite of a US court having clearly ruled them illegal displays his total contempt for the law of the United States for all to see. So does his plan to compensate individuals who were rightly prosecuted for attempting to overthrow the elected Government of the United States. Commit treason and get paid by the taxpayers to do it!! Is that the kind of mindset that the people of America want to see occupying the Finally, now that the cost of implementing AO’s vaunted “golden dome” over America has ballooned to 1.2 trillion dollars (far in excess of his own stated estimates), will he consider changing his course given the tough times that the citizens of his country are facing? Can’t he grasp the well-known fact that any techno-fix (which is what this is) will become obsolete almost as soon as it’s implemented? Will he ever understand that a more cost-effective approach than isolating his country under a soon-to-be-obsolete techno-dome might be to work towards reducing incentives to attack the US in the first place rather than continuing to exacerbate them? I doubt it – such a view would require a considerably more developed intellect than that of the maladjusted delinquent ten-year-old felon whose presence at the helm is still inexplicably tolerated.
It was also a pleasure to hear from my good mate Marcus Tidmarsh of England, who sent details of a most interesting acquisition of his. This is a Schnuerle-ported glow-plug rendition of the 5 cc Miles Special which was the subject of one of my earlier articles. It’s clearly the work of Basil Miles himself. I’ve added this discovery to the original article, with my very sincere thanks to Marcus.
Finally, I heard from Mrs. Anne Croft, wife of my late and much-missed mate Ken Croft, that she is selling off the replica engines which Ken produced to extremely high standards over the years. Anne is looking for appreciative homes for these engines at sensible prices. She is being assisted by my good friend Kevin Richards. If interested, drop a line to Anne at annecroft947@gmail.com to find out which engines remain available. But don't wait too long - they're going fast! I've spoken for three of them myself....... OK, on to the new articles for this month! Despite the continuing pressures resulting from the highly charged international situation in which we find ourselves, I’ve somehow managed once again to rise above my personal fears and frustrations long enough to assemble what I hope will be another interesting selection of articles for your reading pleasure.
To assuage our shared curiosity, Gordon undertook an extensive search for contemporary references and later documentation which would enlighten us on the subject of the development and marketing of the earliest model engines. It has been Gordon’s work, and his alone, which has enabled me to write a detailed account of the early years of model engine design and manufacture during the period leading up to WW1. I think that you’ll be as surprised as we were to learn the full extent of these activities, the level of which far exceeded our previous assumptions going in!
That’s about it for this month, fellow enthusiasts. All being well and assuming that my neighborhood remains free from the sound of tramping Belleville jackboots, roaring Abrams tank engines and M7 gunfire, and that the mushroom clouds of WW3 don’t engulf us all courtesy of AO, I hope to return in July to present a few more reviews for your reading pleasure. In the meantime, I really appreciate all the expressions of support that I’ve continued to receive from so many of you! Stay safe ‘n sane!! Adrian Duncan British Columbia, Canada (the NATION, not a state!) Greenland forever!
Note regarding material to be found on this site - unless specifically otherwise noted, all images and text which appear on this site are my own work, and I hereby assert my right to be recognized as the originator of this material except when expressly otherwise stated. For the record, this material is made freely available to all upon two firm conditions:
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Greetings once more to one and all!! Welcome to June 2026! I must confess to feeling a certain sense of surprise that we’re all still here to carry on pursuing our shared interest, at least for now. The unhappy world situation through which we all have to live continues to cast a long shadow over all of us and shows few if any signs of improving. I’m still doing my best to continue living life to the fullest extent possible under the circumstances. Happily, I seem to be holding my own on the health front – something to be thankful for.
The deployment of a UFC cage on the White House lawn to mark America’s 250
Those who went along with this witch-hunt (and none of them had to) have irredeemably shamed themselves – their spinelessness (and that of AO’s political toadies) is beyond belief. MAGA - Make America Grovel Abjectly. No wonder that the US and the world are in such trouble ………….It seems to me that these ring-kissing individuals need to start demonstrating their loyalty to their country rather than to a clearly deranged and totally self-serving individual. The recent interview with the US Ambassador to Canada demonstrated plainly the degree to which AO’s supporters share his delusional mindset – the Ambassador’s contempt for the moral integrity of my fellow Canadians shone through. He can’t understand why Canadians are so upset?!? Apart from certain Americans, who isn’t?!?
White House? Is that how little they value their democratic freedoms?? His proposal to rebrand ICE, that well-known gang of street thugs, as NICE underscores the extent of his delusional view of the world – does he really believe that anyone will be fooled by that?! You can spray-paint a rattler …….. but it’s still a rattler!
Turning now to model engine news, I was very glad to hear from reader David Hill of England, who is a member of a vintage modelling group called the Power Strugglers. One of the members of this group is the extremely skilled replica model engine builder Derek Collin. Derek has been forced by health issues to abandon his engine-building activities, but he authorized David to pass along some details of his outstanding Cloud 3 replicas. These details have been added to last month’s article about the 
As is so often the case, my valued Aussie friend and colleague Gordon Beeby has kept himself busy in his capacity as my self-appointed research assistant! This time, Gordon has tracked down a number of references which do a great deal to clarify the true history of the 
The President of the 
which represents a major milestone in the history of commercial model engine production. I’m a member myself – why not come and join Dave and me (and many others)?? I’ve added links to the organization to both the 
The first all-new article represents the result of a collaboration between myself and my previously-mentioned Aussie mate Gordon Beeby. My earlier articles on 
The second all-new article for the month takes us to Russia during the Iron Curtain era, where we’ll learn something of the 
Finally, the MEN transfer article for this month sets out the story of one of Sweden’s most influential promoters of model engines, particularly diesels. We’ll be reviewing the work of the late 
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