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From the Editor - March 1st , 2020
Last month I reported that Frontline MultiMedia, who provide hosting and support services for this site, were being forced for security and other reasons to transfer the site en masse to another server. This work has been proceeding, but not without problems. I lost administrative access to the site for quite a lengthy period, hence being unable to add any new content or even edit existing content. I also lost access to the user statistics upon which I rely to gauge ongoing interest in my efforts. The whole exercise has involved me in a very considerable unplanned expense, with which I'm still dealing as I type. The sole alternative to putting out all this cash was to shut the site down, which I'm reluctant to do as long as there are people interested in what's here. It's that reluctance which makes those user stats so important to me - they are my sole evidence for the degree to which interest in the site is being maintained. The good news is that user access to the site appears to have been essentially unaffected by the server switch. Moreover, the relocated site is far more secure and less amenable to unwanted interference than it was formerly. I have now regained limited administrative access, which is the sole reason for my ability to prepare this Editorial. I'm still getting some error messages which should not be showing up, and some of my changes are not taking effect as they should. So we're not quite done yet. However, progress is being made. The transfer has been completed, and normal service should be maintained. If any of you encounter problems accessing the remounted site, please let me know.  Some of you may wish that I didn't bother with this statistical reporting, but particularly given the latest financial hit this is very important to me - I'm only prepared to keep funding this effort if people remain interested. The stats are my yardstick against which to judge interest.
The recent problems with my own website set me to thinking about the status of another model engine website which is very important to all of us - the late Ron Chernich's wonderful "Model Engine News" (MEN) website. Since Ron left us in early 2014 without passing on the access codes for his heavily encypted site, no-one has administrative access to MEN, leaving it frozen as Ron left it. My good mate Maris Dislers has been paying the bills to keep the site going, and we should all be very appreciative of his efforts - if no-one was doing this, MEN would be history. Maris tells me that the site should remain available as long as he keeps paying the bills, but there is a potential issue arising from the lack of administrative access - if the site degrades over time or somehow becomes corrupted, it won't be possible to go in and fix things. Let's all hope for the best! The loss of MEN for any reason would be a total disaster for our community.
Now a note which has unfortunately had to continue to be a regular feature of these Editorials. This one is mostly for new readers - old hands can skip to the following sections.
Despite my repeated admonitions not to do so, people are continuing to try to register on this website. The numbers have fallen, but it's still happening. As I've previously stated time and time again, this has absolutely no effect - it's simply an artefact left over from the generic platform's primary intended use as an on-line sales site. Since this is not a sales site, the registration feature is redundant and I make no use of it whatsoever.
So why is it still there?!? Well, before anyone else asks (and quite a few well-meaning souls already have!), I've thoroughly explored the possibility of removing or at least blocking this feature, but it can't be done without extensive (and very expensive) custom modification to the otherwise very useable generic platform which came as a ready-to-use over-the-counter package, thus keeping the costs and complexities manageable. So we're stuck with this feature.  The bottom line therefore remains - please don't bother trying to register! Doing so accomplishes nothing apart from creating unnecessary cyber-clutter, which I definitely don't need!Another word for new readers arises from a few requests that I've had recently for information which is included in articles which I've written on specific engines or ranges. Frankly, I'm at a loss to understand why such requests arise in the first place! The Gallery is a one-stop shop from which you can easily gain access to every on-line article that I've ever written - no need to contact me! A link to the Gallery appears in the top toolbar on every page of this website. It features an alphabetical listing of every model engine or range on which I've ever commented or plan to comment, regardless of whether the information is published here or on Ron Chernich's now-frozen "Model Engine News" (MEN) website. The Gallery listing even includes on-line articles which I consider to be authoritative which were written by others.
Bottom line - if you don't find it listed in the Gallery, I presently have no information to share. Moreover, any information that I do have to share is linked to the Gallery. So please check there first before asking me!!
Along with the continued use of the website, the correspondence from my valued contacts around the world has continued to pour in unabated. During the past month I've heard (in no particular order) from Maris Dislers, Dave Jones, Lars Gustafsson, Steve Webb, Luis Petersen, Peter Valicek, , Alan Strutt, Alberto Parra, Mike Conner, Bill Wells, Miles Patience, Ken Croft, Ian Russell, Martin Ambrose, Peter Rathke, Paul Venne, Tim Dannels, Don Imrie, Chris Ottewell, Don Sohn, Kit Bays, David Hill, Max Tenet, Ramon "Tug" Wilson, Douglas Campbell and Andrew Coholic. Whew!! Sincere apologies to anyone whom I may have inadvertently missed in the crowd - it can be hard to keep track! The blog site has also continued to justify its existence by generating a fair amount of relevant traffic - thanks for that.  Luis Petersen of Denmark sent along an item of considerable academic interest. This is a photograph of a compressed air engine constructed in 1904 by Jacob Ellehammer of Denmark. Ellehammer was a watchmaker by profession, hence his facility for making small engines. He is chiefly remembered today for his contributrions to full-sized powered flight, notably his development of early helicopters. Much of his experimental work was accomplished using models.Luis got on the trail of Ellehammer's modelling work as a result of reading a book about Ellehammer in which there was a photo of a model helicopter powered by a compressed air engine. This prompted him to inquire about other photos of Eellehammer's model work which might be available through his local technical museum.
The attached image resulted from this inquiry. The illustrated 1904 engine evidently did see some use in one of Ellehammer's models. This has to be one of the very oldest functional model aero engines in existence - they don't come much older or rarer than this!
It appears that Ellehammer was an interesting character with quite a few pioneering accomplishments to his credit. For one thing, he was apparently the first European model flier to achieve a rise-off-ground flight, which he did in 1906 with a tethered model which might be considered an early control-liner! We learn something fresh every day - there's nothing new under the sun!!
As reported last month, I received my example (engine no. 04) very promptly, finding it to be a lovely piece of work. I haven't found time or opportunity to test it yet, but I will do so as soon as possible. In the meantime, I heard from my vaued friend Ken Croft that he has been working on his own redition of the Clanford Clan, using the Motor Boys plan as his reference. As one would expect from a constructor of Ken's calibre, the resulting engine turned out to be a real beauty, starting and running very well indeed. The really good news here is that Ken has been kind enough to prepare some notes setting out the lessons learned from his own experience in constructing this This being the case, I've synthesized the comments of both of my friends into an addition to the Home Construction page which may be found in this website's Technical Topics section. I hope that this information inspires a few more of you to have a go for yourselves. My very sincere thanks to both Ken and Dave!  Now on to the engine articles which constitute the core of the material to be found on this website! In keeping with my established practise, I have continued to carry out checks on my existing articles to ensure their continued currency. This month, one of the articles checked for this purpose was my piece on the early FROG models. Reviewing that article, I noticed that I had not really nailed down the introductory date for the FROG 100 diesel. With a great deal of much-appreciated research assistance from Maris Dislers, I'm now able to report that the original FROG 100 diesel appears to have reached over-the-counter market status in November 1947 - considerably later than I had previously believed. I've amended the section on the appearance of the FROG 100 diesel to reflect this new understanding.
Another significant update may be found in my article on the H-P engines from 1940's England. That article includes coverage of the Atlas spark ignition models which preceded the H-P range in 1946. I finally got around to running a full test of my Atlas 3 cc sparkie no. A-133. This test showed it to be an extremely user-
 friendly and fine-running engine, albeit with a relatively modest power output. In assesing the Atlas, we have to remember that the engine was among the first new designs to emerge in Britain following the conclusion of WW2, being developed at a time when British designers were very much in catch-up mode and were initially constrained by the pre-war design standards with which they were already familiar. As the record shows, they soon caught up and then pushed ahead, leaving early models like the Atlas on the sidelines. You'll learn all about it in the updated article!
Yet another significant update was made possible by the fact that I also finally got around to running a long overdue bench test of my Majesco "45" sparkie. Dating back to 1946, that engine was the initial offering from Jack Colyer's Majesco Motors company. As a well made and strong-running 4.5 cc powerplant, the Majesco remains a favourite among old time model fliers even today.
 The Majesco "45" was never the subject of a published test in the contemporary British modelling media. I've now made good that deficiency, with my findings having been added to my earlier article on the Majesco range. As you'll learn, my experience amply confirmed the high regard in which this engine is held by classic model fliers and engine enthusiasts! For this month's all-new feature article, I decided that it was time for me to come back down to earth from my usual research into relatively obscure model engines to present an article which will doubtless have far wider relevance to most present-day model engine enthusiasts. Rescuing the stories of rare and obscure model engines which will otherwise be lost forever is important, hence being a major facet of my own activities. However, I shouldn't lose sight of the more commonly-encountered ranges of which examples are to be found in the majority of collections - those more common engines have their stories too!
So for this month I'm fulfilling a long-standing commitment to myself by presenting a summary of the history of the Allen-Mercury (A-M) range from England, including the manner in which the A-M manufacturers, the D. J. Allen
 Engineering Company, came to add the Merco glow-plug range to their manufacturing portfolio. I'm very grateful to my friend Ian Russell of Rustler fame for sharing his first-hand recollections with me on this subject. Because of the well-known Allen Engineering connection, many people appear to see these two ranges as more or less synonymous. However, the two companies actually had completely separate beginnings, only coming together after both had independently been in production for some years. You'll learn all about it in this month's feature article!
Turning now to next month's feature topic, I'm planning to return to form by indulging myself in another trip down Obscurity Alley! I'll be publishing the first-ever in-depth review and bench test of the two successive M.S. diesels produced in extremely limited numbers by The Model Shop (Newcastle). This was almost certainly Britain's longest-surviving hobby shop, having been established in 1924 by Charles "Charlie" Lutman and remaining continuously in business until 2005 under the ownership of the Lutman family throughout.
A
 fter the end of WW2, Lutman established a factory on the Team Valley Trading Estate in nearby Gateshead, where he manufactured a wide range of modelling supplies and accessories. In mid 1947 he introduced the first of two successive model diesel engines, both of which exhibited a number of highly unusual features. The 2.5 cc model of 1947 (top left in the attached photo) was quickly followed in early 1948 by a 1.24 cc offering of somewhat different design. Neither model remained long in production, hence being extremely rare today. The M.S. diesels were the subject of a very brief article on MEN by my friend Ken Croft, who also made a fine replica of the 1.24 cc model. Next month's feature article on this website will include full bench tests of both models along with their complete design and production histories. I'm sure that you'll find it quite interesting to follow the design thinking behind these two very rare and interesting engines, both of which performed extremely well on the bench!
As stated in last month's Editorial, I've been at this collecting game for more years than I can count (when I first started, I didn't even know that I was an engine collector!). During that time I've been fortunate enough to acquire a massive collection of engines from all parts of the world. Quite a few aren't really that special, but a lot of them fall into the "rare" category, with some being in the "unobtanium" class. I've now decided that I will shortly begin to progressively sell off my collection, doing so very gradually over a period of years. All engines will be clean, free to turn over and exactly as described. Many will have appeared in my various articles.
Noting the success of my Paul Rossiter offerings mentioned above, I will begin by putting some engines up on this site, again in the Technical Topics section. I'm also open to inquiries regarding the availability of other engines from my collection. This will allow me to deal directly with my valued readers without getting involved with eBay. My prices will be what I consider to be very fair, and no extra fees will be involved other than postage costs. Any that don't sell within a reasonable period will be offered through eBay or MECA, of which I'm a member. I'll keep you posted on my progress in this direction.
I've also made a firm promise to myself (which I intend to keep) that I've reached the end of the road as far as new acquisitions are concerned. My present financial challenge arising from the need to uprgade the hosting of this site has reminded me that I'm putting more than enough cash into this initiative as it is - no more!
Don't let this worry you as far as the continuation of this website goes - I'll get through the present financial challenge, and my love of these little gems remains undiminished, as is my enthusiasm for researching and writing about them as long as there are people wishing to read about them. I have enough interesting engines already on hand about which I have yet to write to keep the site going for years to come! Until I've written about them, those engines won't be going anywhere! Researching and writing these articles is one of the things that keeps me going!
I think that's it for now. All being well, I'll be back with another issue on or about April 1st, 2020. Meanwhile, please accept my best wishes for continued enjoyment of our shared addiction! Look after that flicking finger, and may the heady aroma of diesel fumes, sparkie smoke or burning nitro assault your nostrils frequently! Cheers, Adrian Duncan British Columbia, Canada ___________________________________ 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. For the record, this material is made freely available to all upon two firm conditions:
Adrian C. Duncan British Columbia, Canada
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We certainly live in interesting times these days, and the same can be said of my life as Editor of this website! My problems pale beside those currently facing the world community, but they loom very large in my own personal existence. 
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