From the Editor - August 2020

August again! The height of the summer season ........ except for those of us who remain both smart enough to maintain the degree of social distancing and personal protection which remains as critical as ever for our present and future well-being, and lucky enough to be able to do so. This COVID thing is very far from over, with a new spike now on the horizon as people ignore the evidence and lower their guards.

Having done the research on the current and ever-evolving state of understanding about the serious long-term health effects of this virus (not using FaceBook, Twitter or the politicians as my primary sources!), I'm taking no chances! Even if you recover, chances are good that you'll never be the same.

This means that many of the usual summer activities have had to be set aside, hopefully just for this year, but who knows?!? Major travel plans have been shelved, my planned dream fishing trip has been put off indefinitely, my model club has cancelled its entire competition season, my cave exploration activities are dead in their tracks, my musical theatrical society has cancelled its performance season, my band is in limbo, visits to restaurants or the pub are increasingly distant memories and family barbeques have had to go unattended because too many of my relatives and others have dropped their guards for my comfort. 

Oh well, there are compensations! I'm very fortunate in having the loving companionship of my wife Lorna, with whom I spend many happy hours. I still have my basement workshop, with a stack of engines awaiting attention. I have my test stand, although there will be no Rowell 60's running at this location - there are limits to how far I can push the neighbours! There's my model railroad in the rec room. There are books, of which I have a huge library. And finally, there's this website, which has proved to be a real life-saver during these difficult times by keeping me working to a schedule which requires enough ongoing attention to keep the old brain functioning. As I've said before, I'm one of the lucky ones! 

I’m sure that most of my readers are as tired as I am of having to skip past my monthly admonition to new readers not to try registering on this site because it has no effect. Time to cut back, I think! It’s still happening, but no longer at a really problematic level. So I’m going to cut the usual monthly lecture down to a simple request - DON’T try to register on this site!  All you’ll do is annoy the Editor ……………  

Now on to more serious stuff. Once again, I have the unhappy duty of marking another loss to the worldwide model engine enthusiast community. This one really hurts - July 1^st, 2020 saw the passing of my valued Hungarian friend and colleague Ferenc "Somi" Somogyi at the grand old age of 91 years. Somi was a prominent participant in the Hungarian aeromodelling scene for many years following WW2, designing the Proton engines, writing a book on model engines (a signed copy of which I treasure) and serving as team manager of a number of International teams representing Hungary at major events worldwide. He was closely associated with many of the greatest names in Hungarian model engine history, hence having an unrivalled first-hand knowledge of that subject. He was always more than generous in sharing his knowledge.

All of us owe Somi a great debt of gratitude for his unravelling of the Alag, Proton, Vella Brothers and MOKI stories which may be found elsewhere on this website. Those articles will stand as a testament to Somi's unfailing dedication to preserving the history of model engine manufacture in his native Hungary. Without his generous assistance, none of those stories would have been preserved in a generally accessible format. I always looked forward to his annual Christmas e-cards and his regular expressions of support and appreciation for my efforts on this website. I for one will miss him greatly.

Another long-time friend who remains very much missed was the late Paul Rossiter. Many of you will recall that I created a page on this website through which sales of Paul's small but high-quality engine collection were facilitated. I'm pleased to be able to inform you all that Paul's entire collection has now been dispersed to good homes around the world. Accordingly, the Rossiter Engines page has been deleted, having served its purpose. It was a pleasure to assist the family in this way. 

Some months ago you may recall me swearing off the acquisition of any more engines - I already have far too many! However, those who warned me that I'd never be able to stick to that resolution were right - it can't be done! The latest arrival was one of the last remaining examples of the wonderful little 0.33 cc diesel made in Australia to a very high standard by Peter Burford, son of the late and greatly respected Aussie model engine manufacturer Gordon Burford of Taipan fame.

Peter made a batch of around 100 of these engines in 2004. A detailed write-up may still be accessed on the late Ron Chernich's ever-engaging "Model Engine News" (MEN) website. After re-reading that article, I contacted Peter to ascertain status and was told that he was not making any more examples but did have a couple of left-overs still available. How could I refuse this opportunity? So the deal was done, and the little motor is now here. What a jewel of an engine! The late Brian Winch's test of the wee beastie may be found in the April 2018 issue of "AeroModeller" magazine.

Meanwhile, I must reiterate that Peter has no plans at present to make any more of these wonderful little gems. So please don't bother him with any inquiries! Peter is now very much engaged in the design and construction of world-class R/C racing yachts which are showing at the top of international competitions for that type of model. He has a waiting list for his yachts which keeps him quite busy enough! 

While we’re on the subject of Australian engines, I should mention that Maris Dislers has arranged for a limited extra printing of his fine book “Gordon Burford’s Model Engines”. This informative work covers the full scope of the high quality model engines produced in Australia by Gordon under the GB, Sabre, Glo-Chief and Taipan names as well as the fine replicas and "specials" manufactured under Gordon’s own name. A great read!  A fair proportion of the books from the new printing have already been spoken for, but some copies remain available. The price is AU$65.00 plus postage, which is a good deal given the very high quality of the book and the relatively depressed Australian dollar at present. If interested, contact Maris directly.

Another new engine that is heading my way in defiance of my earlier commitment to abstinence is the little SAM 75 diesel of 0.75 cc (0.045 cuin.) diesplacement. Made in the Ukraine for Redfin Engines, this neat little twin ball-race sideport diesel follows in the footsteps of the earlier SAM 35 and SAM 50 offerings. It is available through Kevin Richards of SAM 35 at a price of £115.00 (c. US$150.00) plus postage. Like all Redfin offerings, its quality is very high. It looks a lot like a twin ball-race Mills .75 but should out-perform the Mills handily. Limited numbers of the earlier SAM 35 and SAM 50 engines also remain available. Get 'em while you can!

Kevin is handling sales of these engines in his capacity as treasurer of SAM 35. He's asked me to draw readers' attention to the fact that the email address given in the July 2020 issue of "Aeromodeller" magazine is incorrect - you should contact Kevin at treasurersam35@gmail.com to purchase these little gems.

Kevin also informs me that his long-awaited book on the E.D. venture is nearing completion. He expects to have the proofs ready by the end of 2020. Can't wait ............... He also advises that the newly-constructed tether car track at Buckminster is opening this weekend.  A very exciting development - wish I could be there!

A few trade notes - Redfin Engines has relocated to a new mailing address at Redfin, Unit 9 The Point, Coach Road, Shireoaks, Worksop S81 8BW, UK. Their email and phone numbers are unchanged. Alberto Parra wrote in to advise that he has added a very nice-looking engine test stand to his range of products. Looks great!! You can check Alberto's current listings at http://control-line.eu

During the month, I was delighted to hear from my good friend Miles Patience, who informed me that he had acquired a nice example of the 1946 Clansman 5 cc diesel from Glasgow, Scotland. Miles was kind enough to share a video of his engine running, which may be viewed here. He also passed along a few performance figures for his engine.  I've added this material to my earlier article on the Clan 0.9 cc diesel immediately before the "Marketing History" section.

Now it's confession time!  Some of you will have read my article on the Bonnier engines from early post-WW2 France. That article has been up on my site since June 2017. When I wrote it, I hadn't made a connection with Michel Rosanoff's outstanding "Engine History" thread in the "Vintage Models" forum on the Retroplane website. Michel's thread contains an amazing amount of authoritative information on French engines among others.

In keeping with my ongoing policy of regularly checking and updating the veracity of my articles, I went to the Bonnier information which may be found on page 61 of Michel's thread. To my horror, I found that my article was both incomplete and innacurate. Being far closer both geographically and linguistically to the subject, Michel had been able to investigate the Bonnier story in far greater depth than I had done.

I adopted the only course that was open to any responsible researcher - I took the article down and proceeded to rework it comprehensively to correct the errors and add the missing information. The revised article is now re-posted with all sins erased. Most of the changes appear in the section on the development and marketing of the design.

I think that the article is now pretty accurate and quite comprehensive. However, confession is good for the soul, and I thought that I should let my readers know what's taken place. My very sincere thanks to Michel for making the complete story available!

During my visits to Michel's website to check the Bonnier article and also to obtain background material for other future articles on French engines, I came across some information regarding a possibly controversial matter. This is the very strong probability that the design of one of Britain's first-ever production diesels, the Mills 1.3 Mk. I, was based to a large extent upon that of the earlier Allouchéry 1.25 cc sideport diesel from France.

The Allouchéry 1.25 cc sideport diesel appeared in late 1943 or early 1944. It was a fine little engine which quickly acquired a very high reputation. There's no doubt at all that the original Mills 1.3 bore what appears to be a far more than coincidental resemblance to the earlier Allouchéry model, even down to the displacement.

The latter point appears not to have escaped Prosper Allouchéry's notice! In a late 1946 article by one "R.F." which appeared in the French modelling media, Allouchéry was directly quoted as follows:

"Generally speaking, small craftsmen should be protected against all manner of sharks who without being technicians themselves loot them without scruple, copy their best models and artificially raise the selling prices. I was recently the victim of this kind of despoilation, but a legal action would take too much time and too much money, with probably an unsatisfactory result ......... .."

The late 1946 timing of Allouchéry's statement makes it appear almost certain that he was referring to the July 1946 appearance of the Mills 1.3 diesel in England. There's no doubt at all that the Mk. I Mills conveys a distinct impression of having been closely modelled on the Allouchéry 1.25 cc design. It's also an indisputable fact that the Allouchéry 1.25 cc model had been seen in England - it won a major contest at Eaton Bray in the same year of 1946. The range also received quite comprehensive coverage in D. J. Laidlaw-Dickson's late 1946 book "Model Diesels". The engines were thus available in England to be copied........

OK, so there's a strong possibility that the design of the Mk. I Mills 1.3 was based to a large extent on that of the Allouchéry 1.25 cc model. So what?!? In my view, this whole matter is no more than a tempest in a tea-cup. Almost all model engines are reflections of previous designs to some extent - look at all the Dyno clones from the same period! Prosper Allouchéry clearly felt hard done-by, but that was his problem in my view - a more positive reaction would have been to accept the old adage that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery! In fairness to Allouchéry, I have added this material to my articles on the Mills range in general and the Mills 1.3 in particular. Having done that, I'll leave readers to make up their own minds.

I've made a few more additions to the Gallery during the month. There are new entries on the DELMO range from early post-WW2 Paris, the 1960 Thuella Favoriet 2.47 cc diesel from the Netherlands, the 1950 Tempest racing engine from Australia and the 1962 RITM 2.46 cc team race diesel and c. 1965 POLET 5.6 cc stunt engine, both from Kiev in the Ukraine.

Fine examples of all five of these interesting units are on hand, and detailed reviews will appear on this website as and when I get around to it - in fact, the Tempest will be central to next month's lead article, of which more below in its place. The RITM and POLET both make brief appearances in this month's lead article (see below) but will also be the subject of more closely focused reviews and tests in the future.

Amazingly enough, the above additions bring the total number of Gallery entries up to 197 - entry no. 200 can't be far away! I hadn't realized that I and my valued colleagues had written about so many different engines and manufacturers, but there's the proof! There's basic information on all featured engines in the individual Gallery entries, with links to more detailed articles where these exist.

And now, to the main event! I will admit to feeling quite pleased with myself (put another way, dead chuffed!) for putting out the time and effort required to prepare this month’s feature article. I seriously believe it to be one of the most important articles that I’ve ever published, because it fills a long-felt glaring gap in the English-language documentation of model engine history. To get to the point, I’ve written up a detailed history of model engine development and manufacture in the former Soviet Union, going right back to the very beginning in the 1930’s and following the story in detail right up to the end of the “classic” era. Every Soviet engine from that period for which there's any documentary record is included, and there are quite a few of them that were new to me!

This is a fascinating story that has never previously been told in full in the English language. Indeed, many of the background details were completely new to me, as I'm sure they will be to a good proportion of my readers. I thought that I knew this story as well as anyone, but I was wrong ……………… 

What has enabled me to tell this tale was the receipt of scans of three Russian language books from the pioneering and classic eras, courtesy of my greatly valued and ever-helpful friend Peter Valicek of the Netherlands. Peter had received these scans some years ago from a Russian source. They were supplied in searchable pdf format, which enabled me to plod through the 300-plus pages paragraph by paragraph to develop English translations using computer translation technology. What with a fair number of scanning errors and missing portions (sadly including some of the images), it was a long and painstaking task which I might not have tackled at all were it not for the self-imposed semi-lockdown mode in which I’m currently living. Might as well be doing something!  

Anyway, the task was duly completed and the article could be written. I was very surprised indeed at some of the revelations included in these books - it was like having a floodlight suddenly switched on to illuminate a formerly dark corner which was absolutely chock-full of interesting artefacts! This was certainly by far the most time-consuming effort on my part that I can recall - I spent most of the months of May and June pulling it together. I certainly hope that readers will share my view that the effort was worthwhile!

By way of a bonus, I’ve provided links to the edited English translations of the three books in question. These are the 1940 book by Pylkov, the 1954 work by Filipichev and the 1958 text by Gajevski. They may be found in my Publications pages. They're in searchable pdf format for convenience. Three more English-language publications added to the classic literature of model engines - a worthwhile return on my efforts, surely?!? Hope others agree .............

Turning now to next month, it's been a while since we headed back Down Under to my own birthplace of Australia, so I thought that it was time to remedy that situation. The concept of this article stemmed initially from the incredible kindness of my friend Peter Rathke of Germany, whio presented me with a superb boxed example of the Tempest 10 cc racing engine from Melbourne in Victoria. Adrian being Adrian, this immediately got me started on a search for information on this rather elusive engine. Perhaps that was the effect that Peter was hoping for .......!

Inquiries directed to my good Aussie mate Maris Dislers started Maris off on a search for on-the-spot information on my behalf. We found that there was considerable enthusiasm for seeing this article come to fruition, resulting in everyone who was approached helping to the very best of their abilities. In the end, I had enough information to write an article which went well beyond being a review of the Tempest to encompass an overview of the Australian model racing scene from the end of WW2 into the early 1950's.

So next month you'll be able to read my review of the Tempest racing engine and its Australian competitors. There were a number of really creative people involved in both control line speed and tether car racing in Australia at that time, and you'll meet many of them in next month's article. I hope that you'll find it as interesting as I did when pulling all the pieces together! Big thanks to Maris Dislers for his invaluable work "on the ground" in Australia and also to his many helpful informants there. I hope that the piece constitutes an adequate repayment for the effort put in by Maris and his Aussie contacts    

I think that about does it for this edition. All being well, I'll be back to you with another issue on or about September 1^st, 2020. Meanwhile, please accept my continuing best wishes for making it safely through the present pandemic situation. The heady aroma of diesel fumes, sparkie smoke or burning nitro may be a bit more challenging to experience at this time, but I hope that at least some of you find an opportunity to get your fixes! Please take care and stay well!! 

Cheers, 

Adrian Duncan 

British Columbia, Canada

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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:

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Adrian C. Duncan

British Columbia, Canada