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From the Editor – December 2023
Perhaps a greater threat than the promise of repeated excessively-hot summers to come is the potential for further escalation of the appalling tragedy unfolding in the Middle East. Unless something is done soon to turn down both the heat and the rhetoric, this conflict could engulf us all. A good start would be to break out of knee-jerk reaction mode into cause-and-effect mode. It would be really helpful if people made a cooperative effort to understand and address the underlying causes of this unhappy situation. Until that’s done, there’s no end in sight – the causes will remain unaddressed, making continued conflict inevitable. Tragic ………………… What with the Middle East situation, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the escalating tensions in Korea and the continuing impact of climate change, it’s a troubling time for all of us. The cheering thought that there are only 24 days to Christmas may help ………….. It really does help to know that there’s still a healthy worldwide community of individuals offsetting these concerns by maintaining an ongoing interest in model engines - that’s certainly what keeps me going! My statistics reporting system has continued to report very encouraging visitation figures.
Speaking of the blog site, I mentioned last month that the problems with the General Discussion thread on that site had been traced to the fact that the documentation accumulated on that particular thread over the past nine years had finally exceeded the system’s allowable file size for a single thread. The allowable limit was raised, fixing the problem for the moment, but if allowed to continue, the same issue would inevitably arise again. An option that I was considering was to commence a program of deleting posts that were more than, say, one year old and to keep doing this on a regular basis. This would eliminate the storage of many posts which probably haven’t been read for years, hence no longer being relevant. It would also keep the thread focused on active discussions as opposed to becoming an archive, something that it was never intended to be. I can now tell you that I’ve put this plan into action. I’ve deleted all posts on that thread which are over a year old with no response. The thread is intended to facilitate active discussions, not serve as a repository of old information! While I was at it, I also deleted a few other threads which have seen no relevant action in years. This effort has reduced the volume of material stored on the blog site to a very manageable level – no further problems with access should arise. The blog site remains fully operational and ready to receive your posts, just as before.
Almost right after I posted this update, further information became available in the form of an actual example of the BOMA 150 which was sent to me by my good Kiwi mate Dean Clarke of Cre8tionworx fame. This gave me the opportunity to examine and test an actual example of this very rare Indonesian engine. The BOMA article has now been further updated to reflect my findings. Take a look - the engine turned out to be a good 'un!
My valued friend and colleague Gordon Beeby of Australia ferreted out some information which does much to further inform the history The Readers’ Recollections thread on this website has continued to play very well, growing by leaps and bounds as new material becomes available. English reader Marcus Tidmarsh has contributed a charming little poem extolling the fascination of the little mechanical marvels which we all find so addictive. Thanks, Marc! Check it out, and please keep the contributions coming!
The second MEN transfer article deals with the most ambitious diesel project ever undertaken by the former CS But wait ……. I’m not done yet! I promised you a good helping of bonus reading for the holidays, and this will take the form of not one but two distinct but related accounts of historical events as opposed to engines per se. Both articles deal with distinct aspects of the 1960 Control Line World Championships held that year at Buadörs Airport near Budapest, Hungary. This meeting was characterized by the yawning gulf between the superb standard of the facilities and organization laid on by the host Hungarians and the dismal failure of the event officials to enforce the applicable rules in a fair and even-handed manner. This resulted in the Speed and Team Race championship titles both being awarded to competitors who had blatantly cheated to put themselves in a position to “win”, somehow escaping any official censure in doing so. I’ve deal with both competitions individually in separate articles. It’s a sad but fascinating story from which many lessons can be drawn. Hopefully the two articles will provide some good holiday reading!
My regular readers will be aware that I’ve made a particular point of covering the surprising number of model diesels which originated in America – not the first country that one usually associates with the production of diesels! Information on these engines is spread about in a number of stand-alone articles both here and on MEN. I thought that it might be useful to present a history of model diesel The MEN transfer article for January will see a further expansion of my coverage of the somewhat obscure Reeves range from Shropshire, England. The article will deal with the Reeves H.18 diesel with which Edward Reeves entered the 1950’s. This was a much-updated design which performed well, although it was not free from a few design quirks. I think that you’ll enjoy renewing acquaintance with this one! I think that about does it for this edition. If things go sufficiently well and WW3 doesn’t break out in the meantime, I hope to be back to you with another edition on or about January 1st, 2024. Meanwhile, please accept my best wishes for getting the best out of what life still has to offer in these troubled times! 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 |
Season’s Greetings from Western Canada! I’m happy to report that the delayed onset of the wet season has finally brought an end to this year’s disastrous forest fires – we can breathe easy again until next summer, when we’ll probably have to do it all again.
Confirmation that a significant number of folks remain engaged with our hobby comes from the fact that the mail box has remained quite active. Despite the many distractions now preying upon us, I heard from quite a few of you during November, but unfortuntely became hospitalized with several serious medical issues before the month was out. I haven't yet had a chance to catch up on all the correspondence, although I can say that I've really appreciated all of the many expressions of support and concern that I've received. Sincere thanks to one and all - you know who you are! Apologies also to anyone whose message(s) went unanswered, although my loving and ever-supportive wife Lorna has done her best to respond to some of you. The 
Now on to the usual dose of model engine news! I mentioned last month that my valued Aussie mate Bob Allan had sent me some important new information with respect to the very rare BOMA range from Indonesia – that country’s only commercial model engine range. This took the form of indisputable photographic evidence to the effect that there was a second distinct variant of the BOMA 150 reed-valve 1.5 cc diesel which was previously undocumented. I subsequently updated the 
Speaking of Dean Clarke and 
of the very rare OK Cub .06 and .15 diesels which were the subjects of articles published here last month. It turns out that contrary to my previous understanding, a few of these models were advertised and presumably sold in North America. The provision of this information has forced a re-write of certain passages in the test report on the 
Turning now to this month’s articles, I’ve followed my usual year-end practise of providing some extra reading material for the upcoming holiday season. The all-new lead engine article for the month deals with a famous series of American engines from the 1930’s and 1940’s – the Dennymite series of spark ignition motors. These fine engines deservedly achieved great popularity during their heyday. They were so sturdily constructed that a surprising number of them have survived down to the present day in fine operating condition. As my review and test of several different variants will confirm, they were also fine performers by the standards of their day. Well worthy of respectful remembrance! 
The first of two MEN transfer articles covers one of my all-time favourite classic racing engines – the very elusive Super Hope 60 from early post-WW2 Japan. This highly individualistic unit was constructed in very small quantities, probably constituting as much a “manufacturer’s statement” as anything else. As you’ll learn, it was an extremely well-made unit which, while not performing up to the leading-edge racing engine designs of the day, nevertheless ran very well, doing great credit to its designers and manufacturers. As I said, it’s one of my all-time favorites! 
For the January 2024 New Year edition, I plan to present two all-new articles along with another MEN transfer piece. The first of the new articles will represent a response to a number of reader requests that I add some coverage of the 1.5 cc diesel and glow-plug models produced in England during the late 1970’s by Kingshire Products. These included both the Kingcat diesel and Glo-Cat glow-plug designs. It turns out that the Glo-Cat was far more than a simple glow-plug conversion of the diesel model, as many people seem to believe – it was in fact a completely distinct design sharing very few components with the Kingcat. It’s an interesting story which is well worth recording. Full tests of both models will be included. 
development in America in a single article. The second all-new article for January 2024 will do exactly that. No new information here, but a hopefully useful consolidation of relevant information in a single text. Hope that some of you find it useful! | |