From the Editor – April 2024

Greetings to one and all! Happy April Fools’ Day!! Scanning the political news and the associated voter polls these days, there appears to be no lack of such individuals, regardless of the month!

I’ll confine my comments on my well-known personal health situation to confirming that I’m still remaining positive and active as my program of treatment continues. So far, things are going very well, and I have every hope of a complete recovery down the road.

Speaking of which, I was delighted and encouraged to hear that my fellow sufferer Dan Vincent, the well-known authority on .09 cuin. engines, has undergone successful surgery to resolve his own brush with cancer. Fortunately, Dan’s condition was diagnosed early and remedial steps were implemented very promptly. It’s expected that he’ll make a complete recovery. Great news, which I hope will be repeated in my own case!

I'm always very appreciative of the many gestures of friendship and support that I've received during the past few months. An excellent example came recently from my valued friend and colleague Peter Valicek of the Netherlands. Peter sent me the attached image of the kind of Easter basket that any true model engine enthusiast would be delighted to receive - far too nice to keep to myself, so I'm sharing it with you! My very sincere thanks to my mate Peter!

This edition of my website marks what is for me at least a significant milestone. I was actually quite amazed to realize that it was exactly ten years ago, in April 2014, that I published my first edition, stepping into the massive shoes of my sadly-departed mate Ron Chernich. Since that time, the site has evolved into what is in effect an ever-expanding on-line encyclopedia of classic model aero engines, with many more subjects yet to be covered. Who would have thought that model engines could offer such a breadth of subjects to the researcher! I recall that when I started out, I wondered quite seriously if I would be able to identify enough subjects to keep things going for at least a while. I no longer wonder .......!

Of course, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing – there have been both expenses and glitches along the way. However, such challenges are there to be overcome, and somehow they have been (touch wood!)! Aside from the speed-bumps, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the process of researching my topics and putting what I hope is some useful information up on the site. As long as my health allows and a few folks still appreciate my efforts, I’ll continue to do my best to enhance the content and quality of the material to be found here.

To kick off this month’s engine-related news, my valued mate Maris Dislers drew my attention to a fascinating on-line resource – the “Craftsmen” pages on the Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum website. These pages present an alphabetical listing of individuals who have distinguished themselves through their model engineering accomplishments. Eleven famous model engine men are included, in addition to our late much-missed friend Ron Chernich, the 2007 winner of the Joe Martin Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Apart from that, there’s just so much else of interest to anyone with an appreciation of fine model engineering. Check it out – well worth reviewing!

A number of previously-published articles have been updated significantly over the past month. To begin with, my valued English friend Martin Dilly read last month’s article on the DALOR 4.5 cc diesel from Argentina and was kind enough to put me in touch with Daniel Iele of Hurlingham, Argentina. As a former president of the Federacion Argentina de Aeromodelismo (1996-2006 and 2009-2011), Daniel is very well-informed regarding the history of Argentinian aeromodelling. Even better, he lives (and has lived for many years) only a few blocks from the location of the Hurlingham workshop at which the DALOR engines were made!

This is exactly the kind of contact that I value most after publishing an article! Daniel was able to provide a significant amount of additional information about Argentinian model engines in general and the DALOR 4.5 in particular. The article has been significantly updated accordingly, with my thanks to both Martin and Daniel.

This wasn’t the only update of that particular article which resulted from its initial publication. The ever-vigilant Maris Dislers was able to provide me with a couple of excellent images of Argentina’s first domestically-produced model engine, the 0.6 cc MAX 1 diesel of 1952.  Not only that, but he also provided a scan of a retrospective test of the MAX 1 undertaken in around 2001 by the late Argentinian model engine authority Arcángel “Chango” Armesto. This material has greatly enhanced our understanding of this extremely rare engine. The coverage of that model in the original article has been greatly expanded. Much appreciated, Maris!!

Maris was by no means done with providing updates at this point! He also contributed a very persuasive analysis of the probable basis for Bill Atwood’s use of a dual intake system with one intake being fully variable in the design of his Silver Crown Champion hydroplane engine of 1938. I’ve updated the Silver Crown Champion section of my article on the Atwood Crown Champion models to reflect Maris’s argument, which has been endorsed by Hugh Blowers of the ever-informative “On the Wire” website devoted to the history of tethered car and hydroplane racing.

Another previously-published article which has received the update treatment is my piece on the OK Cub diesels. My good mate Gordon Beeby of Australia provided me with a considerable amount of new information, including pictures and advertising references, which did much to clarify the history of the original .06 and .15 cuin. diesel models from Herkimer. It appears that there’s no basis for the “legend” that these engines were launched with little fanfare and that most of them were sold outside North America. The enhanced insights provided by Gordon have necessitated a re-write of both the main OK Cub diesel article and the review of the OK Cub 15 diesel.

Reader Marcus Tidmarsh of England has been doing some detailed research into the origins and early years of the E.D. enterprise. His findings have demonstrated conclusively that my published text contained some misleading statements which required amendment. I’ve now updated the articles on the E.D. story, the E.D. 2 cc models and the E.D. Mk. III to reflect Marcus’s findings. Thanks, mate!

I’ve also updated the “background” section of my earlier article on the Atom diesels from Czechoslovakia (as Czechia was then) to reflect some recently-acquired information which has enhanced my understanding of the early years of model diesel production in that country. Well worth another look …………………. 

Commenting on all these updates seems to present an appropriate opportunity to remind everyone that every article that appears on this site, however old, remains a “work in progress” which is subject to amendment or expansion if additional information becomes available at any time. I actually have a policy of reviewing each and every article at least once every five years following its original publication. Even if nothing else changes, links to other articles and resources may well require amendment over such a period of time – old links become invalid and new ones present themselves. This is a major advantage of working in an electronic medium – changes are easily implemented on an ongoing basis. The downside of course is that electronic media can be extremely ephemeral, as I stated in my last Editorial – if it’s important to you, save it and print it!

Once again, I’ve managed to get some new material up on the site for your reading pleasure. The “Readers’ Recollections” pages have been augmented by the memories of David Lloyd of England, who sent in an entertaining account covering his entry into and exit from the building of model aircraft. Those pages have developed into a very engaging stroll down memory lane in the congenial company of a number of our fellow enthusiasts. Let’s have a few more submissions!!

The first all-new engine article for April takes the form of an in-depth review and test of the rare Reeves Goblin 2.45 cc diesel from Shropshire, England. This article completes the coverage of the Reeves series on this website. The Goblin suffered the misfortune of failing its only published test in the hands of Peter Chinn, disappearing from the market almost immediately thereafter. Thanks to some greatly-valued assistance from Dean Clarke of Cre8tionworx Engineering in New Zealand, I’ve been able to demonstrate that with a few easily-implemented design changes, the Goblin had the potential to be a very useful engine. A sad case of what might have been ……………

The Goblin article was to be the only all-new addition to this website for April.  However, as so often in the past, my good mate Maris Dislers came through yet again with an all-new article of his own! Maris has undertaken the daunting task of documenting the spread of diesel technology within a number of European countries in the years preceding 1945.

This is an important topic for anyone with an interest in model diesels, since the origins of the model diesel engine are among the least well-understood aspects of model engine history. The model diesel has typically been thought of as essentially a post-WW2 development, but the fact is that the development of diesels had been well underway in a number of European countries during WW2 and indeed for some years previously. Maris has done a splendid job of documenting this important era of model diesel history. He has my sincere thanks!

The MEN transfer article for the month adds another chapter to my series of in-depth reviews of model diesels which originated in the USA during the earl post-WW2 period. It covers the story of the Speed Demon 30 diesel which was made in relatively small numbers in New York in 1947-48. This was a quality product which was released rather behind its time, hence making little impact on the American marketplace. On the basis of quality alone, it deserved a better fate, as I hope the article will make clear.

That’s about it for this month! I can’t make any firm promises to get anything out for May, but I will promise to give it a try. Given my medical situation, it seems quite likely that the site will become frozen at some point, at least for a while, but I’ll keep going as long as I can – doing so helps to divert attention away from less positive issues! I’ll keep you all posted on any significant developments. In the meantime, I really appreciate all the expressions of support that I’ve received from so many of you! 

Take care, and I’ll see you on the other side of this dratted health issue!

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:

• No commercial use of any kind is to be made of any of the images or text posted on this site without my express written consent.
• No use of any kind, commercial or otherwise, is to be made of any material published in any form on this site without full and open acknowledgement of the source.