From the Editor - December 2024/January 2025

By now, many of you will be aware that my operation to remove the tumor that has been threatening me took place on November 12^th, apparently with complete success. Recovery following surgery was expected to take around 6 weeks if there were no complications. I’m now at that point, with everything pretty much going according to plan, and it’s time to take stock.

I find myself between a rock and a hard place, as the saying goes. On the one hand, I remain totally devastated by the evolving crisis both in the USA and elsewhere arising from the US election result, and I’m not alone. The fall-out from that situation has already begun to affect a lot of people whom I hold in high affection and esteem, both in the USA and in Canada, and it’s only going to get worse. The overt hostility and disrespect being directed towards Canada by the “New USA” and its supporters is disquieting in the extreme – our countries are supposed to be friends. My heart goes out to those already affected – I expect to join them in time. Not a cheery prospect .........

On the other hand, there’s all of you on the receiving end of this Editorial. I was frankly gobsmacked by the sheer number and sincerity of the expressions of concern and support that I received from so many of you both before and after my surgery. Many have openly expressed a genuine and heartfelt desire to see me resume my former activities. It’s impossible to convey sufficient thanks for all that you guys have done to help me get through my recent challenges. I simply can’t ignore the needs and desires of a group which has shown such empathy and concern towards me. 

So ……….. you win! Although I will admit to having had my overall level of enthusiasm considerably dampened by recent events, I owe it to all of you to pick myself up off the floor and return to duty, trying to put some of the spring back into my step. Prior to the election, I had been putting in a lot of extra hours so that I would have material to share with you for December 2024 if my recovery allowed. As matters turned out, I missed the December 1^st deadline due primarily to lack of enthusiasm, as I told you post-election that I saw as being on the cards. However, the considerable amount of advance pre-election work that I did was still there.

Now that I’ve decided to grit my teeth and climb back into the saddle despite my ongoing angst, this advance preparation has allowed me to get a new Edition ready to go out just in time for the holiday season. Consider it my season’s gift to you all and my way of saying thanks to all of you for the support.

Another factor that prompted me to get this edition out was a request from the Model Engine Collectors Association (MECA) that I assist in publicising one of their latest initiatives. MECA has been good to me - I can't let them down.

Since the greatly-regretted passing of my good mate Tim Dannels earlier this year, the Dannels family has been dealing with the need to preserve Tim's very considerable legacy relating to the model engines that he knew and loved so well. They have generously donated the remaining copies of Tim's various pubications to MECA, who will be selling these items off, with all proceeds going to MECA thanks to the generosity of the Dannels family. The attached advertisement above at the left provides full details. Please take advantage of this opportunity - when these resources are gone, there won't be any more!   

Before proceeding further, I'd like to share a couple of the very creative e-cards that I often receive at this time of year. The first such card (right) came from my long-time English friend and colleague Peter Scott. Peter has recently been putting his energies into assembling an impressive collection of English sparkies, and he found a very seasonal way of displaying a few of them. Hope you enjoy his efforts as much as I did!

I also received a lovely e-card from my good mate Peter Valicek of the Netherlands. This one was created by a friend of his whose name was not provided - must have taken a great deal of setting up! I thought that you'd enjoy it, and I'm really happy to include it here.   

Building upon my advance work way back in early November, I’ve been able to scrape up no fewer than four new articles for your holiday reading pleasure despite the crimp in my activities arising both from the surgery and from post-election depression. The line-up has a multi-national flavor – the topics range geographically from Russia through France and America to Japan.  

The first article sees us return to Russia for a look at one of the more commonly-encountered Russian model engine series from the mid-1960’s through to the 1990’s - the engines marketed under the ZSTKAM label. These engines were intended as high-performance consumer-grade powerplants for use by club-level Russian modellers in gaining experience in their chosen activity. They ranged in style from sport/stunt engines through C/L combat and team race designs to all-out free flight and C/L speed competition motors. Although these engines carried a common series identity reflecting the team that designed them, their manufacture took place at a number of facilities within the former USSR. As a result, they varied somewhat in quality. However, a good example was generally a very solid performer.

After looking at the ZSTKAM engines, we head west to early post-WW2 France for a review and test of one of the diesels which established the early reputation of the Micron marque from Paris – the Micron 2.8 cc diesel of 1945. This was the third model diesel to be designed by André Gladieux and released under his Micron trade-name. It was quite successful, remaining in production until 1951. My review and test of an example superbly restored by my Kiwi mate Dean Clarke showed that it was indeed a very useful engine by the standards of its day.

The third article takes us west across the Atlantic Ocean to shine a light on one of the most unusual spark ignition engines ever to appear in the USA – the Howler .604 model from Detroit, Michigan. Produced in two distinct series in relatively small numbers during the period 1946 – 1947, this engine was highly unusual in that it relied entirely upon sub-piston induction for its air supply, with fuel being supplied completely independently through a separate front rotary valve system. It also had quite an unusual genesis. 

Finally, as always there’s an MEN transfer article. The subject this time is the mega-rare Sky Shark 49 from 1950’s Japan. This little-known unit was designed by Mr. N. Haruyama, better known for his Haru and Sky Queen models. Although a bit “agricultural” in appearance, it was a very well-made powerplant and a fine runner within the limits of its somewhat unusual design features.

In addition to finalizing the articles listed above, I managed to find time to add a significant update to my existing article on the May Rocket sparkie and its descendants. I heard from reader Paul Smigelski of Detroit that he has unearthed what appears to be a hitherto-unreported prototype of a .60 cuin. (10 cc) sparker which is clearly associated with the manufacturers of the Rocket "4610" described in my article. The engine (found by Paul at a local Detroit-area flea market) is incomplete, but enough is there to put the identification of its source beyond doubt in my view. It's evidently a prototype of what was intended to be a Rocket "5980" but never made it into production. Definitely deserving of a place in my article - thanks, Paul!   

That's about it for this month. Time pressures and levels of motivation being what they are, I’d ask you to consider this as a joint December 2024/January 2025 Edition. I will do my best to return to normal service with the February 2025 edition, provided I remain healthy and post-election fall-out allows this. 

All my best wishes to all of you for the holiday season, and best of luck in the New Year to come!

Adrian

___________________________________

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.