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From the Editor – November 2025
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for making any progress with my incisional hernia! My namesake surgeon Dr. Duncan has made a very belated referral of my case to another surgeon, and I’m waiting for news of an appointment to see him. This could have been initiated months ago, but wasn’t. Very frustrating – I seem to be back to Square One!! Oh well, I just have to roll with the punches and be very grateful to have received the medical care that has got me this far ………….. Next, the bad news! Down south, convicted felon and associate of sex criminals Agent Orange (AO) continues to consolidate his claim to be viewed as the most ignorant, immoral and egocentric apology for a human being ever to hold major office in any democratic country. His one positive characteristic is that he makes it easy to determine when he’s lying – if his lips are moving, that’s a dead giveaway! Sadly, no-one in authority His juvenile tantrums over the “Reagan ads” have backfired big-time. Entirely thanks to his reaction, everybody rushed to find out what Reagan really said ……. consequently, everyone now knows for sure that Reagan wasn’t a fan of tariffs, contrary to AO’s lies, viewing them as a last resort to be implemented with great reluctance, and as temporary measures only to deal with a specific trade issue, as opposed to AO’s indiscriminate use of them as a punitive blackmailing tool. Reagan would have been appalled at what AO is doing! Thanks for setting us all straight, AO!! Also on the positive side, he and his supporters have done the rest of us a service by declaring a “war on woke”, thus unmasking themselves for what they really are. He seems to be too ignorant to know that the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of the meaning of the word “woke” is “aware of, and actively attentive to, important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)”. By corollary therefore, those who endorse the “war on woke” are self-identifying themselves as being “unaware of, and inattentive to, important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social injustice)”. Good to know what And now you have no place to hide…………. you’re out from under your rocks, and we can see you! The failed attempts by MAGA supporters and “plants” to incite the 7,000,000 peaceful “No Kings” protesters to violence in order to justify AO’s military deployments against his own people confirms their growing insecurity. 22 arrests of MAGA-inspired attempted disruptors nationwide, clearly displaying where AO’s claimed violence in American cities is coming from. AO has made it clear that this openly-admitted moral and intellectual degeneracy also includes lack of awareness of, and inattentiveness to, important societal issues like climate change, freedom of speech, public health, even-handed administration of justice and adherence to the Constitution. In a multi-racial supposedly constitutional democracy like America and given the state of today’s world, is this a mindset of which to be proud?? In my view, an appropriate word to use to characterize such a breathtaking level of moral and intellectual bankruptcy would be to apply the term used to summarize financial bankruptcy - “broke”! How about “battling broke” as a counter-slogan to the “war on woke”?!?
AO’s lack of intelligence, comprehension, honesty and moral integrity was never better underscored than by his open outright personal denial of the climate change crisis, an objectively indisputable process which is already impacting the lives of millions of his own people, with far worse yet to come. In taking this stance, he threatens all of us, not just his own citizens. His false statements on this issue are so manifestly absurd that they would be laughable if their impact upon all of us wasn’t so tragic.
Nominal bore and stroke appear to be 9/16 in. (14.29 mm) and 5/8 in. (15.88 mm) respectively for a nominal displacement of 2.55 cc (0.155 cuin.). The engine weighs 6.9 ounces (196 gm). The oddly-oriented crankshaft induction system is arranged for clockwise rotation viewed from the front – a not-uncommon operational mode in the 1940’s.
The cylinder retaining studs are 10BA and extend quite far beyond the nuts, a typical feature on home-constructed projects. The Lodge spark plug and BA fastenings both strongly suggest a British or Commonwealth origin. My good mate Gordon Beeby has pointed out that this engine is illustrated as a Whatizit on page 212 of Mike Clanford’s “A-Z” book – in fact, visible casting flaws suggest that it is that very same example! I’ve added this engine to my own Wotizit pages. Can anyone identify it or suggest its origin? If so, please get in touch!
Gordon also contributed what he called an “outrageous speculation” by suggesting that the Wotizit posted as an “unidentified diesel twin” may be an example of the near-mythical Weston “D” model which was advertised very briefly by the manufacturers in 1948 and was also mentioned in Ron Warring’s 1949 book entitled “Miniature Aero Motors”. I cited this model in my own article on the Weston engines.
Finally, the engine definitely doesn’t conform to the manufacturer’s own characterization of it as a “twin racing diesel”. This leaves me in a position where I have to confine myself to agreeing with Gordon that this is certainly a possible identification, but nothing more in the absence of supporting evidence. My thanks to Gordon for this intriguing suggestion! Anyone have any better ideas? Gordon also drew my attention to an invaluable but seldom-accessed resource for researching the pre-WW2 and early post-WW2 history of aeromodelling. This is the on-line archive of issues of the British "Newnes Practical Mechanics" magazine which commenced publication in October 1933. Although this magazine covered a very wide range of do-it-yourself creative activities, aeromodelling and its associated technology (such as engines) were covered regularly and in some depth. Its featured advertising is particularly informative. My sincere thanks to Gordon for drawing my attention to this source of historical information! W There’s a significant update to an existing article to report this month. I finally got around to completing my already-published article on the infamous slag engines by conducting bench tests of both spark ignition and glow-plug examples. Frankly, I wasn’t expecting much from these tests, but the old slaggers really surprised me by starting and running quite well, also seemingly surviving their test running with no discernable ill effects. Check out a full account of my experiences near the end of the article! Alberto Parra, the individual responsible for the marketing of the well-known Parra engines, has let it be known that he is selling off a number of collectible model engines at the present time. Check out his current offerings – some very nice stuff there!
The first article deals with one of the better-known large model diesels of the early post-WW2 period in Britain – the 5.32 cc (0.325 cuin.) D-C Wildcat from Barnoldswick in Lancashire, England. First appearing in Mk. I form during 1947, this well-made but rather bulky and heavy sideport unit started easily and ran smoothly, getting Hefin Davies’ D-C Ltd. enterprise off to a good start. The Wildcat ended up appearing in three distinct variants, with the final Mk. III model surviving in production into 1950 before being replaced by the far lighter, more powerful and more compact D-C 350. Full details in this month’s article.
For this month there’s also a bonus MEN transfer article. While trolling through the pages of MEN looking for engine articles which merited being That’s about it for this month, fellow enthusiasts. All being well and assuming that WW3 doesn’t engulf us and that my neighborhood remains free from the sound of tramping jackboots and gunfire, I hope to return in December to wish you all Season’s Greetings and to present a few more reviews for your reading pleasure. In the meantime, I really appreciate all the expressions of support that I’ve continued to receive from so many of you! Stay safe!! Adrian Duncan British Columbia, Canada (the NATION, not a state!)
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 except when expressly otherwise stated. For the record, this material is made freely available to all upon two firm conditions:
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Greetings once more to one and all! First, the good news - I’m still alive and kicking, hence well able to send out this greeting to all of my fellow model engine enthusiasts around the world! My recovery from the removal of my stomach tumor followed by my gall bladder continues to go well, with no significant side effects so far and no evidence of a relapse.
AO and his supporters really stand for…………or against. The disgusting Young Republican Chat Group emails offer further confirmation of the values espoused by AO and his following. Thanks for ‘fessing up, guys – confession is good for the soul!
AO’s childish tantrums at being denied the Nobel Peace Prize would be viewed as high comedy if they didn’t further reveal such a total absence of comprehension, intelligence, morality and integrity at the head of a once and future great nation. Does he truly believe that it would be appropriate to award the Nobel 
Now on to happier topics! Reader Jim Conery sent along some images of an intriguing 2.5 cc (0.15 cuin.) sparkie which has come into his possession. The initial impression is that it’s a home-constructed unit – it’s certainly no production model of which I’ve ever seen evidence. It could well be an un-reported kit engine. The “T” cast on the bypass side doesn't match anything that I can identify from the spark ignition era, but it does say that the maker thought enough of his effort to apply some identification to its case. Jim says that the engine is in good condition except for one broken cylinder fin. It appears to have been mounted but little if at all run.
The engine appears to have been designed to run inverted, as the needle valve is pointing down and the gussets on the engine mounting lugs are located on the bottom side (or possibly the model’s bearers were intended to run above the lugs a la Forster .99).
Speaking objectively, I have to say that I agree with Gordon’s characterization of this suggestion as speculative. The twin‘s cylinders certainly display some design similarities to the Weston 3.5 cc Stunt Special, while the 5 cc displacement and 9.5 ounce weight match the figures cited by Warring. However, the Weston “D” was specifically claimed to be a “twin-cylinder effort with ball-bearing crankshaft” in the 1948 Ian Allan Model Aviation Power Models publication. The illustrated Wotizit twin shows no visible evidence of having ball races, nor do the comp screws and prop drivers match Weston’s usual style.
The second article this month was submitted by my good mate Maris Dislers of Glandore, South Australia. It deals with perhaps the earliest model engine design to be subject to the cloning/copying process in a surprising number of countries – the 5.88 cc (.359 cuin.) 
The 
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