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From the Editor – February 2026
Moreover, I finally had a face-to-face meeting with the surgeon to whom my incisional hernia has been referred. Following his examination, he told me that fixing it would involve a fairly major surgical intervention. He expressed the opinion that since the hernia as it stands isn't really having much of an adverse effect upon my normal activities, it might be best to leave it alone unless something changes and it begins to present a real lifestyle challenge. He'll do some more evaluation of the scan images and discuss the matter with my oncologist, after which we'll have to make a decision one way or the other.
Agent Orange (AO) clearly sees the US Constitution, which he has twice sworn before the American people to uphold, as an obstacle to be overcome rather than a national cornerstone to be nurtured. Shows how much his word is worth ……….Worse yet, no-one in any position of authority is calling him on it in any meaningful way – the GOP is down on its knees groveling spinelessly while clinging to his coat-tails, having surrendered the last shreds of its dignity and integrity.
The kidnapping of Venezuelan President Maduro (regardless of his legitimacy) without the constitutionally-required House approval is an overt act of undeclared war, setting a precedent which the USA at large and the rest of the world ignore at their peril. AO has served notice that he considers it to be legal for him personally (not the US government, which wasn’t asked) to order the kidnapping of the leader (legitimate or otherwise) of an independent sovereign nation by US armed forces for whatever reason AO cares to give! Worse yet, the fact that the US military is clearly willing to break its collective oath to uphold the His ramped-up rhetoric about taking over Greenland “whether they like it or not – the hard way if necessary” doesn’t instill optimism since it amounts to an overt threat of unprovoked war against a long-time ally as well as NATO (of which America is a member). He'd be attacking a territory which his nation is legally bound to defend....!! His attempt to impose tariffs on those countries (America’s long-time allies) who oppose his megalomaniac ambitions is another example of his childish school-bully vindictiveness. If he gets away with it in Greenland, Canada’s next ……………… and Iceland as the 52nd State?!!? AO’s claim that he’s acting in the case of Venezuela because that country is a key player in the supply of drugs to the USA is almost laughably absurd – regardless of any such involvement by Maduro personally, he knows perfectly well (or has at least been told) that The theft of those reserves (without which Venezuela has no hope of rebuilding) appears to be aimed at securing an oil supply in the event that AO’s forthcoming actions in the Middle East (about which he has yet to come clean, but I shudder to think) affect the availability of oil from that region. Venezuela’s rare earth resources are an added attraction. This is unbridled looting of a sovereign nation’s natural resources using military force. A similar motivation is apparently in play for Greenland with its critical mineral resources – the clearly-expressed desire of the people of Greenland to remain free and not to join the US seemingly doesn’t count. The notion that Greenland is under threat of invasion by China or Russia is a transparent smokescreen – Alaska is geographically and strategically a far more logical target of any move from those quarters. A US takeover of Greenland by any means will provide the perfect excuse for China or Russia to make counter-moves, since they will rightly see it as being directed against them, as AO has made explicitly clear. And this at a time when he’s alienated most of America’s former allies. However, he’s too intellectually dysfunctional to see the implications.
Why America’s elected representatives and far too many of their constituents are acquiescing in this sad litany of authoritarian abuse of power and gross betrayal of international trust is beyond rational understanding, at least to us outsiders. Doesn’t America have enough real problems at home which urgently require responsible attention from government? They’re not going to get it from this guy! How do they think that his behavior makes America “great again”?!? In whose eyes?!? The rest of us have a different view………….
On a somewhat less than positive note, I heard from my good friend Larry Davidson, who will be well-known to spark ignition enthusiasts as a highly dependable supplier of all manner of spark ignition components. Larry is now 90 years old and has suffered two strokes, but is still carrying on regardless. However, the outfit that made his excellent Larry Coils has gone out of business, and Larry has been unable to find a replacement supplier. In addition, Larry ran out of ignition support modules and has experienced considerable difficulty in sourcing supplies of the components required to make more. As a result of all these issues, Larry has regretfully decided to wind up his business. He has cancelled his website and will sell off his remaining stock, after which there will be no more. This is not good news for those of us who still see sparkies as useable model engines rather than mere curiosities, but time changes all things …….. we’re all greatly beholden to Larry for his past efforts to support the continued operation of those classic old sparkies.
While this development is highly regrettable, prospective spark ignition operators should not give up! My own article on spark ignition operation to be found elsewhere on this website includes full instructions on how to wire up your own “Schmidt Trigger” transistorized spark ignition support system. Easily done – I’ve assembled one myself, and it’s still functioning perfectly after seven years in service.
I’ve added an expanded section about this unique model to my existing article on the VT engines. However, we’re still highly uncertain regarding the date of the VT-10’s appearance. Since the VT-11 and VT-12 both appeared in 1958, it’s not Peter also completed the restoration of my 9.7 cc O.S. Type 10 sparkie from 1946 by making a truly superb working replica of its missing timer. This was copied directly from a complete original which had passed through his hands. Many thanks indeed, mate! My engine is now a superb example of this relatively rare 80-year-old engine, and I plan to give it a few runs in the near future. Stay tuned!!
The first new article represents a further installment in my series of articles on the Mamiya range from Japan. In earlier articles I covered the Mamiya range in general and the engines which constituted the Mamiya .099 series. This month’s addition to that series deals in depth with the far less prolific but technically interesting Mamiya 15 models which were late additions to the range. Articles on the other Mamiya displacement series will appear in due course on this website.
The Rogers & Geary article earns a special mention here in being the 300th article to be added to the Engine Articles pages on this website, all of which are still there for reference. Who’da thunk it?? The site has now almost become an on-line model engine encyclopedia! When I launched this website way back in April 2014 (134 issues ago), I never dreamed that I would reach such numbers or that I would still be adding to the site after 12 years! But here we are ……… my sincere thanks to all of you whose support and encouragement have kept me going and the site growing for so long!
Finally, I’ve moved yet another of my earlier biographical articles over from MEN to my own website. Regular readers will recall a number of my previous efforts to trace the lives and work of certain notable personalities in the model engine world as opposed to focusing solely on the engines for which they were responsible. Last month’s biographical piece covering the life and work of AMCO model engine designer E. C. (“Ted”) Martin was an example. For this month, I’ve re-written my own MEN article dealing with the life and work of Elfin designer Frank Ellis of Liverpool, England. Another talented individual whose efforts are well worth remembering! That’s about it for this month, fellow enthusiasts. All being well and assuming that a) my neighborhood remains free from the sound of tramping jackboots, roaring Abrams tank engines and M7 gunfire; b) that our Canadian Prime Minister remains at liberty; and c) that WW3 doesn’t engulf us all, I hope to summon up enough enthusiasm to return in March 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 ‘n sane!! Adrian Duncan British Columbia, Canada (the NATION, not a state!)
Greenland forever!
___________________________________ 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! Well, we’re a month into 2026 and already it’s turning out to be a fulfillment of the old Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times!” We’re certainly doing that! I’m still doing my best to continue living life to the fullest extent possible under the circumstances. Thankfully, 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. 
The frequently-expressed perception among unbiased medical observers that AO’s mental condition is progressively deteriorating looks increasingly credible as time goes by - his disassociated and delusional speech at Davos attested eloquently to this. Unfortunately, no one appears willing to deal with the dangerously-evolving situation. His ignorant demeaning of the British military who have so often fought and died shoulder to shoulder with their American comrades shames him utterly. His threat to de-certify Canadian aircraft, something which he personally has no power to do, marks him as a delusional enemy of my nation of Canada. Now he's capped it all by suing his own government - the very government that he's supposed to lead!! An immature power-obsessed paranoid egotist who’s losing his grip on reality at the head of the USA with no-one able to control his excesses and the US military at his back?? Scary ………….fear rules the White House (what’s left of it!).
Constitution by obeying such inherently illegal orders is deeply troubling. Will it next be the turn of the elected leaders of Canada and Denmark, both of whom have strongly opposed AO’s obsession with annexing part or all of their territory (in which I’m a threatened resident)? 
The final straw is AO’s open declaration of war on his own cities. The contrast between his violent and now murderous suppression of protesters in his own country (who are understandably exercising their Constitutional right of dissent in response to an intolerable situation which he initiated) and his expressed support for violent protesters in Iran who are responding to similar authoritarian initiatives from their government is impossible to reconcile. 
There’s much more, and I could go on and on, but life’s too short…………. frankly, I would greatly prefer to focus strictly on model engines! It’s just that it’s extremely important to me as one of the millions of people directly threatened by AO's actions that people know who I am and what I stand for (or against). It’s a time for those of us who have a voice to speak out, not sit idly by in acquiescent silence while our global society unravels at the whim of one deranged individual. There are things more important than engines …….. if you don’t agree, please feel free to skip past my broader comments to the engine stuff (or ignore me entirely if you so choose – no-one is required to read any of my material!). In either case, be prepared to shoulder full personal responsibility for the consequences. I’d like to think that a day may come when I’m able to return my entire focus to the model engines that we all love! Nobody will be better pleased than I if that day ever comes. As it is, I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to summon up the enthusiasm to continue working on this website – my efforts are beginning to feel a little irrelevant………….
Anyway ………..on now to model engines, at least one more time! I heard once again from my good mate Peter Valicek, who somehow seems to come up with one Wotizit after another! This time, Peter sent along an image of the very interesting 1.5 cc twin ball-race glow-plug motor seen here. Peter thought that it might be a Dremo from East Germany, but I see a certain Polish element in its styling. This probably means that it’s Ukrainian! Can some kind reader please put us out of our misery – wotizit?!?
A fascinating new arrival this month came once again from Peter Valicek, who sent along a fine example of the very rare 1.5 cc VT-10 diesel made by the Vella Brothers in Hungary. This almost unique design is built up around a set of castings in cast iron as opposed to the conventional aluminium alloy – the bore is formed directly in the material of the main casting. Although Peter has restored this example to outstanding condition, I won’t be running it much – reports from elsewhere indicate that these engines were extremely prone to developing cracks in service thanks to the notorious weakness of cast iron in tension as well as its tendency to crack under tensile stress cycles. As a result, very few were made before the concept was abandoned. That said, Peter has confirmed that this particular example starts and runs well.
OK, on to the new articles for this month! Despite the continuing pressures resulting from the highly charged international situation in which we find ourselves, I’ve somehow managed once again to rise above my personal anxieties and assemble what I hope will be another interesting selection of articles for your reading pleasure.
Anyway, on towards 400!! During the preparation of the Rogers & Geary article, my attention was drawn once more to the fact that the history of power aeromodelling in Britain did not begin during the pre-WW2 period of the 1930’s, but actually went all the way back to the pre-WW1 era! It seemed appropriate that I should do something to document this early era in order to set the stage for the articles dealing with the 1930’s and beyond. Accordingly, the MEN transfer article for the month deals with the pioneering British model engine 
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