|
|
From the Editor – April 2026
I hope that St. Patrick’s Day didn’t exact too much of a toll!! Back in the days when my band always had a musical gig entertaining the drunken green-clad masses on that day, it used to take me a few days to recover! It paid well, but it took a physical toll! And green beer is just too weird………! The continuing devolution of the world situation through which we all have to live continues to cast a long shadow over all of us. I’m still doing my best to continue living life to the fullest extent possible under the circumstances. Happily, I seem to be holding my own on the health front – something to be thankful for.
His undeclared war on the people of Cuba through his illegal blockade is equally outrageous. Withholding their essential oil supplies which he has first brazenly stolen from the people of Venezuela is simply a piracy-based “war by other means”. Worse yet, it’s totally illegal. The victims are the ordinary citizens of both countries, but the bully doesn’t care about that. His rants about the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz (now lifted) look hypocritical in the extreme – seemingly he’s allowed to blockade essential oil supplies, but no-one else is!
Now, on to more positive topics! Once in a while, everyone should treat themselves to a toy that has no practical use but is just plain fun!! Last month I finally succumbed to the lure of just such a toy! I bought one of the remarkable little 1.6 cc table-top four-stroke spark ignition engines that have been on offer from Chinese eBay sellers for the past few years.
An excellent video of one of these engines being started and run appears here – please avert your eyes at the point where the spark plug is removed and reinstalled with pliers! In addition, be aware that the engine requires preliminary hand lubrication both inside and out as well as 5% oil in the fuel, and there’s no indication of this in the video – please don’t copy if you expect to get more than one or two runs out of it! Of course, this is a table-top demonstration toy, not a practical model powerplant – it was not designed to power models of any kind, but rather to make a few relatively short unloaded demonstration runs at very modest speeds. Many of the bearings are brass, as are the valve timing gears, so it’s not suitable for hard running under load over the long haul – indeed, it was never designed for such service. I would not expect a very long working life in terms of total running hours, particularly if the engine was subject to any significant loading.
Returning to the more familiar model aero engines, I was very pleased to hear from reader Pat Hardy, who drew my attention to the fact that that my article on the AMCO 3.5 cc engines didn’t include any mention of the excellent AMCO 3.5 BB replicas produced at the initiative of Arne Hende. I’ve subsequently added such a mention near the end of the article, with my sincere thanks to Pat.
I also heard from Dan Rinehart, who is currently engaged in an effort to restore his example of the Morton M-5 radial. Dan has assembled all of the necessary components, but lacks the manual in which the set-up of the timing gears in the timing case on the back of the crankcase during reassembly is described. Does any reader have this information? If so, please contact Dan directly at parrakeet1936@gmail.com or at 1102 Promenade Ave., Placentia, CA 92870 – tel. (714) 470-2725.
The first all-new article for the month completes my in-depth coverage of the Mamiya range from 1950’s Japan. I’ve previously dealt with the Mamiya range in general terms, followed by detailed articles on the Mamiya 09, Mamiya 15 and Mamiya 29 offerings. Time now for a close-up look at the highly distinctive Mamiya .60 cuin. models which got the range started. This is a more diverse series than many people realize – I hope you enjoy reading about it!
These early pioneers are fully deserving of our highest respect – they were the first to meet and respond to the many challenges inherent in the successful design, construction and operation of model aircraft and their powerplants at a time when these matters were very much in their early developmental stages. The rest of us stand on their shoulders, making their stories richly deserving of preservation!
That’s about it for this month, fellow enthusiasts. All being well and assuming that my neighborhood remains free from the sound of tramping jackboots, roaring Abrams tank engines and M7 gunfire, and that the mushroom clouds of WW3 don’t engulf us all courtesy of AO, I hope to return in May 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:
|
Greetings once more to one and all! Happy April Fool’s Day, a more meaningful event than usual this year, because the world population of fools has seemingly quadrupled! 
The disastrous consequences of the continuing reign of US dictator Agent Orange (AO) both to the people of the United States and the world at large are becoming increasingly clear to anyone who is paying attention. He’s certainly more than justified the Nobel Committee’s decision not to award him a legitimate Peace Prize (and made FIFA’s play-pen placebo “award” look like the mockery that it is) by starting his ill-conceived war in Iran, the consequences of which are still unfolding as it backfires on him and escalates beyond his control, with a consequent disruption of the US and world economies. This was a transparent attempt to divert attention away from the Epstein files, regardless of the cost in human lives and economic woes – hopefully it won’t succeed in doing so. It’s also a flagrant breachof his pre-election promise to keep America out of overseas wars…… but we should 
The spectacle of a female US (sadly, ex Canadian) Olympian honoring AO for his “support” for women’s athletics through his banning of trans-gender women was unbearably disgusting. She was honoring a self-confessed homophobe (for whom his homophobic views were his total motivation for the ban) who has displayed his real view of women by openly consorting with female-victimizing sex criminals and who also bears the primary responsibility for the annihilation of the students and staff of the girls’ school in Minab, Iran. What about those girls’ chances of future participation in sports?!? I supposed that he would classify his buddy Epstein’s female victims as being engaged in a form of “sport”, in which their participation was to be encouraged…………does this sound like a supporter of female empowerment? 
His flagrant blackmailing of the House of Representatives over his SAVE bill which will disenfranchise large numbers of eligible voters is without precedent – an elected President blackmailing his own government and the citizens whom they serve in order to undermine the constitutional rights of many of those same citizens. His acceptance of a $10b bribe for brokering the TikTok deal is nothing short of shameful – US President turns street-corner huckster while the government that he is supposed to lead founders. His deployment of ICE at US airports is just another step towards the police state of his dreams, and will do nothing to encourage renewed tourist visitation to the USA. His putting his signature on US currency is a breathtaking act of unfettered egotism. And so it goes on…… and on. Those who continue to support this deranged megalomaniac and convicted felon are April Fools indeed - the fact that there are still so many of them in the USA is deeply disturbing.
This little beauty is certainly the smallest-displacement four-stroke engine that I’ve ever owned ……and it’s a sparkie to boot! The engine is a testament to the degree to which CAD and CNC technology have empowered present-day model engineers. It is superbly crafted – few model engineers back in the Golden Era could have produced anything this nice as a one-off, let alone replicating it in sufficient numbers to be able to offer it commercially at an affordable price (c. US$300). The engine as received is beautifully fitted, with excellent compression and zero detectable slop in the bearings as delivered. It starts easily and runs very well, with a pleasing but quite restrained exhaust note – no earplugs required! It’s surprisingly responsive to the throttle.
I was delighted to hear from reader Luis Lugo of Puerto Rico, who pointed out a vital piece of evidence which I’d overlooked concerning the geographic origins of the very rare Boxer range. The evidence was there all along – I just missed it! The late model Boxer .099 illustrated with the late Dan Vincent’s published photographs bears the statement “Made in Japan” clearly cast in relief onto the right-hand side of the main bearing. So the Japanese origin of the Boxer engines is confirmed! My sincere thanks to Luis for pointing this out – mea culpa, and I’ve adjusted the 
Finally, I heard yet again from one of my most valued colleagues, Gordon Beeby of Australia, who undertook a careful search for any points that I’d missed relating to the work of David Stanger when writing the article which appeared in my February 2026 edition. Gordon hit pay dirt, finding that Stanger’s pioneering 1906 V-4 engine was the subject of one of the first-ever published model engine tests, dating to April 1913. He also unearthed a few additional details which I had failed to spot. I’ve updated the 
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 fears and frustrations long enough to assemble what I hope will be another interesting selection of articles for your reading pleasure.
The second new article continues my series of studies of the pioneering British model engines from the very early years of power aeromodelling going back 120 years to the first decade of the 20
The MEN transfer article for the month completes this website’s coverage of the model engines manufactured by Kemp Engines and its successor company, the “K” Model Engineering Co. Ltd. I’ve re-drafted my earlier article on the subject of the 
Once again, as is so often the case, there’s also a bonus article courtesy of my good mate Maris Dislers of Australia. Maris has taken a long hard look as one of the less highly-regarded members of the O.S. range, the little 
| |