Model engine builders and collectors are great ones for self-published and "small press" books. This makes sense as the market for such publications is as small as it is passionate. A prime example is Model Engine Designer And Manufacturer Profiles It was compiled by the late David R Janson from a series published in the newsletter of the Denver chapter of SAM, the Society of Antique Modellers. This series, researched and written by David, spanned ten years and covered 113 subjects. David deserves special praise as his book carries an encouragement to copy and reproduce as you will to further the hobby of model airplane building and engine collecting.

The section that follows gives David's introduction, followed by an Alphabetical Index of the reviews. This index lists all of the 113 subjects in alphabetical order. The number reflects the sequence of publication. Where I have good color photos of the subjects, I've OCR'd the text to create a web page. These are hyperlinked from the index entries. Note a correction: Reviews 107 and 108 are transposed in the published index. They are shown correct in the table.

In the early 1990s our Society of Antique Modelers Club, SAM #1, here in the greater Denver, Colorado area, had a monthly newsletter called "Exhibits", which continues to this day in the winter of 2006. We had an excellent editor, one Gaylord Kirkham whom I, in casual conversation with one day, inquired if he would like to have a page each month, dedicated to an old or new model engine. Kirk said he sure would.

For some months after retirement, I had been contemplating a contribution to our newsletter to add additional interest of a slightly different nature and at the same time satisfy my historical writing interests concerning model engines. As a long time member of SAM and the Model Engine Collectors Association (MECA) I am an active collector and flyer of the old and new model engines.

Stop for a minute and think about what it takes to design, manufacture and sell a model airplane engine. One must realize that the old "sparkers" and the new glow engines are the result of much planning, loss of income most of the time and time wasted in getting them to market. And what a hard to please market we modelers are. Only a very few of the manufacturers have made any "real" money over the years and the same is true today. The big bugaboo, cost to the modeler, back then as well as today in many instances is the deciding factor as to whether the engines will sell. Those handfull of designers and manufacturers who somehow managed to get "it" all together design, quality, and powerwise with the right price enabling them to stay the course and make a decent profit, are the exception. And interestingly enough, many of the "failures" are the most sought after collecting engines which command the highest current prices...the rarities, because so few were manufactured and sold.

Producing a model airplane engine has to be a labor of love...that's what it surely was in the early days and still to a certain extent is today. And for those of us who were "bitten" by the old and new engines it is also a labor of great interest (love?) to seek them out, buy, sell and restore, "and display our wares so that others can enjoy them, too. Sadly the years are passing for us and our old engine interests and the "youngsters" coming up in the hobby world are oriented entirely differently than what our interests are. And, of course, that is one of the reasons I have made the effort to record the information in this booklet...so that "model engine thoughts" can be sustained for those in the future who will become interested.

To date I have found and appraised 41 "estates" of accumulations of old engines and paraphernalia and hundreds of single engines located throughout the Rocky Mountain area, buying engines from old time modelers who have them stashed in basements, work shops, barns, garages and sometims in the trunks of their old cars and from their widows. From singles and small groups of 5 or 10 to the largest I have appraised just short of 1,500 engines in a divorce situation, I've learned a lot about people and their hobbies.

In addition I have 40 years of correspondence from buying, selling, and trading old engines and a whole filing cabinet full of interesting articles (yes I am a clipper and saver) from which I draw much of the information in my articles.

I have tried to do three things with each article. First I strive to make it interesting with historical comments to bring the engine(s) into perspective. Second I include engine stats and details that are not boring, and third I make some observations on collectability and the interest in doing so. Each article takes a couple of weeks off and on to compile with finding a suitable picture most difficult. All articles are chosen randomly of interest at the time of writing...all composed and typed by myself.

So enjoy these "thumb nail sketches" about a very small part of our hobby history, compiled "along the way" these past 10 years.

 

3	Aero 35, horizontal piston engine, glow, 1963, USA
47	Ace 64, twin spark ign., 1948, USA
106	Atom 09, spark ign., 1939, USA
7	Avion Mercury R/C, 1.604, spark ign., 1946, USA
58	Bantam 60, twin, glow, 1980, USA
87	Barker 60, man-ul-matic, spark ign., 1947, USA
112	B & C 60, vertical twin, glow, 1981, Italy
24	Bernhardt (HB) 61 R/C, & 21 R/C Grand Prix, glows, 1972, Germany
38	Browns, Lykens 12 spark, 1940, C02s, Campus 29 glow, 1950, USA
39	Cameron 23, spark ign., 1946, USA
74	Cameron 15 R/C, glow, 1950, USA
61	Cannon 300, 299, spark, 1945, USA
9	Channel Islands "special" 10cc, spark, 1949, England
108	C.I.E. 14, diesel, 1948, USA
22	Cirrus 1.5 R/C, inline four, 1979 USA (also called D&B and Z&H, glow & ign.)
63	CMB 60 R/C, R/CA, 1984, Italy
55	Comet 35, spark ign., 1938, USA
53	Condor 60, Copper King, spark ign., 1939, USA
8	Conley l.2 R/C, glow, 4 cycle, 1988, USA
50	Cox .049, thimbledrome, 1st mdl, 1952, USA
15	Damo FS 218 R/C, 1.1, twin four-cycle glow, 1978, Sweden
34	Davies-Charlton (DC) .29, Tornado twin glow, 1960 England
73	Deezil 12, diesel, 1948, USA
25	Dunham-Orwick 64, repro, spark ign, 1985, England
78	Dylla 60, four-cycle, glow, 1980s, Austria
69	English two & four cycles, Merco 60, Magnum 90, Condor 90, Hi-Max 90, 81-84
54	Enya VT 240, "V" twin, four-cycle, glow, 1986, Japan
62	Enya 4l-4C, four-cycle, glow, 1995, Japan
107	Enya 90-4C, four cycle, glow, 1984, Japan
77	Figge, 90, four cycle, glow, early 1980s, Germany
17	Fisher 60 R/C, Redshift, glow, 1977, England
18	Fitzpatrick 60 R/C, glow, 1978, USA
81	Fox 60 R/C, Hawk, glow, 1985, USA
92	Fox 1.2 R/C, twin, glow, 1979, USA
93	Fox 60 R/C, Eagle III, glow, 1981, USA
100	Fox 40 R/C, 500 Quickee, glow, 1984, USA
102	Fox 19BB R/C, glow, 1983, USA
103	Fox 78 R/C, glow, 1981, USA
4	G-Mark .30 R/C, five cylinder radial, glow, 1980, Japan
71	G-Mark 30 R/C, twin glow, 1981, Japan
28	G.H.Q. .56, sparkign, 1940, USA
44	Heatherington 23, spark ign., 1948, USA
104	Herkimer 60, DeLuxe, spark ign., 1940, USA
48	Herkimer 1.208, twin, spark ign, 1946, USA
80	Hi-Max 91 R/C, glow, 1987, England
6	Hirtenberger (HP), 61 R/C, glow, rear intake, 1967, Austria
79	Hi-Speed, Phantoms, Torpedos 27s, pre and post war, USA
65	Holland Hornet 049, glow, 1960, USA
49	HP V21, R/C, four-cycle, glow, 1984, Austria
110	Hur1eman 38, aristocrat, spark ign., 1939, USA
84	Hurricane 24, glow, 1946, Canada
72	Kalt FC-1, 45, four-cycle, glow, 1978, Japan
70	Kavan PK-50, MKll, four-cycle, spark ign., 1986, Germany
16	Kende1 1.2, glow, twin, 1978, USA
25	K & M Orwick 64, spark ign., 1984, England
30	Hiness 60 R/C, Arrow, in1ine single 1975, Japan
19	Kraft 60 R/C, glow, 1974, USA
29	Krasnorutskij 60 R/C, inline single, glow 1974, Russia
60	Laser 75, four-cycle, glow, 1984, England
96	Leja 90, four-cycle, spark ign., 1947, USA
56	Maloney 1.00, spark ign., 1986, Korea
51	Mamiya 60, spark ign., 1949, Japan
113	MDS 61, R/C, glow, 1997, Russia
36	Merco 61 R/C, glow, 1958, England
83	Merlin 24, glow, 1946, Canada/USA
76	Mike GR6, 1.00, 5 cylinder radial, glow, 1989, USA
27	Micron M4-24, 58, R/C glow, four cylinder, 1973, France
52	Mite 098, diesel, 1947, USA
31	Moki M6, 1.5 R/C glow, 1976, Hungary
82	Morton M5, four-cycle, 5 cylinder spark ign., 1947, USA
32	MVVS 10 R/C, glow, 1969, Czech Republic
41	Nordec 60, glow, 1950, England
2	Northfield-Rosspower 1.206, R/C glow, 1972, USA
99	OPS 60 R/C, super, glow, 1982, Italy
64	OPS 1.20 R/C, four-cycle, glow, 1984, Italy
5	O.S. Wankel (Graupner), 30 Glow, rotary piston engine, 1982, Japan
12	O.S. 29, glow, 1951, Japan
42	O.S. 56, type 6 (K6), spark ign., 1940/1988
87	O.S. 1.60 Gemini Twin, glow, 1985, Japan
109	O.S. 108 FSR (BX-l) glow, 1984, Japan
14	OTC 19, spark ign., 1993, USA
37	PAL 55, spark ign., 1950, USA
111	PAW 29, diesel, 1992, USA [sic]
20	Profi 6lF, glow, 1975, Germany
85	R.V.E. 60, four-cycle glow, 1982, England
23	Saito G-60 R/C, spark ign., 1978, Japan
105	Saito 100 R/C twin, glow, 1996, Japan
89	Saito FA 90T, MkII, R/C glow, twin, 1994, Japan
84	Sesqui 09 diesel, 1982, Australia
11	Simplex 19A, Hornet, and 25 MkII, spark ign., 1978-83, USA
35	Skylark 60, spark ign, magneto, 1981, England
40	Strato Super 60, spark ign., 1942, Canada
43	Strong 45, glow vertical twin R/C, 1964-65, Japan
33	Suevia 1.5, type 22 R/C, glow, 1978, Germany
68	Super Cyclone 60, spark ign, 1939, USA
75	Super Tigre XII, R/C, glow, 1985, Italy
90	Super Tigre G. 60 bluehead, glow, 1977, Italy
97	Super Tigre X6l R/C, glow, 1988, Italy
45	Syncro 56, ace, spark ign., 1939, USA
46	Syncro B30, spark ign., 1940, USA
10	Taipan 40 R/C, glow, 1975, Australia
1	Taplin 49, MkIII Twin, R/C, diesel, 1967, England
13	Technopower II, R/C, spark ign, 5 cylinder radial, four-cycle, 1981, USA
101	Technopower II, R/C, glow, 5 cylinder "big bore" four-cycle 1983, USA
26	Tlush 61, ace, spark ign., 1936-1972
66	Thor 49, spark ign., 1946, USA
95	Thunder Tiger F9lS, R/C glow four-cycle, 1997, Taiwan
67	Wahl, replicas, glow ign., 1958-2001, USA
21	Webra 61 R C glow, 1980, Germany & OS Max 61 FSR GS 2A, 1983, Japan,geared
57	Webra T4, .87, four-stroke, glow, 1980, Germany
91	Webra 61 R/C, blackhead, glow, 1972, Germany
98	Webra 61 R/C, racing, glow, 1979, Germany

For a full review of this publication,
see Model Engine News, August 2006.

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