Model Engine Collectors, Model Engine Collecting, Antique Model Engines, Antique Model Engine Collecting, Model Car Collectors, Model Car Collecting, Antique Model Car Collectors, Antique Model Car Collecting, Model Airplane Collectors, Model Airplane Collecting, Antique Model Airplane Collectors, Antique Model Airplane Collecting.
September 2010
Welcome to any new visitors to our site. Be sure to check out the prior edition of our swap sheet and the “Collectos” tab to see news of up-coming swap meets. Come to EXPO XI, Sept. 10-12, Muncie, IN at the Horizon Convention Center Saturday afternoon to see the engine displays, hear rare engines actually run, and browse the swap shop on Sunday. Look at the flyer for EXPO XI under the “Collectos” tab. Also, check out the prior edition of our swap sheet.
The AMA has a Hall of Fame www.modelaircraft.org/museum/hoflist.aspx with many, many interesting biographies and auto-biographies of its members. MECA member and Herkimer fancier Dave Evans noticed Charles Brebeck, the man behind OK engines had not been inducted. At his urging, I nominated Mr. Brebeck and he was accepted for membership in July 2009, finally joining the ranks of the other American engine manufacturers. Here is my nomination biography:
Charles Brebeck, founder of the Herkimer Tool and Model, is worthy of a place in the Model Aviation Hall of fame. Charles himself designed the vast line of OK engines. In the late 40s and early 50s era when the “romance of flight” was still very real, thousands of boys (and men) got their introduction to gas models with Brebeck OK Cubs. His engines were affordable, reliable, and available. “OK Cub” has become a generic term for any small engine used in the 50s and 60s, just like “Kleenex” for any tissues, “Scotch” tape for any clear tape, or “Crescent” wrench for any adjustable wrench. Talk to someone who had a small engine in the 50s and hell remember it as a little “OK Cub”.
There is no doubt that without Charles Brebeck’s designs and marketing, thousands of modelers may never have entered our hobby.
Charles Brebeck started out in the business of rebuilding auto and truck rear axles and brakes as the Interstate Bearing Company. The business prospered and Brebeck expanded into supplying other parts. One day his son brought home a friend’s model car engine to see if Charles could fix it. This started Charles’s fascination with model airplane engines. He had been looking for a product he could manufacture and sell without being a middleman and model engines would be this product.
Charles had studied the engine his son brought home and based on his knowledge of two stroke motorcycle engines and his own technical abilities, he designed his own engine. In the process, he obtained a patent for improvements to engine design, mostly based on a steel cylinder with integral cooling fins and symmetrical intake and exhaust porting, all to minimize heat distortion and facilitate economical manufacture. This patent #2179683 (the patent drawing is attached) was awarded on November 14, 1939 and is the patent number found on most OK engine crankcases. In 1938 Brebeck formed the Herkimer Tool and Model Company to manufacture his engines.
Brebeck’s engines were known as “OKs”. From 1939 into 1949, thousands of OKs were produced, first in 60 displacement, but then a 1.2 twin version for military target drone application, .49, various .29s, the Bantam .19, and the Brown CO2 engine.
Besides the basic model engine patent, Brebeck received a patent for a method to fabricate a model engine crankshaft using a cooling jig to prevent welding heat from softening and distorting the assembly. He also received 2 patents for sine bars, one of which facilitated bevel gear manufacture and was widely used during the war years. It was typical of model engine manufacturers to contribute to the war effort and Charles was no exception, as attested by the attached clipped.
In 1949 K&B took the modeling world by storm with the Infant .020. In the summer of 1949 Herkimer came out with the OK Cub, the first real mass produced .049. Later in the year the Mel Anderson’s Baby Spitfire .045 came out. In these years, Brebeck’s OK engines really blossomed. By the end of 1949 there were OK Cubs in .049, .074, and .099 displacements. Charles was making engines for any slot required now that modelers were enamored of smaller models.
In August of 1950, Brebeck introduced the OK Power Kit, an OK Cub (049) that was sold dis-assembled. All parts were fully machined and it only required screwdriver and wrench assembly, but now a boy could brag that “I built my own engine!” And it was a buck cheaper, too! Later in the year, Brebeck introduced an .039. And recognizing the immense and growing need for glow plugs, he arranged to use the Shereshaw and Swanson plugs in all his engines and market them under the “OK” name.
Realizing American fliers would be wanting to compete in FAI competition, Brebeck designed and introduced the OK Cub .14 (2.5 cc) in 1952. Charles was in touch not only with American modelers. Diesels and smaller displacements were popular in post war Europe and the United Kingdom. Brebeck introduced his first diesels in 1 cc (.06) and 2.5 cc (.149) displacements.
Charles Brebeck was a talented designer, but also a talented businessman. Many great products have suffered due to quality and supply problems or because no one knew about them. Such was not the case with Brebeck. His chosen business was to supply modelers with affordable and reliable engines. He had the means to produce them; in 1952 Herkimer was making over 1000 engines a day. He stayed in touch with the pulse of the hobby. He advertised (very often full page inside cover) in Air Trails, MAN, FM, Boys Life, Popular Science, and Science & Mechanics. He wanted prospective modelers to know about his product! By the end of 1953, Brebeck’s Herkimer had sold over one million engines, had 700 distributors, and was carried by 4,400 dealers!
Brebeck had a deal with Jim Walker to use the new Cub .049X exclusively in the Firebaby. When the Ready to Fly business started, Brebeck supplied engines to Comet for their Sabre 44 and subsequent models. Within several more years, Brebeck had added .049 and .075 diesels, a couple of .049 variations, a .19, a newly designed .29 and .35, and lastly a tiny .024. The Herkimer OK line was one of the most complete in existence.
Brebeck’s Herkimer was a first class company. The attached photos of typical salesmen’s kits and trade show exhibits show a professional operation. It’s interesting to note in the undated exhibit the number of companies that recommended OK Cubs for powering their models. You probably never saw a Scientific kit plan that didn’t show a Cub in the nose. The W. Musciano, P. Plecan, and P. Del Gato designs that seemed to show up every month usually showed an OK Cub for power.
In April of 1963, Charles Brebeck passed away.
Remember EXPO XI, Muncie, IN, Sept. 10-12, 2010.
Bill Mohrbacher, MECA President
cwcatz@verizon.net
If you are interested in becoming a member of this exciting organization, download a Membership Application by clicking on the form below and saving the PDF version to your computer. Print it, fill it out, and return it with your dues to John Lorenz at the address on the form. You may also use a Credit Card or PayPal for this remittance. Use the Back Button on your browser to return to the Home Page after downloading the form.
At their annual meeting on September 11, 2009 in Muncie, IN, the MECA Board of Directors approved a membership dues increase of $5.00 per year, effective immediately. This action was necessitated because of reduced revenue as a result of declining membership, coupled with increased costs of mailing the Bulletin and Swap Sheet, primarily due to several recent increases in postal rates.
As a result of this action, membership dues are now $40.00 per year for members who reside in the US, $45.00 per year for members living in Canada and Mexico, and $60.00 per year for members living in all other countries.
A revised version of the Membership Application and Renewal form which reflects this new membership dues structure is included below.
John Lorenz
Treasurer
Paul Bennett’s First Engine
Frank Kurz’s Turbocharger
John Nuovo’s Twin
Steam Powered Truck
Our thanks go to Margie Bennett (late Paul Bennett’s wife) for donating to our Miniature Engineering Museum. Paul designed this opposed water-cooled twin for a boat and built it in 1969. An article (with drawings) documenting his effort was published in Model Engineer magazine in January 1972. It has a 1-inch bore with a ¾ inch stroke, double throw crank, and runs on gasoline with spark ignition. The engine requires manual lubrication of the rockers and pushrods and oil must be added to the crankcase before operation. It is completely machined from aluminum and steel bar stock. Thank you, Margie, for your support and your wonderful contribution to our Miniature Engineering Museum effort.
Dick Pretel donated a vertical twin cylinder engine built by the late Frank Kurz. Frank apparently purchased a casting kit for a small compressor from Cole’s Power Models (no longer available) and converted it into this overhead cam, two-cylinder masterpiece. It has a starter that doubles as a generator to power the small electric cooling fan. Frank had a knack for incorporating already existing components and unrelated mechanisms into his engines; this one is no different as he utilized an iris diaphragm from a vintage camera for air control into the carburetor. It is a gas burner with spark ignition and has a 1.25 inch bore and stroke.
Dick also sent along a small turbocharger designed and built by Mr. Kurz. We believe he built it in the 80s and it appears to have been hooked up to an engine and tested, however, we do not know anything about its performance. It is machined from aluminum bar stock with ball bearings at each end. Thank you, Dick, for your continued support and generous contributions.
R. William Kent brought us another engine by John Nuovo. It is an opposed two-cylinder aircraft engine that John designed and built using existing cylinders from two vintage single-cylinder model engines. It is about a .120 size with a double throw crank and it is one of only two (of this type) that he produced. John says the second engine is almost identical, but has a carburetor in the front and one in the back of the engine. It burns methanol on spark ignition and uses castor oil for lubrication. Our sincere thanks go to Mr. Kent for his consideration, and continued support of our MEM effort.
Mike Showah of Arizona kindly donated these rare metal machining kits from Edelstaal. American Edelstaal distributed the little Unimat lathe and these kits were designed to give the new users a project to help get started in machining. Mike purchased the kits for that same reason, but he quickly moved on to other projects and never went back to these. The kits are relatively small (truck is about 4.5 inches long) and contain bits of metal stock, a few gears, hardware, and instructions. The steam powered truck included a small Tonka Toy Van so you could build an authentic looking steam powered vehicle. Click the following link to see one of these rare little trucks in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHk2ONOMMQU:
Brooks Aeromotive Radial
Steam Traction Engine
British Mk. IV Tank
Ronald Valentine’s Engines
We acquired a small (not quite miniature) radial engine designed and built by Dickinson Brooks Aeromotive Co. of Burbank CA. Little is known about this engine other than it is a side valve 5-cylinder radial only 18 inches in diameter, has dry-sump lubrication, a single magneto for ignition, and it is designed to burn gasoline. It weighs in at 65 pounds and may have been designed for a ground power unit although the propeller hub suggests otherwise. D&B Company was assigned an aircraft identification "N" number during the Golden Years of Aviation (according to the U.S. Aircraft Registry) but there is no other information, dates, or photos of the aircraft. We have not been able to learn any more about this engine so if anyone can provide any information about it or the Dickinson Brooks Company we sure would appreciate it. T his one will be a pleasure to restore to running condition again; maybe even demonstrate it on test stand one day.
Stephen J. King from Florida provided us with a couple more miniatures he designed and built. First is his modern (Star Wars) concept of a steam traction engine. The reversible double-acting engine has a 0.4 inch bore, 1.25 inch stroke, and a 25:1 drive ratio with a clutch. It is about 14 inches long and runs on water and anything that burns clean. A small pump just ahead of the right wheel feeds oil through the bearings and crankshaft and returns it to a reservoir above the pump. The crankshaft is machined from tool steel with the remaining parts machined from aluminum and stainless steel. It took Stephen two years to build.
Another of Stephen’s models is this British MK IV Tank. The MK IV tank is probably the world’s first main battle tank. There were about 1200 made in many variations and they participated in virtually every British battle on the Western Front from 1917 until the end of the war. Stephen constructed his model from 1⁄16 steel sheet and over 1200 rivets he made and set by hand. The mock-up 6-cylinder engine houses an electric motor for operation and the tank is capable of travelling about 1000 yards per hour by remote control. He carefully painted and camouflaged his model similar to the full size version, then randomly placed small center-punch marks in several places. He induced rusting of the center-punch marks to give the effect of bullets that struck the surface of the tank during battle. The scale Oakwood ‘unditching’ beam stowed on top could be chained to the tracks and dragged around underneath the tank if it became disabled or ditched. Stephen said he intended to make individual tread links for treads, but he found a timing belt used in the electronics industry that turned out to be just the ticket for his model.
Ronald Valentine is known worldwide for his craftsmanship and miniature and micro diesel engines. Currently we have a few of them on exhibit at the Craftsmanship Museum and some are so small we used a U.S Quarter for their stand. A little known fact is that Ron built three miniature 4-cycle glow engines back in the late 80s or early 90s. He produced two small single-cylinder, air-cooled, aircraft engines and one 5-cylinder radial engine. I am proud to say that recently we acquired the three engines for our MEM exhibits. The photo shows all three with a penny for a reference to their size; the radial engine measures merely 3.25 inches in diameter and all three engines were machined from bar stock.
You may remember Robert Cooper and his successful flight of the Gigantic last December. There is a link for a video of the historic flight available on the Craftsmanship Museum Internet site in case you missed it in our last update. Robert plans to deliver the Gigantic to us for our MEM exhibits soon. Currently we have 7 large, very important, aircraft to place on exhibit and we hope to acquire air space for them soon. Among them are the museum scale Sopwith Snipe (with a functional Bentley BR2) built by Robert Cooper, Bryan Seeger’s world record model turbo-jet powered aircraft, Forest Edwards Polikarpov PO2 powered by his famous 5-cylinder Edwards radial, and a museum scale Avro D built and flown by Robert Cooper. These aircraft hold a significant place in the history of model aviation and will enhance any exhibit hall that houses them.
The MEM collection realized a 10% increase in growth last year and it appears that we will see the same or more this year. We received word from Dale Jordan we may have an opportunity to place some items on display in the Northwest in the near future. This would give us an opportunity to expand our territory as well as rotate some of the items at the Craftsmanship Museum to help keep things interesting and exciting.
Unfortunately we won’t make it to the WEME show in Vallejo this year. We are near the completion of our move to Payson, but we just have too many loose ends to tie up at this time. Perhaps we will be able to visit more shows next season and get the opportunity to enjoy that illusive place in life called ‘retirement’.
Small internal combustion engines have been around for a long time. In the US they date back to at least the early 1900s. The first ones were fairly crude and best suited for use as marine or stationary power plants. They were often built by their owners or by one of hundreds of small companies, many of whose advertisements were often on the optimistic side of reality. Prior to this the only other real choice for power was rubber bands, steam or hot air (Stirling Cycle) engines although there were examples that used materials like carbide or even gunpowder for fuel.
In the 1930s, William Lykens (Bill) Brown IV of Philadelphia, PA Developed the first small engine suited for powering model planes. Several models of this .60 cubic inch displacement "Brown Jr." engine were produced over the next 10 years or so with over 50,000 being made. These engines used an ignition system similar to that found on automobiles of the era, which meant that a model must carry a spark coil, condenser and batteries along with a fuel supply for its engine. Many of the original Brown engines are still in use and are sought after by engine collectors and modelers who still use them to power their models. Since then, there have been model engine companies with production figures running into the millions of units.
The little power plants that we collect were for the most part intended to power model planes, cars or boats. They come in many sizes and configurations with most of them being 2-stroke one cylinder engines ranging in size from less than .01 to several cubic inches in displacement. The majority of them (at least in the US) use a spark plug or a glow plug for ignition but there are also diesels, various types of jet engines and some little power plants that are powered by compressed air or carbon dioxide carried in a small storage tank.
MECA had its beginnings in the mid 1950s when Bruce Underwood, who may well be known better for his "Yellow Jacket" engines, started circulating a newsletter among a few friends who were interested in preserving the spark plug ignition engines that were rapidly disappearing due to the introduction of the Glow Plug by Ray Arden.
Bruce Underwood
Bruce acted as the focal point for gathering information for the engine collectors that were known at the time. He kept track of what each collector wanted and had to offer in exchange. He also suggested systems for marking and cataloging engine collections. The group grew to about 17 members.
In January 1960, the groups members were asked to submit names for the organization. Bruce suggested the winning name. MODEL ENGINE COLLECTORS ASSOCIATION (MECA) was adopted as the groups name the following month.
Starting in 1960, Joe Wagner took over MECA when Bruce had to step down due to his workload. During the 1960-1961 period Joe produced the four "Model Engine Collector" newsletters which were called "The Official Journal of the Model Engine Collectors Association" and the "Index of American Model Engines" which listed over 700 engines known at the time. This material is considered to be the first volume of what is now the "Engine Collectors' Journal" (ECJ) which was to begin publication in 1963 and is still being published by Tim Dannels. The first MECA officers were named during this period. The membership at this time probably reached 25-30 people.
In 1963 Allen Shively took over and started reviving MECA which had become nearly inactive. During 1963 and the first half of 1964 The first issues of the ECJ became the "Voice of MECA" through Allen's "MECA NOTES" column. By May 1964 MECA membership had reached 115, the country had been divided into 11 MECA regions and the first Regional Directors were selected.
The first MECA BULLETIN was published by Allen in March 1964. This publication contained MECA club related information and a schedule of upcoming events as well as reports on past events and information that would be useful to those wanting to repair and/or restore their engines. The earliest MECA Bulletins also contained lists of items wanted & available for sale or trade by MECA members. In 1964, this list was moved to a separate publication.
The first MECA SWAP SHEET was published in March 1968 by then national coordinator Karl Carlson. It listed engines and parts wanted and/or available for sale or trade by MECA members as well as other hobby related information.
In late 1968 a design for the MECA logo which was selected from a entry submitted by Ben Fox appeared on the cover of MECA Bulletin #23.
In February 1969 the name "Collectogether" (usually shortened to "Collecto") was coined by Jim Dunkin at an engine swap meet taking place at his home.
Over the years, MECA members discovered that socializing had become an important part of the engine collecting experience. In mid 1972 Tim Dannels had a line of MECA logo jewelry made up which was offered for sale to MECA members.
The first National Collectogether, which was arranged by The Society of Antique Modelers (SAM), was held at the 1971 SAM CHAMPS in Denver, Colorado. Later this was to be called the "Grand National Collectogether" which was promptly shortened to "GRANDO". SAM continued to help arrange the GRANDO event for many years.
In 2000, MECA decided to take over all aspects of holding the National Collectogether. This new event is called "EXPO"
EXPO is much more than a collecto, it has been expanded over several days to include symposiums, guest speakers, a banquet with entertainment, functions for the ladies and in some cases a contest.
EXPO is currently held the weekend just prior to the SAMCHAMPS in years when the SAMCHAMPS take place in Muncie, Indiana. On alternating years, EXPO will also take place in Muncie on a date that will allow MECA and SAM members to attend both events. In these years EXPO will be followed by the MECA sponsored MIDWEST CHAMPS contest.
In July 2000, MECA was adopted by The ACADEMY of MODEL AERONAUTICS (AMA) as a SIG (Special Interest Group).
In late 2002 the MECA BULLETIN and the MECA SWAP SHEET were combined into a single bi-monthly publication which typically is about 60 pages in length.
Today MECA is worldwide with members in the US and over 20 foreign countries, some of which have become MECA Regions. Over 5000 people have joined MECA to date and over 1000 of them are currently active.
This is a listing of providers and the services they offer to the membership. I will update this list as new material comes in. Please notify me of any changes, errors, or omissions so that I can keep this list up to date. Send all adds to: Bill Bickel, 3121 W Cavedale Dr. Phoenix, AZ 85083-8637. DO NOT SEND ADS TO ANY OTHER PERSON. DEADLINE is ONE WEEK PRIOR to SWAP SHEET DEADLINE.
ANTIQUE REPRODUCTION MODEL AIRPLANE ENGINES: Woody's Model Engines 3706 N. 33rd St. Galesburg, MI 49053-9715 Tel/FAX: (269) 665-9693 Website: www.woodysengines.com/ Catalog: $15.00 anywhere is USA. Canada and Mexico $16.00 International $22.00.
REPRODUCTION ANTIQUE IGNITION MODEL ENGINE PARTS: Aero Electric 3706 N. 33rd St. Galesburg, MI 49053-9715 Tel/FAX: (269) 665-9693 E-mail: aeroelectric@charter.net Catalog: $15.00 anywhere is USA. Canada and Mexico $16.00 International $22.00.
ENGINE COLLECTOR'S JOURNAL INDEX: Bill Bickel 3121 W. Cavedale Dr. Phoenix, AZ 85082-8637 Tel: (623) 582-0211 E-mail: wbickel@msn.com
HELICOIL REPAIR of STRIPPED SPARK PLUG HOLES (¼-32 only), REPAIR 0F 4-40 & 6-32 HEAD and BACK COVER HOLES, GENERAL MACHINE WORK: C.F. Lee Mfg. Co. 10112 Woodward Ave. Sunland, CA 91040 Tel: (818) 526-9074
DIE-CUT GASKETS for ATWOOD, WASP, & WEN-MAC .049'S $5.00 / set ppd: Bill Schmidt 4647 Krueger Bel Aire, KS 67220 Tel: (316) 744-0378
EXPERT WELDING of ALUMINUM, MAGNESIUM and IRON, CRANKCASES, SPEED PANS, TIMER ARMS, Etc: ALLWELD/Scott Dinger 1367 Patricia Ave. Simi Valley, CA 93065 Tel: (805) 526-9074 E-mail: hyflo@dslextreme.com
ENGINE RESTORATION, REPAIR and CLEANING SERVICES, NICKEL PLATING, TUMBLE POLISHING: Walter Craig 3664 Smoketown Rd. Glenville, PA 17329 Tel: (717) 229-2840 E-mail: makenewagain@yahoo.com
MECOA's Model Engine Enthusiast Resource Site: Randy Linsalato P.O. Box 98 Sierra Madre, CA 91025 Tel: (800) 359-6972 Website: www.modelengine.org
ANDERSON'S BLUE BOOK: 1500 engine listings 1911-2005 The Collector's Bible with Pricing. Frank Anderson 817 9th Line, Innisfil, Ontario, Canada, L9S 3Y2 Website: www.andersonbluebook.com Tel/FAX: (705) 436-1970
MODEL ENGINE REFERENCE MATERIAL: American Model Engine Encyclopedia - Engine Collectors' Journal Tim Dannels P.O. Box 243, Buena Vista, CA 81211 Website: www.modelenginecollecting.com
DENNYMITES DRONES & MORE: Info on Sky Charger, Dennymite, Walter Righter, Reginald Denny, Dooling Brothers & much more. $60.00 + $6.00 P&H. Jim Dunkin P.O. Box 695, Grain Valley, MO 64029 E-mail: dunkin@discoverynet.com
All transactions occurring between MECA members are controlled by the By-laws of the organization. This ensures that any exchange is controlled and members may trust that the item they are purchasing or trading for is exactly as advertised. Buyers have 15 days in which to inspect their purchase. If not satisfied, the item may be returned for a full refund. If you would like more information on MECA and how it is governed, you may read the Constitution & By-laws in their entirety.
As a convenience, Appendix A of the Constitution & By-laws, covering engine condition classifications, is presented below. The use of these classifications helps to ensures honest exchanges.
Society of Antique Modelers (SAM)
National Free Flight Society (NFFS)
Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA)
American Miniature Racing Car Association (AMRCA)
Woody's Model Engines (Woody Bartelt)
Aero Electric (Woody Bartelt)
Doctor Diesel (Eric Clutton)
MECOA (RJL Engines) (Randy Linsalato)
Miniature Engineering Museum
Toute sur le Modelisme - French Controline Club
Moyer Made Chevy V8
The Model Museum and Engine Collectors Journal
These links open sites that may be of interest to MECA Members. They cover a wide range of interests and activities.
Members may access the MECA Swap Sheet and Bulletin through the Members Only Area.
Your Username is just your last name, spelled exactly as on your membership card, including Sr, Jr, or III. Your membership number, with leading zeros and following letters, but no region, is your Password. For example, Username = smith jr and Password = 0170L. The Username is not case sensitive, so it is not necessary to capitalize the name.
