Thank you for the kind comments. When I started this project I was not sure I was up to it. It turned out ok and I'm pretty proud of it. My first engine was the Mills 1.3 diesel that was in the first issue of the Model Engine Builder Magazine. That turned out ok also. I'm now building a 54" Quaker Flash rc model for it. I have a soft spot for the Tom Thumb. When I was growing up in the 30s and 40s there was a Tom Thumb engine mounted in about a 10'x 20' building we called the pump house. It was hooked up to a line shaft which had a pulley lined up with a hand and pulley driven water pump. The shaft also had other pulleys probably used to run a washing machine, cream separator etc. My parents never used it. Guess they thought it was too complicated. We pumped all the water for the cows, chicken, horses, house etc. by hand. I was facinated by that engine. I cranked and played with It, starting when I was about 3 or 4 years old. When I was about 10 or 11 a kind old neighbor gave me a Ford buzz coil and a used Hot Shot battery and showed me how to wire it up. I went home, hooked it up, and put some gas in it. A few cranks and it took off with a horrendous racket inside the building. I had good ears back then. That was probably the biggest thrill of my young life. Hope I didn't bore you too much. Larry
