ORIGINAL: Ed Cregger
ORIGINAL: MikeL
I don't blame the Hobbico Empire. They've only taken advantage of market opportunities. When it comes to Irvine, I blame Irvine and to a greater extent their former US distributor, Sig. Irvine had a great product--far better than OS in every respect. Sig recognized that, and charged a premium price. I forget what they wanted for a .53, but it was far more than I would pay for a two stroke. Maybe some others would have paid the price, but not enough. This was when the dollar and English pound were trading very close to a 1:1 ratio. I did what a lot of other cheap skates did--ordered from Just Engines in the UK and paid considerably less than I would have paid from Sig or one of their resellers.
I'm unclear who actually owns the rights to Irvine now, whether it's OS or Hobbico. Who ever it is surely is a bean counter rather than a modeler. The Jetstream carb is a thing of beauty, and should be copied to other brands rather than done away with.
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It ticks me off. I never got a chance to own a "real" Irvine. I guess I'll have to buy used and pray that I never need parts. Just like a bunch of other engines that I presently own.
I had my eye on their .20 Diesel, but I waited too long.
Ed Cregger
Ed,
you missed the 20 Irvine by a few years. That and the 40 diesel were of the pre red case series. I, like a few others on the diesel forum have a few of these motors and they are truly sweet runners. On the bay the 20 D NIB consistantly goes for 200 plus when it appears which is really infrequently. Sales of that motor were 'slow' and not as many of them were made as the 40 according to some sources..
I have a few NIB examples of both motors and was lucky the other day and scored 2 /40 diesels in absolutely pristine condition. Used but ever so little.
They are still out there just keep your eyes open when your hitting the flea markets,
Dennis