RE: Nostalgia - recognise any?
Camdyson.
I'm surprised to see what looks like a Fox 35 in this model!(Edit 1: cerebral flatulence on the name of the magazine John Pond wrote for.)(Edit 2: despite the wording on the front of this Mercury Monitor, -"Taipan .21 powered" - that IS a Fox .35, or other clone of same!)
I was Event Director for the first PAMPA-conducted USA Nationals Old Time Stunt event - through cordial coordination with SAM's John Pond (deeply missed) - in 1984 at Reno, Nevada, USA. Monty (the Great) Tyrrell flew a Merc Monitor with a Taipan .25 (edit 2: .21) "pitman" was one Gordon Burford(!) Monty grazed American soil in consecutive loops in his first flight - bent the shaft of the Taipan engine. Sad - and don't laugh!, the manufacturer himself could not restart his engine for Monty's second round flight.
Gordon and Monty had better success in SAM FF and RC events, and from what they said, had a great time in their visit to 'the other' rebellious colonies.
Verification? John Pond's coverage of the 1984 AMA Nationals in (defunct) Model Builder magazine. I have a copy of aforesaid, and could scan it in here, if necessary. (The "bar-studs" comment cements my recall - it was there in John P's column!)
NB: I owe Monty much - a repro of his "Buckjumper" won me a trophy at our VSC Spark event in 2001! He, as so many of our greats, did what he did - not for posterity, but just because it should be done. He has become, and properly, legendary.
Now, onward and upward to the other posts in this thread...