maybe he wanted to ask if it would work, but figured it would sound better if he said he did it
i mean i guess you could make a hand powered starter box if you wanted to. it could even be done in a 1'x1' box prolly.
the same basis as a bicycle crank and just gear it to use a smaller wheel that will actually fit in the chassis.

id just buy one before i went through all that trouble. you can get a used one cheap on ebay or even in the rcu forums.