visible engines

I remember those engines. Seems they were larger scale radials and if you can find one these days they are worth anywhere from $300 to $600 depending on condition.

My wife bought the visible V-8 at last weeks Hobby Lobby sale. She loves building cars and engines. Has anyone built this kit before? I didn't know they did an aircraft engine though. When were they discontinued? --Spencer

Here is one on ebay just passing $600.00
http://cgi.aol.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3183941788&category=774

Wow, for tthat price I'd be afraid to build it. Well I imagine you don't build it, you just let it accumulate value.

Or dust as the case may be - :0)

i remember both but never had the pleasure of building one. think i would be nervous building one. the skills of the builder would seem to be magnified.

joe

I think Williams Brothers makes aircraft engine models - they're not "visible" in the sense that you're talking about - where you can see the internal workings, But you can certainly see the finished product.

Just a hint: If you start building invisible engine models - you should probably switch to that non-toxic glue.

By the way - Welcome !

I like the description as "mint" when he states that parts are missing, the box is taped, and the clear plastic has changed color. lol

I remember those kits. I never built any of them but clearly remember seeing them in stores on many occasions. If I recall correctly, they also had a visible Wankel Rotary engine as well.

I don't like the new visable v8 engines. The older ones had an electric motor and the spark plugs were light bulbs. I guess they don't make that one anymore.

I'm sure that $600 is over the top for me as well. I would have to treat it as a baseballl card and hide it away until I could use it to pay off the mortgage.
And thank you, bossman, for the info and for the tip about the glue and, of course, for the warm welcome.
Can you tell me how to find the Williams Brothers?

If you find one of them - the other is usually close by.

Here ya go...

http://www.williamsbrosinc.com

Thanks again bossman.
I checked their site and it was pretty interesting. There was some nice engine work in their gallery.
And you've got a good sense of humor, and i don't mean the ice cream.

Jim,

Man am I glad I read your profile - At least now I don't have to address this post to "Mr. Wipes". (I wasn't sure how you'd take that) But hey, if you play the 'bone and you can come up with a screen name like that - you must have a pretty good sense of humor yourself.

Chris

Chris;
Thank you, and if no one else does, I think I have a great sense of humor.
I didn't play a trombone I played a baritone in a drum and bugle corps and I love doing small repairs for kids that always break or bend something.
But Mr. Wipes is cool. As long as you don't put the butt before it.
Can any one explain what "snap together' means and how do you get that changed or gain rank or whatever it is?
And this really is the best forum around man.

I had that Renwal Visible Wasp kit when I was about ten or so. My eldest brother (14 yrs. my senior) bought it for me, as he was a jet mechanic for United Airlines at the time. It was a bit far beyond my skills at the time, and it long since disappeared from my parents attic.
Funny, though, I've been on this trek to recover lost models and have been tracking this very kit on eBay for about a year now. Still can't afford it at today's prices, but I also think it's way overpriced compared to some other rare models that I own (remember the "Big T"?)
These kind of items I think tend to go in trends. And in particular, I've been noticing a certain buyer/seller who buy's them up and puts them back out at an overrated starting price. What's hot this year may be nothing next year, then again, who's to know? Maybe that guy will end up with all there is left to be gotten, and either make a killing, or have his life savings caught up in a bunch of worthless plastic.
All I really needed was that one that I had, and the memory of it is all I really need.

stinger

Wow! Renwal, now there's a name that goes back a bit! [:0]
I worked for Pan American World Airways for 25 years myself. Got laid off when they went out of business and haven't work on a jet since.
It seems to me that you really want the thing alot more than I do. And for all the right reasons.
If I ever come across one I'll give ya a heads up.
And what the hell ever happened to Renwal anyway? You know, I probably got myself confused with Revell!
I think bossman is right, I better stay away from the glue.
Thanks for the input, stinger. Keep in touch

Thanks, Brass, I'd appreciate that.

As for wanting one really bad, that's not the case. I would just like to have back the one that disappeared from Dad's attic. Oh well.....

Actually, Revell did reissue the Wasp, but without the electric motor and lights for the spark effect.
What ever happened to Renwal? take a look at this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3184036109&category=2594&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBWA%3AIT&rd=1

That's the most extreme I've ever seen it go for, and I think the buyer was set up, as there was never an option to bid. Just one "buy it now" price. But who am I to tell people how to spend their money, eh?
Most of these do go for around $500-700, though.

If you watch eBay, just put "Renwal Visible" on your favorites watch list. Amazing what they used to put out. Visible man, woman, pregnant woman, dog, pigeon, insect, V8, auto chassis, Wasp engine (obviously)!. I get at least one notification per day for a Renwal listing! Lemme know if you want to see the other ebay Wasp listings. They're still on my list.

What'd you do for Pan Am? My brother started with United in 1959 and just retired last year. He was purely jet mech, but always wished he'd gotten his A&P.

stinger

Jim - where are my manners! Welcome to the forum, bud, and you're right this really is the best the best forum around.

As for "Snap together", I flipped when I first saw that when I joined. It's just a preset ranking into the forum. Has nothing to do with your actual abilities (except maybe in my case ). I forget what the parameters are, but you'll advance as you make more posts.

I forgot two more Renwals:
Paulnchamps is right, there was a Wankel engine (and I know someone who may let go of one).
There was also the visible head.

Entex too made a couple of the visible engines. My brother had the visible rotary and the I4 racing motor.

My mom still had her Renwal Invisible Man, Woman, Child and the Horse is still in the box. She also has a large collection of the Old West series by Renwal. Covered wagon, stage coach, etc..... I need to let her know the present value of her estate I guess.
$900.00 for a plastic model???????????? Thats what I call a serious addiction to plastic.

stinger;
When I decide to ask about the visible radial aircraft engine, I had no idea that it would generate so many responses!
Well, I obviously had the manufacturer all wrong and i touched base with and made some solid contacts on the FSM forum.
During my tenure at Pan Am I was a jet tech, flight control spec, and had the opportunity to work on almost all systems except electronics. I graduated high school with my powerplant rating and later passed the airframe testing and then moved on into supervision. I really loved the 747 and spent almost all my time on that type of equipment.
Thanks for askin>
Jim

Scott - thanks for adding the child and horse to the list. Yeah, your mom might want to keep an eye on eBay to see what the horse is worth.

Jim - So have you built yourself a 747 model yet? There's someone here in the forum who wants to drop the flaps on his. Maybe you can help him out. I think he was looking for some pics.

As for the $900 value (and purchase), people spend that kind of money on more unhealthy addictions, eh? I was surprised to see just how many of those Wasps were still out there, but I know that some of those on ebay have been recycled.

Speaking of things on ebay, I've been buying a lot of stuff from there that I had as a kid. Turns out that I must have had pretty good taste in models given the scarcity of some, and the prices of others. Maybe that's a good topic for another thread.

later

I personally had the Visible V8 (original issue with the elec. motor and light bulb spark plugs), and a visible 4-cylinder Ford engine, which was basically the same motor I had in a 94 Ranger I owned at the time.
I don't know how similar the newer Vis V8 is to the original, but I remember that I had a lot of trouble with the shaft for the distributor; the gear would constantly bind and eventually the gear shaft started cracking, so watch out for that problem.

T401

T401 - I had the same gearing problem on my Wasp, not with the distributor, but with some other small gears. You had to be really careful about building them, and use plenty of lube.

The cool thing about the kits was that everything screwed together, so you could take it back apart and fix things like that, assuming you could get the parts.

Now I really wish I had that kit again!

Yes, as a matter of fact I've started to build several Pan Am aircraft.
Most of the Pan Am inventory is no longer around. But I just finished a 144 scale DC-3 which didn't come out too bad for jumping back in after sooooo many years out of practice. (It didn't come out too good ether) hee hee And I started the B-377 and then I have the DC-6B and a B-707. All by Minicraft. I cut the wing trailing edges on the 377 but I also had to cut the rear end of the engine nacelles, and all I can say is that it's too early to tell. It might turn out to be scrap. Hey I'm 56 and have had type 2 diabetes for a couple of years, so my eyes are not as good but the hands aren't as shakey as I thought.
I can't find a 144 747 with Pan Am livery around.
Hey maybe I'll post that as my next topic.
The trailing edge flaps on the 747 are real intricate, and would be very difficult to or impossible to install. There are three flap segments in each set with an inboard set and an outboard set on each wing.
As far as pictures are concerned, the absolute best site for pictures that I've seen yet is at www.airliners.net they've got about 500,000 photos. Thats right over a half a million!!
If you log on, set your self up with a whole pot o java.
Trust me, if you like airplanes this site is great. All sorts of angles, all sorts of topics, ground strikes, crashes ,flight decks etc..
It helped me with my gonnie bird build.
Pass it on.
Jim

Hey Jim, 56 isn't so bad. You have six years of wisdom ahead of me!

That's a cool work history you have under your belt there. I'll bet you miss doing that, but I'm sure you still have your connections, eh?

I'm sooo tempted to jump into my A380 kit, but my loyalty speaks to me to try to scratchbuild a 7E7. I put a post out on that, but I can't find any 3-views of it.
Any ideas?

I don't know about Ebays prices, but last night I watched an auto auction on Speed Channel and two totally stock restorations went for $102,000 each (a 58 Impala convertible and a 56 Chevy BelAire convertible). Heck, there was a 37 Ford Woody that went for $136,000. Some people just have entirely too much money.

Stinger;
All I've been able to find are the standard press release drawings of that new ship. It looks like she's gonna be a beaut. I would love to see this one up close.
Nice lines and I'm sure that the carriers are gonna have some great piant schemes on her.
I know a couple of people still involved in the airlines and I'll post them and see if they have anything. But I wouldn't think that there is much available just yet.
But there is an interesting drawing of a modified 747 that they intend to use for flying large 7E7 parts to their final assembly point. It looks cool. Check it out.
I'm off to e-bay, I got a bid in on a Constitution kit and it's getting close.
Talk soon.
Jim

Renwal was the origin of the visible Wasp engine and the visible V-8. The Visible V-8 was a small block Chevy engine (283cid or 265cid) if I remember right. There was also a visible turbine engine made by one of the Japanese companies, and as mentioned above the Wankle Rotary engine, you know the one that went mmmmmmmmm.

Does anyone remember Renwal rocket kits, or the Atomic Cannon? Didn't they make a model of the "Sputnik" satalite?

While some of us "old timers" are waxing nostalgic, anybody remember "Comet" kits? Hawk? Aurora?

Anyways, the Visible V-8 is now being produced by Revell. They put it into production every other year or so. I'm amazed that someone would pay $600 for that kit. Oh well!