Alan McNeilly shares with us a walkaround of the Hicks Starter currently on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

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Thanks!

Great photos Al. Thanks

I believe that the correct term is "Hucks Starter".
Thanks,
Norm Samuelson

Well spotted, typo on my part.

al

These are some wonderful photos. And quite helpful, too, as I have begun to build a 1/32 scale model of a Modfel T Hucks Starter, using the Lindberg 1915 Cabriolet kit. One thing about Lindberg that I don't like very much is the fact that the parts fit is a bit iffy, and the plans/instructions aren't very clear on a lot of points. But, with a certain amount of experience, and a modicum of patience, things are sort of starting to come together(the kit, that is).

Right now, I'm in the process of trying to tweak the radiator a bit, by trying to add the piping(actually the molding, but as it appears as a half-round in any and all of the photos I've found, including these) around the preimeter of the radiator cowling(?).

However, I have been trying to find photos of the other side of the driver area, where the shift lever for the power takeoff is, because in those photos where I can see a bit of it, the shift lever appears to be quite a bit taller than the stick shift for the transmission.

But, the color photos are very helpful, as I have been wondering about the color of the entire machine.

Now for a question I've been wondering about since I started this, as I have a model in mind as part of the diorama.

While the machine pictured is supposed to be representative of what was used during WW1, was this also used after the war, or were there other makes of vehicles which were modified as Hucks starters? And also, were Tiger Moths started using the Hucks system?

The reason I ask is because I also have a 1/32 Tiger Moth(the Revell re-issue of the Matchbox model), and this is also what I have in mind for my next build, and that's not going to be quite built out of the box(while the Matchbox 1/32 kits are nice, they did take more than a few liberties of convenience to get the kits to market, case in point, the Lysander, which is a nice kit, but it has that silly looking "garden gate" wing joiner at the top of the canopy, which would cause the model to look ridiculous if it were built with that, when in reality, a pair of tubes, larger near the leading edge, which was how the full size aircraft was built, and would have saved the kit manufacturer a bit of money by actually using less plastic, while at the same time would have looked more realistic. But, call me a snob for that).

Anyway, and please forgive the bit of long winded talking, this is what I'd like to do, but if Tiger Moth engines weren't started that way, then I guess I'll have to pop for the WNW Brisfit(not much of a hardship there, except for the price, but then, such is life), and even then, if I do, and I can get a 1/32 Jupiter of the right Mark, I might do that. But, even if I can't get a Jupiter in that scale, the Brisfit by Wing Nut Wings is definitely one to ask Mrs. Claus for, or even plan for some time next year(if all the insanity about the Mayan calendar doesn't cause the world to become shambles, or some such, on the 21st. Come to think about it, as it was postulated in Ghostbusters about dogs and cats living together, the Apocalyse must surely be upon us, because my wife and I have dogs and cats living together in our house. Should I start panicking?).

Similar trucks were used after WW1 and during WW2 by several countries like Japan or the USSR :

http://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php?topic=15061.0

Here's a US one :

http://svsm.org/gallery/starterTruck

and another British one :

http://www.greatwaraviation.com/forum/index.php/topic,1731.15.html

How to start an aircraft engine using a Hucks starter :

http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/381/language/en-US/The-Moment--First-Hucks-Start-in-70-Years.aspx

As you can see in the pics, the Hucks starter can also be used with a Stampe, which AFAIK is fitted with the same engine as the Tiger Moth, so using it with the latter should be doable...but I'm no expert

HTH

Frenchy