Radial engines are not to be confused with rotary engines. Rotary or "Wankel" engines were used for a short time in certain cars, notably by the Mazda company. They were not very reliable, not very efficient, and not very popular. Radial engines on the other hand are basically ordinary internal combustion piston engines with the pistons arranged in a circle instead of in a line. They were used, also for a short time, in early airplanes.

The clever thing about radial engines is that all the pistons can push on a single central crank arm. There is no crank shaft, just a "spider" to which all the connecting rods are attached.

If you like this kit, you might want to check out our much larger Radial Engine Car kit, which incorporates this engine into a complete working car.

Your model will arrive attractively packaged with all the necessary parts and tools. It does not require any special model-building skills. A detailed, step-by-step assembly video is available on our instructions page.