Cox Models
Encyclopedia
Cox Models, a former division of Estes Industries
of Penrose, Colorado
, was a multimillion-dollar hobby
company, is one of the hobby industry's oldest companies and is noted for its production of miniature model internal-combustion engines.
This company, originally named "The L. M. Cox Manufacturing Co, Inc.," was founded in 1945 by the machinist
Roy Cox in Placentia, California
. Cox grew up in and around his father's bicycle shop, and he developed an interest in mechanical devices. Cox's first products were wooden pop gun
s, produced in his home garage. Cox chose wood for his basic material, since metal was scarce during WW II.
When metals became readily available in the United States in 1947, Cox turned his attention to new products, beginning with a diecast
metal car. This product was developed into a "whip car", a tether
ed vehicle which could be manually swung in a circle at high speed. Nitro
- and gasoline-powered tether car
s with .60 cubic inch miniature engines capable of speeds of 100 mph (160 km/h) were quickly becoming popular. Cox's first contribution to that growing hobby was a cast aluminum midget racer powered by a .15 engine by Cameron Brothers.
Cox Manufacturing enjoyed a large postwar growth due in part to its production of miniature model internal combustion engine
s and tethered model aircraft, finally moving to a new factory in Santa Ana, California
, in 1963. The factory started at 80,000 square feet (7432 square meters). Three expansions in a few years' time saw expansion to 225,000 square feet (20,903 square meters) and introduction of a line of slot car
s, model rocket
s, HO scale
model trains, and a full-sized, one-horsepower gasoline-powered chain saw.
Roy Cox retired in 1969, and he sold the company to the hobby conglomerate "Leisure Dynamics". Kites, toy walkie-talkies, and yo-yos were added to the Cox company products. A major step toward participation in the growing radio control
ed hobby business happened in 1976 with the acquisition of the radio manufacturer "Airtronics".
By 1983, Leisure Dynamics was facing bankruptcy. Their engineer William Selzer, the designer of the "Babe Bee" .049 aircraft engine, joined with a local businessman to purchase the Cox company. The new company, Aeromil Engineering Company, changed the name of the company from Cox Company to Cox Hobbies, Incorporated, in 1984. Growth of the company continued, but its factory space became fragmented since the operations were spread out over a number of leased buildings. This prompted a move to a consolidated facility in Corona, California
, in 1990.
In January 1996, a leading model toy rocket manufacturer, Estes Industries
, purchased Cox Hobbies, Incorporated, and relocated operations from Southern California to the Estes facility in Penrose, Colorado. This signaled a major change in marketing direction for the new company, now known as Cox Models. A great many new products were aimed towards a mass market
and they were sold in large chain stores and discount stores.
Since then, Cox has returned to its hobby roots and is once again offering its products through hobby stores. The product line came to include a line of radio-controlled model aircraft.
Some of the former Cox model train line is now sold by the Wm. K. Walthers company.
An example of an 0.049 cubic inch (0.8 cubic cm.) reed valve engine is shown on the right, taken apart (with the tools shown) and assembled. Except for the Golden Bee fuel tank, this engine was bought used in 1979. The starter spring has been removed, allowing the use of a left hand screw propeller. Some unneeded metal has been removed from the front of the crank case.
Below the Bee is a new Sure Start. There are several superficial changes, including that the shape of the reed is different and it is now made of steel. The most substantial change (not visible) is in the carburettor, which now has a large brass spray bar / barrier crossing the round barrel aperture, with a jet hole in its back center. The older carburettor has an abrupt increase in the diameter of the barrel (visible), with the jet at the top of the larger barrel section.
In addition to 0.049 cubic inch (0.80 cc) variants such as these, the 0.020 cubic inch (0.33 cc) Pee Wee was also sold, in large quantities and over several decades, in ready to fly or run models and separately to power other models.
Note, on the Tee Dee shown, that light shows through the external ports, under the piston (sub induction). This engine cannot run properly with a muffler. Sub induction served to allow extra air into the cylinder at high engine speed. This increases the charge of mixture and makes the ignition timing track to engine speed to maintain power over a wider range of rpm. The cylinder head shown is of the low compression Bee type.
Medallions were milder than the TDs but better performers than the reed valve engines.
On January 6, 2009, the Estes company closed down its Cox division and sold the engines, spare parts, and tooling to various companies.
Estes Industries
Estes Industries is a company based in Penrose, Colorado, USA that designs and builds model rocket and model aircraft engines and kits. They were the best known model rocket company during the "golden age of rocketry" in the 1970s and early 1980s, competing primarily with Centuri Engineering and a...
of Penrose, Colorado
Penrose, Colorado
Penrose is a census-designated place in Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The population was 4,070 at the 2000 census. The Penrose Post Office has the ZIP Code 81240.-Geography:Penrose is located at ....
, was a multimillion-dollar hobby
Hobby
A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...
company, is one of the hobby industry's oldest companies and is noted for its production of miniature model internal-combustion engines.
This company, originally named "The L. M. Cox Manufacturing Co, Inc.," was founded in 1945 by the machinist
Machinist
A machinist is a person who uses machine tools to make or modify parts, primarily metal parts, a process known as machining. This is accomplished by using machine tools to cut away excess material much as a woodcarver cuts away excess wood to produce his work. In addition to metal, the parts may...
Roy Cox in Placentia, California
Placentia, California
-Local: Placentia is a Charter city with an elected city council and professional city manager. Placentia City Council*Mayor- Scott W. Nelson*Mayor Pro Tem- Jeremy Yamaguchi*Council Member- Joe Aquirre*Council Member- Constance Underhill...
. Cox grew up in and around his father's bicycle shop, and he developed an interest in mechanical devices. Cox's first products were wooden pop gun
Pop gun
A pop gun is a toy gun that uses air pressure to fire a small tethered projectile out of a barrel via piston action...
s, produced in his home garage. Cox chose wood for his basic material, since metal was scarce during WW II.
When metals became readily available in the United States in 1947, Cox turned his attention to new products, beginning with a diecast
Die-cast toy
The term die-cast toy here refers to any toy or collectible model produced by using the die casting method. The toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber or glass details. Wholly plastic toys are made by a similar process of injection moulding, but the two are rarely confused...
metal car. This product was developed into a "whip car", a tether
Tether
A tether is a cord, fixture, or signal that anchors something movable to a reference point which may be fixed or moving. There are a number of applications for tethers: balloons, kites, tethered wind-energy conversion systems, anchors, tethered water-flow energy conversion systems, towing, animal...
ed vehicle which could be manually swung in a circle at high speed. Nitro
Nitromethane
Nitromethane is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest organic nitro compound. It is a slightly viscous, highly polar liquid commonly used as a solvent in a variety of industrial applications such as in extractions, as a reaction medium, and as a cleaning solvent...
- and gasoline-powered tether car
Tether car
Tether Cars are model racing cars powered by miniature internal combustion engines and tethered to a central post. Unlike radio control cars, the driver has no remote control over the model's speed or steering.-Basics:...
s with .60 cubic inch miniature engines capable of speeds of 100 mph (160 km/h) were quickly becoming popular. Cox's first contribution to that growing hobby was a cast aluminum midget racer powered by a .15 engine by Cameron Brothers.
Cox Manufacturing enjoyed a large postwar growth due in part to its production of miniature model internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
s and tethered model aircraft, finally moving to a new factory in Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
, in 1963. The factory started at 80,000 square feet (7432 square meters). Three expansions in a few years' time saw expansion to 225,000 square feet (20,903 square meters) and introduction of a line of slot car
Slot car
A slot car is a powered miniature auto or other vehicle that is guided by a groove or slot in the track on which it runs. A pin or blade extends from the bottom of the car into the slot...
s, model rocket
Model rocket
A model rocket is a small rocket that is commonly advertised as being able to be launched by anybody, to, in general, low altitudes and recovered by a variety of means....
s, HO scale
HO scale
HO or H0 is the most popular scale of model railway in the world.According to the NMRA standard S-1.2 predominantly used in North America, in HO scale, represents 1 real foot ; this ratio works out to about 1:87.1. According to the MOROP standard NEM 010 predominantly used in Europe, the scale is...
model trains, and a full-sized, one-horsepower gasoline-powered chain saw.
Roy Cox retired in 1969, and he sold the company to the hobby conglomerate "Leisure Dynamics". Kites, toy walkie-talkies, and yo-yos were added to the Cox company products. A major step toward participation in the growing radio control
Radio control
Radio control is the use of radio signals to remotely control a device. The term is used frequently to refer to the control of model vehicles from a hand-held radio transmitter...
ed hobby business happened in 1976 with the acquisition of the radio manufacturer "Airtronics".
By 1983, Leisure Dynamics was facing bankruptcy. Their engineer William Selzer, the designer of the "Babe Bee" .049 aircraft engine, joined with a local businessman to purchase the Cox company. The new company, Aeromil Engineering Company, changed the name of the company from Cox Company to Cox Hobbies, Incorporated, in 1984. Growth of the company continued, but its factory space became fragmented since the operations were spread out over a number of leased buildings. This prompted a move to a consolidated facility in Corona, California
Corona, California
Corona is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 152,374, up from 124,966 at the 2000 census...
, in 1990.
In January 1996, a leading model toy rocket manufacturer, Estes Industries
Estes Industries
Estes Industries is a company based in Penrose, Colorado, USA that designs and builds model rocket and model aircraft engines and kits. They were the best known model rocket company during the "golden age of rocketry" in the 1970s and early 1980s, competing primarily with Centuri Engineering and a...
, purchased Cox Hobbies, Incorporated, and relocated operations from Southern California to the Estes facility in Penrose, Colorado. This signaled a major change in marketing direction for the new company, now known as Cox Models. A great many new products were aimed towards a mass market
Mass market
The mass market is a general business term describing the largest group of consumers for a specified industry product. It is the opposite extreme of the term niche market.-General:...
and they were sold in large chain stores and discount stores.
Since then, Cox has returned to its hobby roots and is once again offering its products through hobby stores. The product line came to include a line of radio-controlled model aircraft.
Some of the former Cox model train line is now sold by the Wm. K. Walthers company.
Notable Cox engine toys
In the 1950s and 1960s until recently, Cox has produced a line of hobby-oriented models of cars, airplanes, and other vehicles. The most noted are the .049 cubic-inch displacement gasoline-powered models, controlled by line or by radio.- Adam-12Adam-12Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
AMC MatadorAMC MatadorThe AMC Matador is a mid-size car that was built and sold by American Motors Corporation from 1971 to 1978. The Matador came in two generations: 1971 to 1973 and a major redesign from 1974 to 1978...
.049 engine police car - T-28 Trojan airplane model
- The PT 19 flight trainer taught many people control line flying, without risking their own creations. At least the early all-metal reed valve engines, with the rubber spinners that came on ready-to-fly models, survive crashes to be used later in balsa models, thus spreading the hobby and Cox's business.
- There were some odd looking craft that resembled powered FrisbeeFrisbeeA flying disc is a disc-shaped glider that is generally plastic and roughly in diameter, with a lip. The shape of the disc, an airfoil in cross-section, allows it to fly by generating lift as it moves through the air while rotating....
s. - Some control-line models such as the Douglas A-1 Skyraider and some Ryan primary trainers had three control lines or some other form of throttle control, as well as elevator control.
Cox engines
Reed valve
Cox reed valve engines are nearly indestructible. The needle valve and carburettor are behind the cylinder where they are protected, and the crank case, cylinder and fuel tank are all machined from forgings, rather than weaker castings. The tank back plate/carburettor is a zinc alloy casting, or later a plastic casting, but crash stresses are already well distributed by the time they reach it. The claim of dimensional tolerance, in the advertisement shown above, is justified by the facts that the high production volume engines need no break-in, except for a one-minute rich run, and any piston will fit into any cylinder that is the same size.An example of an 0.049 cubic inch (0.8 cubic cm.) reed valve engine is shown on the right, taken apart (with the tools shown) and assembled. Except for the Golden Bee fuel tank, this engine was bought used in 1979. The starter spring has been removed, allowing the use of a left hand screw propeller. Some unneeded metal has been removed from the front of the crank case.
Below the Bee is a new Sure Start. There are several superficial changes, including that the shape of the reed is different and it is now made of steel. The most substantial change (not visible) is in the carburettor, which now has a large brass spray bar / barrier crossing the round barrel aperture, with a jet hole in its back center. The older carburettor has an abrupt increase in the diameter of the barrel (visible), with the jet at the top of the larger barrel section.
In addition to 0.049 cubic inch (0.80 cc) variants such as these, the 0.020 cubic inch (0.33 cc) Pee Wee was also sold, in large quantities and over several decades, in ready to fly or run models and separately to power other models.
Rotary valve
The TDs (Tee Dee or Thimble Drome) had very high power for their size and ranged from 0.01 in³ (0.16 cc) to 0.09 in³ (1.5 cc) displacement. They were for serious hobbyists and too temperamental for mass markets.Note, on the Tee Dee shown, that light shows through the external ports, under the piston (sub induction). This engine cannot run properly with a muffler. Sub induction served to allow extra air into the cylinder at high engine speed. This increases the charge of mixture and makes the ignition timing track to engine speed to maintain power over a wider range of rpm. The cylinder head shown is of the low compression Bee type.
Medallions were milder than the TDs but better performers than the reed valve engines.
See also
- Cox Model EnginesCox Model EnginesCox model engines are used to power small model airplanes, model cars and model boats. Cox engines were in production for more than 50 years between 1945 and 2006. The business gets its name from Leroy M Cox, the founder. Roy Cox started L.M. Cox Manufacturing Co. Inc...
On January 6, 2009, the Estes company closed down its Cox division and sold the engines, spare parts, and tooling to various companies.
External links and reference
- Cox Models home page
- The Virtual Cox Museum
- Cox HO-Scale Trains Resource Details the 1970s line of COX model trains in HO-scale, includes online catalog resource.