The SP Range

8/8/2019 The SP Range

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The SP Range

Introduction

The SP range was designed in 1977 and introduced in 1979.Theengines had to comply with the new German EN71 toy safety

regulations. This means the old SE range of engines was now

obsolete as they did not comply. Mamods efforts to try and make

the SE range safe by adding to the old engines sight glasses and

solid fuel burners was not enough and they only lasted for one

year. So in 1977 Mamod decided to re-design the entire stationary

range and add the necessary items to the mobile range to comply

with these regulations.SP meant steam power, so after 40 years the

SE range finally put its feet up into retirement and the SP range

showed the way forward.

The SP engines features:

Sight glasses and solid fuel burners to comply with the

regulations

The new solid fuel burners had a chrome guard to stop the

flames getting to the users hand.

New die cast chimneys which on some models the exhaustleads to.

Shiny new chrome firebox sides (except the sp1 and sp3)

these were supposed to help direct the heat but tarnished very

easily with the heat.

New paints, the new paints consisted of red, blue, black and

silver, the blue these were used on all the engines (apart from

the sp3 which had silver and black paint)The red was used on

the flywheels and bases, the blue was used for the engineframes but the sp1 and sp2 engines frames were painted

black, later on. The black was used for the firebox ends and

the chimney and on the engines frames of the sp1 and sp2

later on. The silver was only used on the base of the sp3 and

the engine mounted plinth on the sp4 and sp5.


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Spring lever whistles. These were meant to stop you getting

your fingers burned and have a very much higher tone than

the old whistles.

Longer safety valves. The old safety valves were very much

shorter but the new ones were much longer. They still blowat the same pressure though.

New boxes all had brown boxes with different angles of the

engine which was in the box.

New decals the new decals were silver and had a black

background.

Some engines had reverser handles.

What was in the range?The engines in the range were the sp1, sp2, sp3, sp4, and sp5.

The sp6 was never part of the original sp range but has been

included.

Also there were the 5 separate tools model power hammer

power press power grinder power polisher and finally a line

shaft.

Lastly is the ws1 (workshop 1) which was all the 5 tools but on

one big base plate.

Engines in detail

SP1

Introduced: 1979

Discontinued: 1984

Replaced: Mamod Minor 1

Number produced: 27,500Minor Variations in the type:

Some had the engine unit and frame the wrong way round

Some had old Mamod Minor 1 boilers due to the rivet where

the boiler mounted chimney had been.


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The engine frames where painted blue but at one stage

Mamod decided to paint them black.

Had the old type Mamod decal instead of the newer type.

The sp1 (Steam power 1) was based on the SE ranges MamodMinor 1.It had the same boiler and engine unit and flywheel. The

main differences were that it has a new black die cast chimney and

a special narrow solid fuel burner. This was also the only Sp

engine to feature a water plug as the boiler was too small to fit the

standard Mamod sight glass. The other main difference was the

base which was the same as a Mamod Minor 1 but it only had 4

holes one in each corner. The firebox remained the same as the old

Minor 1.The exhaust is a straight out into the air type. Theseengines could drive at least 1 or 2 tools.


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SP2

Introduced: 1979

Discontinued: this engine is still in production.

Replaced: Mamod Minor 2

Number produced at the end of 1995: 36,878Minor Variations in the type:

Engine frame was changed from blue to black at a later date

Some engine frames are screwed on some are riveted on

Some sight glasses were screwed on some were riveted on

Sight glass cover was either chrome or brass.

The sp2 (Steam power 2) was an all new design. It replaced the

Mamod Minor 2 and was similar to it in a few ways. This enginehad the same sort of boiler as the Minor 2 and engine unit and

frame. These engines where very powerful despite there size and

could drive the whole set of tools easily. The exhaust was a

straight out type like the sp1. The engine frames on these where

also painted black at a later date like the sp1.


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two decals a Mamod one and a Meccano one and finally the whole

base was painted silver. The boiler was a standard Mamod one as

used on the sp2 and sp4.This engine could also drive the whole set

of workshop tools. The exhaust was a straight out type.

SP4

Introduced: 1979

Discontinued: this engine is still in production.

Replaced: Se1/Se1a Se2/Se2a

Number produced at the end of 1995: 41,191

Minor Variations in the type:


Some sight covers were chrome some were brass

A special version was made for Griffin and George for

schools and educational purposes.


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The sp4 (Steam power 4) was the middle engine of the range. It

featured the standard Mamod boiler and die cast chimney. This

engine frame for this engine was mounted on a silver plinth. This

engine had a reverser which allowed the user to make the engine

run in reverse or forward. It could drive the all the tools easily.This engines exhaust was sent down some pipes and actually went

up the chimney so the chimney would be seen with all the exhaust

steam blowing up it. The problem with this was the steam often

condensed in the bottom and would settle there also all oil would

be left there too.

SP5

Introduced: 1979Discontinued: 1984

Replaced: Se3

Number produced: 10,461




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Some sight covers were chrome some were brass

A special version was made for Griffin and George for

schools and educational purposes.

The sp5 (steam power 5) was the top of the range engine. It had alonger boiler and a twin cylinder engine unit with a reversing

handle for both directions. The engines can easily drive a

workshop due to the fact it has a bigger boiler and twin cylinders.

The engine like the sp4 had the exhaust going to the chimney but

for some reason on the sp5 there is a small pool in the bottom to

collect the condensed steam and oil so it could easily poured away,

and also they came with a small sponge in the bottom of the

chimney to soak up any left after. This engine also featured theengine unit being mounted on a plinth. The crank ends of this

engine had the words Mamod stamped into them and this can only

be found on the sp5.

SP6


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Introduced: 2006

Discontinued: Still in production

Replaced: None

Number produced: Unknown

Minor Variations in the type: The plastic throttle handles can be a different colour

sometimes.

This is the newest engine to be made by Mamod. The sp6 engine

does not have the old oscillating style piston and cylinder it

features a new slide valve double acting piston and cylinder. It has

most of the Sp range features such as the die cast chimney and the

blue, red and black paint. Some people accuse it of being tooWilesco like and modern. It is a very powerful engine and will

drive a workshop with ease. The throttle it features on the boiler

allows the user to slow the engine to a tick over. It has an in line

lubricator and union nuts just like the early Mamods did once. The

exhaust is straight out type which is a shame as the steam would

look so much better going up the chimney.


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Tools

Power Hammer

Introduced: 1979

Discontinued: 1984

Replaced: Se range power hammer.



The first ones produced the hammer was painted silver andlater on this changed to black.

Power Press

Introduced: 1979

Discontinued: 1984


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Replaced: Se range power press.


Minor Variations in the type: None

Grinding Machine

Introduced: 1979

Discontinued: 1984

Replaced: Se range grinding machine




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Polishing Machine

Introduced: 1979

Discontinued: 1984

Replaced: Se range polishing machineNumber produced: Unknown


Line shaft

Introduced: 1979


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Discontinued: 1984

Replaced: Se range line shaft




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WS1

Introduced: 1979

Discontinued: Still in productionReplaced: None

Number produced up to 1995 approx: 12,000


The hammer was painted silver before later turning black.

ConclusionThe SP range is now very collectable and I myself have most of it.

Nowadays the only sp engines let in production are the sp2, sp4,

sp, and the WS1.There have also been some new engine introduced

like the Sp2d and Sp5d which are versions of the sp2 and sp5 but

with a dynamo and bulb. Also the sp6 was introduced but it lost the

charm of the old Mamod sp range. The quality has dropped

nowadays too.

By Lewis Parkes

The Story of Malins Models By PS Malins was used as reference

when writing this article.


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The SP Range

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