BING type 10/121 Model Hot Air Engine

BING Type 10/121 Model Hot Air Engine

An example of the style of model hot air engine made for the education and entertainment of children (of all ages!) during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

This engine was built in Nurenburg, Germany around 1920 by the Ignaz and Adolf Bing.  Their company, founded in 1863, initially made kitchen utensils. Later, their catalogues offered a huge range of high-quality mechanical toys.  

It is of the Beta configuration- piston and displacer in the same cylinder- and is in running condition.

Collectors are often tempted to restore and re-paint early engines such as this to as new (or better!) condition- but in the process valuable historic information is often destroyed.  A view now is that at least some old engines should be left un-restored as an information resource for later generations.

Peter Lynn for the Mahan Heritage Centre, June 2025