Flash Sales Ends in Oct 19. Save 150$ OFF, Only $719.99. Code:A16
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The Retrol A16 is a working stationary engine model in the style of the old Scandinavian and Danish farm engines of the early 1900s: a tall 16cc gasoline engine on a cast A-frame, with an open crankcase, exposed valve gear and a brass flyball governor on top.
Everything moves in plain view. Watch the pushrods rise and fall, the rockers open and close the valves, and the governor's weighted arms swing out as the engine picks up speed.
Pre-order now · Estimated shipping early January 2027 · Free DHL shipping
Pre-order gifts: every backer who orders during the pre-order period receives an upright fuel tank and an exclusive A16 commemorative medallion, free.
Pre-order pricing: the earlier you order, the more you save
Production goal: 25 backers
We’re just 9 backers away from our goal. Once we reach 25, the first run of 100 A16 engines goes into production. Back it now and help bring it to life.
Estimated shipping: early January 2027
Watch the valve gear at work and the governor balls swing out as the A16 picks up speed.
Recognized in Denmark
The A16’s cast construction and build quality have earned the approval of a veteran Danish model engine builder, known among collectors for his own hand-built stationary engines.
Why we built the A16
Ask any engine lover about the old Nordic farm engines and you’ll hear the same thing. Tall, open, brightly painted and trimmed in brass, turning over at a pace you can count. They kept farms and fishing villages running for generations, and they still have a loyal following today.
Yet try to find a model of one, and you’ll come up almost empty. The shelves are full of American and British designs. The Scandinavian engine, the one so many of us fell for, was missing.
So we built it.
The A16 is our tribute to those engines and to everyone who loves them. Not a piece to admire behind glass, but a real engine you can start, hear idle and watch work on your own bench. A good engine shouldn’t belong to a lucky few. It should be run, shared and enjoyed by as many people as possible.
A century ago, tall single-cylinder stationary engines like this were the workhorses of the Nordic countryside, from Danish farms to Swedish and Norwegian fishing villages. They pumped water, drove threshing machines and grain grinders, and kept windmills turning when the wind dropped. In Denmark alone, more than 250 factories built them. Many were hot bulb engines, and many were made in what Danish makers called the "open type," with every moving part left exposed so it could be seen, oiled and adjusted by hand.
The A16 brings that Scandinavian vintage engine look to your desk. It isn't a replica of any one historical engine, and it runs on gasoline with spark ignition. Read the full story behind the A16.
A naturally aspirated carburetor mixes gasoline and air. A float on the crossbeam keeps the fuel level steady.
A CDI-controlled spark plug fires the mixture, pushing the piston down. The connecting rod turns the crankshaft, and the heavy flywheel carries the engine smoothly to the next power stroke.
An adjustable camshaft drives pushrods up the sides of the engine. Rocker arms on the crossbeam open the intake and exhaust valves, and springs snap them shut.
As the engine speeds up, the flyball governor's weighted arms swing outward and, through a linkage to the intake cam, rein the engine back in. When it slows, they drop and the engine picks up again.
A plunger pump circulates water between the cylinder and the water tank through copper pipes, keeping the engine at its normal running temperature.
What you’ll notice once it’s on your bench.
The flywheel, A-frame, base and cylinder are cast from molds made just for the A16. That’s what gives it the weight and presence of a real farm engine, not a scaled-down toy.
Most desktop engine models are small and delicate. The A16 is larger, so it sits solidly on your workbench and runs the way an old stationary engine should: slow, steady and easy to follow.
The final paint is applied as smoothly as possible, without grain or bumps. The flywheel rim is left in bright bare metal, the way a well-kept old engine is often shown off.
The cams on the camshaft can be set individually, so valve timing can be fine-tuned rather than locked in place.
Alongside the castings, the transmission parts are CNC-machined for a smooth, accurate fit.
A reinforced carton with pearl foam wrapped all around the engine, so it reaches you in the condition it left us.
| Style | Nordic / Danish vintage farm engine, early 1900s |
|---|---|
| Engine type | Vertical single-cylinder gasoline engine |
| Displacement | 16cc |
| Bore × stroke | 22 × 42 mm |
| Cycle | Four-stroke |
| Speed range | 200–3,000 rpm |
| Fuel | Unleaded gasoline, 92 RON, mixed with 2-stroke oil at 50:1 |
| Lubrication | Oil-fuel mix (2-stroke oil), no separate engine oil |
| Carburetor | Naturally aspirated, float-fed |
| Ignition | CDI, spark plug 1/4-32 (ME-8 type) |
| Starting | By hand, or with an electric drill (not included) |
| Speed governor | Flyball governor linked to the intake cam |
| Valve gear | Adjustable camshaft, pushrods and rockers |
| Cooling | Water-cooled, plunger pump, water tank and copper pipes |
| Frame | Cast A-frame, open crankcase |
| Flywheel | Cast, curved-spoke |
| Base | Solid hardwood |
| Fuel tank | Upright tank (free gift with pre-orders) |
| Colors | Red or green, bare-metal flywheel rim |
| Size (L × W × H) | About 420 × 180 × 418 mm (16.5 × 7.1 × 16.5 in) |
| Assembly | 90% pre-assembled; final assembly and adjustment by you |
| Weight | About 4.8 kg (10.6 lb) |
| Shipping weight | About 6 kg (13.2 lb), box 47 × 23 × 47 cm |
| Age | 16+ |
92 RON is roughly equivalent to regular unleaded (87 AKI) in the US.
Early January 2027. The A16’s flywheel, A-frame, base and cylinder all come from brand-new molds made for this engine, and getting new molds right takes time. Your engine ships by DHL with tracking, free of charge.
Large cast parts are only affordable when they’re made in a batch. A run of 100 is what keeps the Retrol A16 at this price. A smaller batch would cost each owner a lot more.
The best pre-order price, free DHL shipping, and two gifts for our first supporters: an upright fuel tank and a commemorative A16 medallion.
The A16 engine (about 90% pre-assembled), a hardwood base, a water tank, 2 copper tubes, a CDI igniter, a basic tool set and an instruction manual. Pre-order customers also receive two gifts: an upright fuel tank and a commemorative A16 medallion. Everything is packed in a reinforced carton with pearl foam wrapped all around.
Yes, for every pre-order. The upright fuel tank is our gift to the first supporters who order during the pre-order period. The A16 sample in our photos and videos doesn’t have it fitted yet, but your engine will ship with it.
Not a full kit. The A16 arrives about 90% pre-assembled, so the engine itself is already built. You just fit the base, fuel tank, water tank and copper tubes and make the final adjustments. A basic tool set and an instruction manual are included.
Turn the flywheel by hand, or spin it up with an ordinary electric drill (not included). A CDI ignition provides the spark.
Unleaded gasoline (92 RON) mixed with 2-stroke oil at 50:1. In the US, regular unleaded (87 AKI) is roughly equivalent. The fuel mix also lubricates the engine, so there’s no separate engine oil to add.
The A16 runs from about 200 rpm up to 3,000 rpm. The flyball governor is fully working: linked to the intake cam, it holds the engine’s speed steady. At the low end you can follow every movement of the valve gear and governor.
Two finishes, both with a bright bare-metal rim on the flywheel. Red is the bold choice: the same deep red as the barns and farmhouses of the Scandinavian countryside, and the color you see in our photos and videos. It stands out on any shelf and makes the moving brass parts pop. Green is the classic machinery look: the deep green you’ll find on many restored vintage engines. It’s understated and sits naturally in a workshop or study, letting the brass and bare metal do the talking. If you want an engine that catches the eye, go red. If you want one that looks like it’s been in the shed for a century, go green.
Not for now. A true diesel stationary engine model at this size is one of the hardest things to build in model engines. With no spark plug, it relies on compression alone to ignite the fuel, so it needs a compression ratio of around 20:1, roughly three times that of a small gasoline engine, and every ring, valve and gasket has to seal almost perfectly. It also needs a tiny injection pump and injector made to tolerances of hundredths of a millimeter, with timing that has to be right within a few degrees. And on a piston this size, peak combustion forces can run to several hundred kilograms, so the crankshaft, bearings and rod all have to be much stronger. Builders who hand-make one engine at a time spend years getting that right. Doing it reliably across a whole production run, at a price collectors can afford, isn’t possible yet, so we’re putting everything into making the gasoline Retrol A16 as good as it can be.
It’s a running display piece for your desk, shelf or workshop, a power source for your models, and a hands-on way to show how a four-stroke engine works. It’s intended for adult engine enthusiasts and collectors (16+).