The Kirk, by Dawes was a disasterpiece.

One of my old lecturers told them their product was essentially a deathtrap, what with the horrific quantity of inclusions and voids scattered willy-nilly throughout the structure, and he wasn't just a materials expert, he was a regular and proficient cyclist, too.

Again, it wasn't pure magnesium used, but an alloy. I don't recall the designation.

Actually, I think casting in magnesium with modern casting technologies is probably a very good way to go, if there is a way to ensure big, fat radii on the hollow interior. It eliminates weld defects and as long as the mould were filled quiescently, oxide fold defts, too. The downside to quiescent, smooth-front filling is it would take about seventy years to fill the mould cavity. Ho-hum.