Tin Toy Plane Production List Project

[Tone]

Korea, Republic (South)

Airliner, Jet:

Boeing 747, 9" L, friction with lever action, nose wheel:
Pan American, blue plastic underparts and tail surfaces with tin upper fuselage and wing insets, silver/white, blue markings.
Trans World, red plastic, white tin upper fuselage, red 70s colors with outline block letters, N81025.
United, off-white plastic underparts and tail surfaces with tin upper fuselage and wing insets, orange/red/blue 1970s "Saul Bass design" markings.

Fighter, Jet:

F-104 Starfighter, tin and plastic, friction with lever action, Korean insignia, 1980s, similar to or same as Japanese toy with Ohta "diamond K" trademark.

Helicopters:

Some small (about 8" long) single rotor helicopters were made in Korea, "Police," "Rescue," etc. See MTU.

Poland (?)

Fighters, Jet:

MiG 15, 9" WS, friction, cutaway arrow on upper fuselage points toward tail fin, silver, pale blue markings, red lower fuselage, red Polish insignia on wings, “323” stenciled on nose in black.
MiG 15, silver, pale blue markings, red upper tail fin, red/white Polish insignia on wings, “717” stenciled on nose in black.

Romania (?)

The tin and plastic fighter is similar to a Jimmy Toy.

Fighter:
F16, friction with pinwheel set into fuselage, white plastic wheels, red plastic underparts, dark blue upper tin parts, YR A2 on wings

Singapore

Airliner, Jet:

Lockheed 1011 TriStar, 11 1/2" WS, battery, lighted red plastic engine nacelles with white pylons, plastic lower parts and visible seating (?), silver/white with red TWA markings, c. 1980, similar to or same as Alps brand toy.

Turkey (?)
Turkey had at least one manufacturer that issued tin airplanes, Gurel (see). At least one other Turkish toy-making firm, Ne-Kur, produced tin friction vehicles for domestic consumption.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics-USSR/Russia
While this nation strove to be a pacesetter in science and technology, producing dramatic 1:1 aircraft, Soviet policy never emphasized consumer goods. The tin toys manufactured in government factories were sporadic. They may be lithographed or painted tin. Quality does not match that of German and the later Japanese tin toy aircraft, though the selection of planes below indicates production into the 1970s or even early 80s.

Airliners:

Twin-engine Airliner, 8" WS, unpowered, metal three-blade propellers, three small black rubber wheels on fixed undercarriage, three round punched-out cabin windows on each side of fuselage, silver with red stencil painted details, stars on upper wings, "K" in diamond and "CCCP" on lower wings.

Airliners, Jet:

Baade 152, 6 ¾” WS, 7” L, friction, looks like VEB Plasticart toy with no engines:
With wingtip tanks, blue/yellow with red star on tail fin.
Without wingtip tanks, light grey wings, blue lower fuselage, red/white markings with Soviet flag on tail fin
Ilyushin Il-62, 14” WS, 16”L, pale blue and off-white, large red Aeroflot titles on fuselage, SSSR-21407 on wings, ”Tsena 2r-60k” in cyrillic alphabet inside wings.
Jet airliner, 6 3/4” WS, friction, one-piece upper body and wings, red/white/grey with blue lower fuselage, red tail fin with USSR flag.
Tupolev Tu-104 Camel, 13" WS, 13 3/4" L, friction, white, painted, large tabs atop fuselage, Tupolev logo (Ty in circle) decal near nose, red flag on tail fin.
Tupolev Tu-144 Supersonic, pale blue-green, darker blue rectangular cabin windows, Aeroflot, “SSSR 1500” stenciled on wings in red.
Tupolev Tu-144 Supersonic, 8” L, free-wheeling, white plastic with tin plate upper parts, red/yellow/blue, “НЧ-87”.
Tupolev Tu-154 (Tri-jet), ungainly engines, Aeroflot decal transfers, SSSR-6500 on wings, Tupolev logo on nose.

Fighter or Light Aircraft:

Single-engine Airplane, 10 ½” WS, 9” L, two-blade propeller, unpowered, painted red overall, cyrillic writing on fuselage: “DOVYA_PH” (?)
Single-engine Airplane, red plastic 2-bladed prop, nose wheel, rounded wingtips and tail surfaces, light grey/white, red stars on wings and fuselage.

Fighter, Jet:

Delta-wing Fighter, friction, 8" wingspan, blunt nose, green/white/blue/yellow/red, clear plastic canopy, pinwheels flat inside wings, "Tse1-50" in cyrillic letters stamped on plain flat metal lower part.
Delta-wing Fighter, green upper, red lower, blue fin, red stars on wings and tail fin.
MiG 15, simple construction, rounded nose, silver overall with red stars.

Helicopter:

Ka 50 Helicopter, 9”L, WU, four wheels, two 3-bladed metal rotors on one shaft, green camouflage with red star, “Ka-50.”

Unknown Manufacturer and Country of Origin

Airliners:

Boeing 727, tin and plastic, Avianca Colombia, bright orange/grey, white stylized “A V” on tail fin.
Twin-engine Airliner, 4 3/4" WS, two-bladed metal props and tin wheels, cream/red, canopy bulge atop fuselage, pencil sharpener between wheels below fuselage.

Fighters, Jet:

Delta Wing Jet (Skyray?), 5" WS, unpowered, red with pale blue markings, red/blue roundels on wings, lightning bolt on tail fin.
Delta Wing Jet (Vulcan?), 5" WS, unpowered, yellow with medium blue markings.
Delta Wing Jet, friction, silver with black nose, orange-red and yellow markings, orange-red eagle on tail fin, C7.

Light Aircraft:

Light Aircraft, like Saito S2 Toy, about 4” WS, friction, two engine nacelles on wings, yellow with white cheat line, red/white/green bands on wings and tail fin, large red star on nose, “MLFT,” “H-3.”

[Tone]

I've updated the list for November 2012 !

[MichaelB]

Awesome collection of tin planes, Tony! Nice stuff!

Say! ...I found your namesake - Tone - as the name on a Otaki YS-11 kit box art!

[craviola990]

No doubt...I'm loving that PAA DC-8 w/tailwheel, Cutlass, "Grumman X-5", and of course, B-52s for always.

Christian

[grwebster]

THANKS, TONE
your pictures are great to see
I noticed that photobucket has a new easier way to do multilpe photos, should make it easier for all to post
GR

[MichaelB]

Just totally awesome pictures and models, Tony! Love that early Concorde!
So much fine stuff out there...

[MichaelB]

Awesome Allison Turboliner!
Amazing F-105...look at the different shades of metal!
Beautiful stuff!
I'm sorry that this segment of toys is gone - I love the attempts to "get it right"!

[Tone]

Bibliography

Fritz, Peter and Mautner, John, ed, Presenting the Big Toy Box at Sears 1951-1969 (Auburn MA: Toytown Classics, 1987)

This collection of photocopies of old Sears Roebuck & Co. Christmas catalogues features a host of old toy planes by Bandai, Line Mar, Tomiyama and others.

Gardiner, Gordon, and Alistair Morris, Illustrated Encyclopedia of Metal Toys (New York: Harmony Books, 1984)

This wonderful book includes a section of tin toy planes from the London Toy and Model Museum and features a rare pre-WWII Japanese bomber that went to Sy Merrall's collection - now with the Strong Museum in Rochester, NY.

Marchand, Frédéric, Avions-Jouets (Paris: Maeght, 1993)
Avions-Jouets 1945-1970 (Paris: Langlaude, 2004)
Jeux et Jouets du Ciel (Paris: Le Cherche Midi, 2001)

M. Marchand did an excellent job with all three books, providing much original research and correspondence with a number of European toy collectors. All works are lavishly photographed. The 2001 book contains the official Air France corporate collection. The Joustra toy with six propellers and nose flags must be seen to be believed (n.b.: Airplane toys / games and toys of the sky).

Miller, Tom, Big Book of Toy Airplanes (Paducah: Collector Books, 2005)

Features many color photos of planes from Mr Miller's extensive collection, with numerous misidentifications. The section on tin planes is meager, but it has a photo of a great Chinese-made airliner, made from a 707 but with two flashing rear engines and a T-tail, that I have never seen before.

O’Brien, Richard, Collecting Toys (updated yearly)
O’Brien, Richard, The Story of American Toys (New York: Artabras, 1990)

Once again, the reader benefits from O'Brien's extensive research and contributions from Perry Eichor, Keep 'Em Flying. The first mentioned work has a section on tin airplanes that is very similar, if not identical, to the section on tin airplanes in the Ron Smith book.

Pressland, David, Art of the Tin Toy, (London UK: New Cavendish, 1976)

Veterinarian Dr. Pressland was collecting antique toys before it became a fad. His very large and intricate book is a must for any student of the subject. Includes a photo of a Yonezawa AA Electra and C-124 Globemaster and the awesome Wells BOAC Comet.

Smith, Ron, Collecting Toy Airplanes (Florence, AL: Books Americana, 1995)

Features a section with a catalogue of Japanese and European tin planes with an outdated price guide. Mostly black-and-white with some color photos, including rare items such as the Tokyo Robin candy plane and a vertical riser similar to the Doak.

Teruhisa Kitahara, Yesterday’s Toys: Planes, Trains, Boats, and Cars (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1989)

Photo essay of items from Mr Kitahara's Japanese tin toy museum, with many planes.

[MichaelB]

Outstanding!
Nice work!
Michael

[grwebster]

ditto