UNUSUAL Tin Toy Airplanes

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Here are some unusual Tin Toy Airplanes I have seen offered at auction, on line, in the 2000s. They were not in collections, and I saved copies of the photos.

I do not have any information on most of them.

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This TWA Douglas is one of the early Japanese tin toys back when the plane first came out - mid 1930s.

Though it has splashes of bright color, it maintains the polished metal look of the real McCoy.

The wings and tail surfaces have a striated appearance like that of a Junkers or Ford tri-motor, but not a real Douglas.

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Next is this Air-India Boeing. Of course the registration letters VT-707 on the wing are just a coincidence, as this airplane has four propellers and no jet engines.

We all know the names Nicky Toys, Maxwell, Milton Mini Toy, Indian-made die cast toy planes, even if we do not have examples in our collections. India also had some tin toy makers named Agarwal, Amartoy and Vohratoy.

While the toy plane is clearly marked Boeing, it looks like a Douglas. The mold does not look like any Japanese tooling so it might be original.

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This 1930s Imperial Airways "Blakburn" (real spelling: Blackburn) went for big bucks. I have never seen a toy like this before and I know I will never see one again!

Maker is possibly Kuramochi of Japan as it looks somewhat like this firm's high-wing tri-motors marked "Douglas" and "Farman."

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Here is a well-known toy plane in a very, very unexpected color scheme: a battery-operated Libyan Arab Airlines DC-9.

Maker is of course Nikko Gangu-Toys Nomura in Japan in the 60s into the 70s. Most common colors were TWA, the plane is also seen in KLM and Swissair colors. Perhaps the Libyan plane was a special order?

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Going back to the 30s, or possibly even the late 20s, is this Tomiyama Baby Hydro-plane - a biplane.

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Last, for now, is this VISPA brand Aerolineas Argentinas 747, which does not appear to be old at all, and might even still be in production!

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Here are two red planes made in France by a company founded by Gutmann that used a MEMO trade mark. They nearly never show up for sale. This company was founded in the late 40s. The twin-engined plane is totally original, though it resembles a Marx toy.

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Here's a Tupolev 154. When was the last time you have seen a tin plate Tu-154? Probably never before!

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We all know the famous Line Mar Toys American Airlines DC-7 with "automatic turn-over propellers" and 19 1/2" wing span. I have seen at least three examples for sale of this South American version. AVENSA (Aerovias Venezolanas S.A.) was founded by Trippe as a Pan American subsidiary. One can see that AVENSA used a simplified Pan American livery. AVENSA was never the Venezuelan national airline, though it had a robust route system. I do not think that it ever flew the DC-7.