MAC Forum

How about a post on the Batcopter?

There are quite a few Batman helicopter toys out there... As is often seen, manufacturers took liberty with their designs (despite copyrights) and produced many types and styles of toys. Clearly, they wanted to capitalize on that hugely successful brand.

Perhaps the most sought-after Batman helicopter toy out there is one produced in Japan by Daito, presumably only for the Japanese market. Auction results are know for 2 examples of the toy, and it brought a whopping $3150 and $2530, without the original box (if it ever had one).

Here's the photo (also seen in a separate post) again:

Here's a popular battery-operated Batcopt released by Azrak-Hamway International (AHI). The toy was made in Hong Kong.

And here is AHI's friction version.

And finally, AHI's flying Batcopter toy.

Irwin U.S.A. made a few contributions. The first is a variant of their Build-Your-Own Helicopter series which featured the Sikorsky S-51 Dragonfly. The second a variant on their "Whirlybird 107" Boeing Vertol 107 helicopter.

I watched the 1966 Batman movie last night. The Batcopter was a red Bell 47 with bat wings added to each side. In one early scene it was able to stay aloft while both Batman & Robin descended a rope ladder. The shark was very funny.

This is just an amazing movie. I remember watching it at the theater and being overcome with laughter!
You weren't watching Svengoolie, were you?

Yes - Svengoolie. I usually do not watch the humanoid monster movies but when it comes to The Deadly Mantis, the '66 Batman, or anything with dinosaurs, space monsters and UFOs I cannot resist ! ! ! ! I especially liked the Batcopter's array of canned sea creature repellents: Barracuda, Whale, Manta-Ray, and Shark.

I have a thing for giant critter movies. I saw where The Giant Claw was on this morning! The best part of these movies are all the stock military footage, so we got to see F-86s, F-80s, F-89s, C-118s, B-25s, CF-100s all leaping into action! The clincher is the use of common models for many of the scenes, including a great steam locomotive - the whole toy train gets eaten by the monster!
Great fun! Kids these days just don't know what they are missing!

Here's the battery-operated "Batcraft" made by Marx/Swansea in England. It's a bit of a stretch to call it a helicopter. But, it's clearly supposed to have some sort of vertical takeoff capability with that rotor on top. This is pretty sought-after toy, as it was apparently made during a very limited run in 1966. Mint examples like this one bring surprisingly large sums.