MAC Forum

In 1990, GR Webster sent me a sample issue of his magazine The Plane News. In it was a photo, one of many that intrigued me greatly. Sy Merrall had contributed photos of Constellations from his collection. One of these was a product of a very large Japanese firm in the late 1950s, Toys Nomura. This Pan American Constellation had two propellers and two "lited" red plastic jet engines.

While I knew that some Convair B-36 and Boeing C-97 propeller bombers and transports featured jet engines to assist takeoff, I knew that no Constellation had this feature. To me, the toy was an incredible fantasy toy. It also proved hard to find.

About three years ago, a seller brought an example of this toy to our local toy show, and I did not hesitate to buy it - one of the few that I have acquired since the 2000s because I have simply run out of room to live reasonably. It is in fine condition and working order. Its flaw is one "re-built" plastic jet engine.

Here it is, alongside a plate with a depiction of a Pan American Constellation. Note that the painting on the plate is a Super Constellation (PAA did not operate these), but it has the round portholes of the short-body Constellations (PAA operated these). On the other hand, the toy could be either, because it is not a scale model. It has rectangular cabin windows.

That's pretty funky.

Hi Tone....Yes, that's a nice toy. I'm guessing the nearby jet pod is the original one?... I think the real-world Lockheed plane which may have inspired it is the P-2 (P2V) Neptune (though it looks nothing like a Constellation). The later versions had a podded jet engines to assist the piston engines when their weight crept up. The Japanese even built some Neptunes under licence.
Other types that had added jet pods were the Boeing B-50 bomber,the Avro Shackleton.Some C-82/C-119 Packets had them (on top) , the French Noratlas and Bretagne had jet boost , they were also tried on the C-46 ( different versions with one and two jets) and I think the French put one jet engine under a DC-3 . No toy versions of those, though


Lockheed (Kawasaki) P-2V-7 Neptune by I Wish I Was Flying, on Flickr