First published December 1998
Note: the print version of avia mini VI, with much more than is reprinted in this archive, and many, many illustrations, is still available as a back number direct from the publishers. You can order it from this website.
Welcome to the sixth avia mini. Thanks again to everyone who has written and telephoned with nice things to say about the five previous volumes, and with helpful future suggestions. We are now building a team of contributors, some of whom offer regular updates on their own interest fields, such as Ron Crawford on 1:200 aircraft, and Michael Bludworth on the regular toy store lines. Others have sent features on historical topics, thematic treatments etc. I invite you to add your contributions. If you have interesting models in your collection, send pictures and explanatory captions, or if you know of ranges not mentioned in avia mini, or if you can tell the history of a range, put it in writing and send it before you forget it!
Judging from what we already know about future releases, 1999 looks like being a great year for collectors of little planes.
In avia mini vii we will include more 'new for 1999' plans. I invite news of new releases from manufacturers, dealers and collectors. We need the information by mid-February to get into avia mini vii. Early indications of new ranges planned (some of them further in the future than 1999) reveal much interest in 1:144 scale. This follows the success of Corgi's diecast models in this scale, and the new ranges will thus fit in with Corgi models in collectors' cabinets.
I can now reveal plans a new project for 1999, the International Aviation Enthusiasts Fair, sponsored by avia mini, to be organised by D & J Fairs at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on Saturday 10 April. See the advertisement in this volume, more news in avia mini vii, published in March.
In the meantime,
happy collecting!
SHORT COMPOSITE
Dear Mr Ward
Just received avia mini v. Great magazine, you did a very good job, thank you. I collect only airplane models in 1:200 scale but I have always been very interested in every-thing about airplane models. Following your request I've enclosed two pictures for publication. The photos show a 'mistel' model in 1:200 scale Short Maia and Short Mercury (on top). The casting was made from a soft kind of resin by F M Schulz, Berlin, Germany. I have the two models assembled, painted, decalled and photographed. This mistel model is part of my collection of now 1905 models in 1:200 scale. Please keep up your outstanding good magazine work. Wishing you thousands of new subscribers.
KLAUS RICH, NEW PORT RICHEY, FLA, USA
Thank you for your good wishes Klaus, and for the pictures of your Short-Mayo composite aircraft. One or two other models of the composite are pictured here as well, for comparison purposes. The idea, proposed by Major R H Mayo, was to build a fast mailplane which could get a longer range by being launched into the air on top of a larger aircraft. The Short S.20 Mercury seaplane (G-ADHK) was the upper component, carried by flying boat Short S.21 Maia (G-ADHK). Successful air separations and intercontinental flights were carried out in 1938, but the idea was not a commercial success. Maia had a secondary role as a navigational trainer, and was destroyed on the water in Poole harbour in 1941. Mercury was passed to a Dutch seaplane reconnaissance unit in 1940, and did not survive the War. Ed.
Obsolete Fleet: Polistil
POLISTIL models are diecast in Italy, and this large company's many ranges embrace many types of subject, with a bias towards cars and motorcycles. It would be surprising if they had not made any diecast aircraft, but their single foray into this field was not very successful. Polistil developed from a well-known and respected toy company, Politoys, whose models are avidly collected today, though enthusiasts for Polistil models are much thinner on the ground. This is because their products were often badly designed, clumsily cast, poorly finished and inaccurate.
The AZ range of aircraft was no exception. Polistil's catalogue, from where these illustrations came, described them as an unlikely 1:25 scale, and they were all much smaller, all different scales, made to fit the box, at anything between 1:100 and 1:300. Pictured here are:AZ1 McDonnell F-4K Phantom
AZ2 Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
AZ3 Dassault Mirage 4A
AZ4 MiG-21C
AZ5 Republic F-105 Thunderchief
AZ6 Convair B-58 HustlerAlso made, but not illustrated were:
AZ7 Hawker Harrier
AZ8 Northrop F-5A
AZ9 Fiat G-91Y
AZ10 Saab 37
AZ11 Douglas Skyhawk
AZ12 MiG-23We hope to picture these in a future avia mini. The range was made in the 1970s, lasting for less than five years. The crudeness of the models led to low sales, Polistil took this to mean that aircraft didn't sell, and they never returned to the airfield.
RETRO & REPRO
The 1:200 Column By Ron Crawford
Appreciation Dept. Special thanks to the many friends and readers who sent messages of support and encouragement during the final illnesses of Louise's father and my mother. They were special people, and your kindness genuinely helped.
Apologies Dept. Derek Barratt advises that his SR-71 and other forthcoming USAF heavyweights will be available only through Collectors Aircraft Models, Sheraton Skyline Hotel, Bath Road, Middlesex UB3 5BP, UK. Danny Samuels reports that the V-bombers previously mentioned are also available from Collectors Aircraft Models.
Dennis Knight of Helmet Aircraft sent a set of his latest homunculi. If your Latin has vanished into the mists of antiquity, these are a marvellous set of figures of passengers to pose with 1:200 airliners. Other recent Helmet releases are reworked USAF recce and RAF Phantoms, Scimitar, Spitfire V, TBF Avenger, Anson, and P-40 Warhawk. Contact: Gadbrook Rd, Betchworth, Surrey RH3 7AH.
Leighton Fletcher of Aero Crafts continues to issue exceptional white metal models. His latest gems are a Spitfire VB floatplane and a Vampire FB. Both are cast with the undercarriage in place. Just attach the props and paint them. In the works are several more Spitfire and Mosquito variants and a Typhoon. The address is 57 Denny View, Portishead, Bristol BS20 8BT, UK.
BraZ: Does anyone have information on an Italian producer called BraZ? Ran across mention of them on the Airline discussion list (AMD@lofgren.demon.co.uk). If we haven't mentioned that before, anyone interested in modern era airliners should get subscribed. It's free, but you need access to a computer and ISP. Airline enthusiasts are a special breed, but because postwar airliners tend to be very large, enthusiasts support a very active industry in 1:144, 1:200 and other 'small' scales. Just don't send me nasty letters if you get hooked on collecting 747s in every livery ever painted.
Tupolev, the former Soviet design bureau, have released a 1:200 kit of the Tu 154 airliner. That should be available from ATP, Hannants, and other mail order suppliers.
Norman Bricklebank's new address for Check 6 is 7 Glyndon Road, Plumstead, London SE 18 7PD, UK.
Chris Sayer of the Norfolk Group writes that they are looking into producing a series of 707 variants. Check with Chris at Flat 1, Kett Hall, Wymondham College, Wymond-ham, Norfolk NR18 9SX, UK.
Dave Jackson makes 1:144 aircraft and offers two aircraft decal sheets which may be handy for larger 1:200 insignia. His address is True North Productions, PO Box 570, Merrickville, ONT, Canada K0G 1NG.
Klaus Rich reminds me that the new ATP address is Airliners America - ATP, 352 5th Street #1, Gustine, CA, USA 95322-1125.
Eclipse Models is a new producer. Their first effort is an excellent boxed and finished Eurofighter 2000 - Typhoon, with under-carriage and underwing stores. Further modern jet fighters are projected. Eclipse Models should be available from mail order sources such as Collectors Aircraft Models.
Espionage Department. Does anyone have a contact in or near Kiel, Germany? We need some photographs taken at the Marine-Ehrenmal (Navy Memorial) museum at Laboe, just north of Kiel. A Minox may be useful for the job, although their web site declares cameras are welcome.
Submissions. Please send 1:200 scale news, pictures of your latest finds and offerings, and juicy gossip to Ron Crawford, PO Box 23, North Ferrisburgh, Vermont, USA 05473 or email rlcraw@together.net.
HBM FUTURE PLANS
Research needs. For forthcoming models we are looking for pictures of the Sikorsky S-38 and S-39 in the Martin and Osa Johnson's 'Spirit of Africa' colour scheme. We're going to try to do the leopard spots and zebra stripes as decals to avoid liability for driving modellers totally bonkers. We also need a photocopy of the part of the Aireview book on Nakajima aircraft dealing with with the Nakajima N-10 Fugaku (Mt Fuji) bomber.Autumn HBM releases (contact PO Box 23, North Ferrisburgh, VT, USA 05473 or email rlcraw@together.net) are the Ki.43 Oscar and Ki.61 Tony, SCREMAR TAV and SCHMAC hypersonic cruise missile, a Do 217E with Hs 293 glide bomb, F-22A Raptor, RB-49, Ki.77, and Morane 406.
HBM plans for winter and spring currently include Gloster Gladiator, SHAAFT USAF lift vehicle, Me 323, Me 321, He 177A with Fritz X, revised Saab 105, Saab J29F Tunne, FIAT G50, XPB2-M Mars, Global Hawk, Dark Star, Strikestar, Ki.100-1A, Sikorsky S-39, X-34, X-38, AJ and JA versions of the Saab Viggen,and the Me 262 Schnellbomber.
HBM decal sheets of WWII French, Swedish, and Soviet insignia are now available.
TOY PLANE TOPICS
By Michael Bludworth
Be aware that Matchbox is introducing new colours on the same aircraft, now is the time to buy up your stock of the old colours. While I have you on Matchbox, how many different issues were there of the Swiss Collection? I have the A300 and DC-10, are there other aircraft? Target stores this year they are repeating their offer of Yat Ming airplanes, all the same colours and samples as before. If you haven't purchased this set, it is a good buy since you get six aircraft for $5. Does everyone know what the Yat Ming airplanes are? There are 12 different pieces, all of adequate to good quality, diecast with off road wheels. You can buy them from Asheville Diecast for .97 cents. They do appear under other brand names, including Flight Scenes, and used to be issued by Road Tough in six-pack gift sets. Woolworth offered an eight piece gift set, shortly before they folded. Personally, I would like to see this set expanded and/or colours changed, since they are nice pieces. I was lucky enough to pick one of the Danbury Mint DC-3s off ebay in the past month, so the DC-3 collection gets deeper, and deeper. Now, I need the Franklin Mint piece. Galoob Battle Squads continue to come in. These large plastic toys are very nice models of famous aircraft. Recently I picked up the FW-190, A-10, and P-51 and am pleased with the quality, and appreciate the fact that I can drop the bombs or fire the missile (how that got through the Consumer Protection Agency, I don't know, looks like just the thing to go straight into a ten year old's eye!). In the meantime, I mull over the C-130 in the series, set back by its price tag. Right now I will wait for the after-Christmas sales and see if I can snag one for less. Has anyone picked one up? How is it? I was lucky enough to visit the National Air and Space Museum, again, this summer, and remind you that their gift shop has many, many, cheap diecast aircraft. In particular, they had the following: Road Champs Flight Scenes (Yat Ming issues), both singles and gift sets. All those damn pencil sharpener airplanes, including a X-1 Z Flites, which is Zee Toys (who I thought was out of business), but the airplanes are not Zee or DynaFlite, they are those generic issues with the 'F' prefix (the little 'F-ers' I call them). Never seen these elsewhere. The big find here was the Majorette series of airliners, under their Airport name. I have never found these pieces in the United States, only in Canada and Europe. These are nice issues, and only $4.50. A little bigger than DynaFlites, with good undercarriage, they are an excellent line of inexpensive airliners, for those of you into that sort of thing, like I am! For those of you collecting factory and Travel Agency models: the NASM has a huge collection, many of which are in the Garber Facility, and upstairs in the NASM, where the public cannot go. I recently produced a list of all known variants of Playarts, but now two more variants have surfaced. There is another P-39 variant, to wit: 7607 Airacobra Green, red stars in white circle, RU, red prop, blue canopy. This is in addition to the cream one. The other addition is an Airport gift set: 7598 Airport Playset with DC-10 AA, 747 SAA or British Airways Boeing 747
This year's Hallmark ornament release is of the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny, and it's a honey. Yes, it is already in the stores (try a Hallmark store) and priced at $15. About 1:100 scale, it is every bit as nice as last year's Wright Flyer, but is a much more pleasing subject. Once again, done in a resin beige with brown details and includes spinning prop and turning wheels. Tell your friends and relatives that this will do for Christmas; unless you can't wait and have one already, like me! If you have, you probably also noticed that last year's release, the Wright Flyer, is at sale price! Old stock! Hooray! Half price and well worth it. Buy several and stash them away. This is looking like it will be a very nice series; I wonder how long until they reach the DC-3? After that, it doesn't matter! Jets are for boys!
Maisto has finally come out with its promised releases of the A-10, F6F, Mirage 2000C, B-24, AH-64 and F-4J. I have found them at KMart as part of the SkyMasters line. They all have bogus paint schemes, but they are a little more subdued than earlier releases. These are really nice pieces, and all new metal for Maisto, I am excited about seeing what they will be painted in for the regular Air Force releases. Maisto do cast their name in under the wing, but there is no number or date to note. Yes, I am excited about the B-24, for this is a very unusual subject for most toy lines. In exciting 1:227 scale, it is a very credible model of the Liberator. Done in RAF livery (not too far off) and given a tail wheel by necessity, this is a nice piece to have available. Compared to that awful B-17, this is a jewel! The A-10 looks much like the Matchbox version, and features plastic engines; the F5F Hellcat is also a welcome subject, not often done, and also sports an almost accurate paint scheme. I always wondered why they put on these bogus schemes when they must be painting the Air Force series right next door! On top of that, KMart charges more ($2.99) than KB for the better item (two for $5). Actually, I have to correct myself; thanks to the situation in the far east, KMart now charges $2.29 each. The Mirage is, well, blue. The AH-64 looks just like the Road Champs version, but I haven't taken the time to compare the two in detail. Wish one of them had done a Black Hawk, though; needless duplication. Everyone's favourite, the F-4J, has not shown up in the store just yet, so I cannot report on it, but I have a suspicion that it will be a winner. Once again, the card back shows it in a grey over white paint scheme, so, maybe... Speaking of bogus paint jobs, in one of my earlier MAQ columns, I speculated that the MegaMaster (Maisto) P-47, done up in German markings, while very ugly and inaccurate, would probably be the sleeper hit of the series! I think I was right, because I have never found another one! That's right, only the first one I found, what does it mean? By the way, it is not shown on the new SkyMasters card back. Out of all the others in this series, I have grown fond of the F-18 finished in natural metal. If you look closely, you will see that is just what it is, the metal of the casting. Simply clear coated over with stickers that proclaim both US Air Force and Navy, it is the basic casting. Very nicely done. Interesting to see how the casting looks without paint. The only other example like this was the Matchbox B777 Inaugural release, which featured an unpainted version. Probably like many of you, I pick up as many airplanes as possible, particularly old issues. One line in particular, Cragstan Wild Wings series, has a number of interesting pieces, which command high prices ($30) in Ron Smith's book. Their DC-3 and Ford Trimotor have long been in my collection, and I volunteered the DC-3 as the ugliest model I had! GRW once asked for IMACS members' selection of ugly models, and that was mine! If you didn't know, you wouldn't know it was a DC-3. Ooooogly! The Tri-Motor was better, but still soft on details, bogus paint schemes etc. Since then I have picked up the VC-10, 707, A-37 and some others, and they are awful! I will buy no more! In this age of beautiful offerings from Corgi, Dragon, Armour and others, in the $30 range, why waste time and money on such things? Yuck! A blast from the past I can let die. No, my pieces are not for sale, and I'm sure I will buy more in the future, but only as a bargain. I have similar feeling for a couple of other old ranges, one being the Eko line of plastic airplanes from Spain, and (hold your breath here) Dinky! Increasingly, I just don't see they point of it. I hope these statements prompt some responses.
You can contact avia mini, or if you prefer, email me at mjbscape@worldnet.att.com On Model wings is an email digest for collectors of model and toy aircraft. To join, send an email, with 'subscribe' as the subject to mjbscape@worldnet.att.com I can also supply back issues, and check lists for various lines. Email On Model Wings for more details of what is available. If you don't have access to email, I am available at: Michael Bludworth, 2304 Portsmouth, Houston, Texas 77098, USA. 713-522-3230 (week), 713-524-0843 (home).
MARKET OVERVIEW
By Michael Bludworth
Could things be better? If I walk into a mass merchandiser I almost always can find either Road Champs or Maisto. They seem to be cutting new metal on a regular basis, the best news of all. I wish both of them would number their castings. The new colour Matchbox Sky Busters, or Mattel Wings, or Feel of Real Steel (zamak?) are also beginning to be stocked. So, there is much to be had in diecast, as well as the plastic Buddy Ls and Battle Squads. Certainly the financial crisis in the far east makes these things cheaper all the time, so now is the time to buy, and at these prices you can buy two. Things will only get more expensive in the future. This good news is also bad news, for these three makers almost shut out all other production, relegating most of them to the grocery stores, begging for a chance. I can still find DynaFlites (oops, Skyflites) and Flyers editions of the Lintoys that way. Yat Ming is in the same boat (I'd like to see new metal in this line). But they are hard to find. Yeah, Toys R Us has a few DynaFlites from MotorMax, but if you know the line you know what is missing. Actually, the Toy Liquidators Store (now a KB Toy Works) in my area recently had a very nice set of 25 DynaFlites for sale. All current production, but an excellent way to get all of them at once. Less than a dollar apiece, and you are on your way to a collection. It does contain the best DynaFlites ever, the EA-6A and S-3A, both painted accurately and in 1:200 scale. Not to mention the very nice A-10, EF-111 and a host of others.
DIVERSE 1:144 IMAGES
Diverse Images is a new range of 1:144 handbuilt aircraft from Britain. We hope to cover them in more detail in future with some photographs, but for now here is a brief summary of their current range:
Bristol F2b Fighter RFC
Bristol Blenheim IV 114 sqn RAF
Hawker Hurricane Mk I 242 Canadian Squadron RAF
Hawker Tempest V 501 Sqn RAF
Hawker Typhoon 1b Duxford Wing RAF
Messerschmitt Bf109e 9 Staffel JG 26 Luftwaffe
NA Mustang III 19 Sqn RAF
NA Mustang IV 19 Sqn RAF
NA P-51B Mustang 354 FG 356 FS 9th USAAF
NA P-51D Mustang 4FG 335 FS 8th USAAF
Supermarine Spitfire I 54 Sqn RAF
Avro Vulcan B1a 617 Sqn RAF
Avro Vulcan B2 617 Sqn RAF
English Electric Lightning F1a 56 Sqn RAF Firebirds
Hawker Hunter F6 92 Sqn RAF Blue DiamondsMany more are planned. The fighters mostly cost £29.50, or £59.00 in diorama settings. Vulcans are more expensive. For more information contact Diverse Images Ltd, 50 Proudlove Place, Brighton BN1 4GE, UK. Fax +44 (0) 1273 600325.
PARADAIR NEWS
Paradair of France have released second versions of the liveries of five of their 1:250 white metal handbuilt models. They are the Focke-Wulf 190, DH 98 Mosquito, P-38, YAK-3 and Bloch 152.
SCHABAK 1:250 AIRCRAFT
The Airbus A340 is now available in 1:250 scale from Schabak, Lufthansa and Air France, with more to follow.
The Airbus A330 follows later, in Northwest, Thai and Aer Lingus versions.
In the 'traditional' 1:600 scale Schabak range, releases include Boeing 777/200 Air France, Boeing 777/300 ANA or Korean, Boeing 737/800 Transavia and Boeing 737/800 Hapag Lloyd or Delta.
ARMOUR 1:48 COLLECTION
To follow their excellent 1:100 scale diecast aircraft, CDC of Italy are now to add another Armour Collection series, in 1:48 scale. As the 1:100 scale range continues to grow, adding more modern combat jets and Second World War fighters, we see a parallel development in models twice the size.
The first releases are five variants on the F4 Phantom (USAF Thunderbirds, USN Blue Angels etc) and four variants on the North American P51 Mustang, all USAF at first, from Second World War and Korea.
Also new from Armour is a range of 1:100 helicopters, AH-64 Apache (five versions, US and Israeli) and AH-1 Super Cobra and Sea Cobra (five versions).
FRANKLIN AND DANBURY
By Michael Bludworth
A recent offering by Franklin Mint is of the SR-71. Not for the faint-hearted, this 1:96 model costs $250. There were previous issues of B-17, P-51 and Spitfire in a similar price range and size. These are fully painted metal models, with operating features. I say that because, from the mid 1980s, Franklin Mint, and its neighbour Danbury Mint, each released a series of pewter aircraft. The Danbury Mint pieces were c.1:48 for smaller aircraft, with smaller scales as the aircraft size increased. Franklin Mint had a series of small aircraft with wooden display cases. None of these models was painted, they were in natural metal finish, and frankly, many were fairly poor renditions of the real thing. I don't think the series sold well, and with a few exceptions, now sell for half their original price. My wife thinks they are nice; most civilians find them adorable. But they are uninteresting to me, all I see are errors! They bend easily too. Maybe Franklin Mint learned their lesson, the new releases are just the opposite. Accurate paintwork, diecast metal, working features, nice models. And they learned about their market too, 'it's a collectible, jack up the price'. Here's a listing of old Franklin and Danbury issues:
DANBURY MINT
The Great Fighter Planes of World War II
(12 pieces) (1986) $49 each
P-47 Thunderbolt, Mosquito, P-40 Warhawk, P-51, Spitfire, Fw-190,
Fairey Swordfish, Hurricane, F4U Corsair, Zero, Polikarpov I-19,
Bf-109.
Great Aircraft of History (12 pieces) (1991)
P-38 1:97, (F-16?), DC-3, 707 1:247, F4F Hellcat, Piper Cub 1:63, B-17, Camel 1:52, F-15 1:146, Shuttle 1:293, Wright Flyer 1:69, Concorde 1:306, Sikorsky Clipper S-42 1:189.
All aircraft were originally offered at $49 each, before taxes, shipping and handling.
FRANKLIN MINT AIRCRAFT
World's Greatest Aircraft (25 pieces) (1990)
Wright Flyer, B-17, Concorde, F-14, Bf-109E, Zero, Harrier, B-52, DC-3, P-51, P-47, MiG-15, Spitfire, Hurricane, Spirit of St. Louis, Camel. Each aircraft was $27.50 before taxes, shipping and handling; included display case and individual stands. Smaller than the Danbury Mint pieces.
If you can fill in blanks for the Franklin pieces, I'd appreciate hearing from you. If you have a Franklin DC-3 to sell or trade, I would like to talk to you too!
CORGI AVIATION ARCHIVE
Corgi's Christmas 1998 catalogue included some new 1:144 releases: Avro Lancaster E9932 AJ-G, RAF 617 Squadron. This 'Dambuster' aircraft includes a model of Barnes Wallis's famous 'bouncing bomb'. Avro York RAF 242 Squadron OCU, as used on the Berlin Airlift 1948-49. Douglas Dakota RAF 77 Squadron, as used on the Berlin Airlift 1948-49. Avro Lancastrian G-AGWI Flight Refuelling Ltd, as used on the Berlin Airlift.
CORGI Jan - June 1999 releases
See the centre page spread for pictures of some of Corgi's 1999 planned 1:144 models. Corgi's range is now large enough to be broken down into four sub-series, as follows:MILITARY WORLD WAR II
Avro Lancaster RCAF (Jan)
Avro York Armee de l'Air France, as used by General de Gaulle in 1945 (Feb)
Boeing B-17G Fortress Bit o'Lace, USAAF 94th Bomb Group (Mar)
Avro York RAF King's Flight LV633 Ascalon, as used by King George V and Winston Churchill (Apr)
Avro Lancaster PA474, Supermarine Spitfire AB910 and Hawker Hurricane LF363 RAF Battle of Britain Flight, plus BBM Flight badge(Apr)
Boeing B-17G 'Sally B', NA Mustang 'Big Beautiful Doll' and Republic Thunderbolt 'No Guts no Glory', fly from Duxford, USAAF Commemorative set (May).
The sets (Lancaster, Spitfire, Hurricane and B17G, Mustang, Thunderbolt) have a retail price c. £50.00.CLASSIC PROPLINERS
Douglas DC3 KLM (Jan)
Vickers Viscount 700 Series BEA G-ALWF (Jan)
Vickers Viscount 800 Ser. Lufthansa D-ANUN (Feb)
Avro Lancastrian BOAC the first scheduled airline flight out of Heathrow airport (Feb)
Boeing Stratocruiser Pan Am N1030V (Feb)
Lockheed Constellation Eastern Airlines (Mar)
Vickers Viscount 800 Ser Parcelforce G-BBDK (Mar)
Douglas DC3 Lufthansa (Mar)
Lockheed Constellation Pan Am (Apr)
Douglas DC3 Air France (Apr)
Vickers Viscount 800 Ser. Continental N241V (May)MILITARY POSTWAR
Boeing KC-97L Stratotanker Illinois Air Guard (Apr)
Boeing C-97G Stratofreighter Delaware AG (Jun)MILITARY AIR POWER
Lockheed Hercules C-1K RAF XV296, 1312 Flight, based in Falklands (May)
Avro Vulcan B2 RAF 44 Squadron XM607as used in bomb raid on Port Stanley, camouflaged (May)
Avro Vulcan B2 RAF 617 Squadron XL321 white, with Blue Steel stand off bomb (June)
Lockheed KC-130F Hercules tanker USN Blue Angels support aircraft for aerobatic team (June)
Matchbox Skybusters®
By Bill Stewart
One of the most recognisable and readily available series of aircraft toys is the Skybusters series, made by Matchbox.
As with most aircraft series, Skybusters are a minor line for a company whose focus is autos. However, the connection to automobiles has resulted in one of the best documented toy aircraft line every made. Like Matchbox cars, Skybusters are good quality castings with superior paintwork. Like some other aircraft toys, Skybusters are a consistent size rather than a consistent scale. The purpose of this article isn't to write the history of Matchbox Skybusters® or describe every Skybuster variation. That information is readily available in many other publications, such as Charlie Mack's Encyclopedia of Matchbox Toys. However, I would like to describe the general types of variations, with examples, and provide information on rarer Skybusters.
Variations
Skybusters is where it all started for me. I fell in love with the camouflaged Harrier and I thought I could collect them all. However, when I realised the number of variations, I changed my goal from 'all of them' to 'all of the castings.' According to the Encyclopedia of Matchbox Toys there were 14 original releases when Skybusters were introduced in 1973. Later issues resulted in a total of 43 different castings with 285 variations. However, this article was written before the introduction of the 'Inaugural Collection' Boeing 777, which would increase the castings to 44 and variations to 287. A 'variation' falls into one of three categories.
The first type of variation is due to the type of axle. The original issues had a thin wire axle. However, I suspect that the wire created a health hazard if a child broke off the wheel. The thin wire axle was replaced by a thicker steel rod resulting in the 'off road' landing gear described by Michael Bludworth. The second type of variation depends on the place of manufacture. At various points in time, Skybusters have been manufactured in England, Macau, Thailand and China. Personally, I wouldn't consider this a variation because there isn't any difference in the physical appearance of the toy. The third and most commonly recognised variation is based on colour. In the case of Skybusters, a colour variation could be the tint of the canopy, interior colour or outside colour. Based on the information in Encyclopedia of Matchbox Toys, the Boeing 747 (SB-10A) has the most variations, 27. On the other hand, the Hawk (SB-37A) has only two variations, both are Red Arrows but one variation has white undersides instead of plain.
The Bell Jet Ranger (SB-33A) has three variations based on the place of manufacture (Macau, Thailand and China). The BAe 146 (SB-38A) also has three variations but they are due to the livery (Dan Air, Thai, Continental).
The Rarest Skybusters®
The Encyclopedia of Matchbox Toys includes a value range for each variation. Most of the variations are still available at a reasonable price with a value of $4-6. However, based on these values, five variations stand out as exceptionally rare. The rarest Skybuster variation would have to be the Junkers 87B (SB-7A) which came with a black body, silver-grey base and wings, thin axles and a swastika tail label. This English casting has a value of $350-500.
I must confess that I had this variation, mint-on-blistercard, which I purchased in 1996 for $10. However, I included it in a trade for an AeroMini F-104 before I realised it was worth more than the AeroMini. The other rare Skybusters include: DC-10 (SB-13A) a Macau casting in white with 'UTA' tampo print valued at $250-300, Helicopter (SB-20A), a Macau casting in dark blue and 'Gendarmerie JAB' tampo valued at $250-300, Supersonic Transport (SB-23A), a Macau or England casting in white with 'Singapore Airlines' tampo valued at $175-250 and A300 Airbus (SB-28A), a Macau casting in white with 'Air Inter' tampo valued at $125-175.
My 1:200 AIRCRAFT By Brian Keates
Here is an introduction for avia mini readers to myself and my range of 1:200 aircraft. I have always had an interest in aviation as long as I can remember. Living only a stone's throw from RAF Binbrook was a big contributory factor. I have always been keen on modelling 1:72 kits, but moving around the country with Asda supermarkets every 18 months to two years took its toll on my little masterpieces. I finally settled in Nottingham, the dormant years were over, and it was time to start modelling again. In 1992 I visited an old friend who I had not seen for many years, who had a large collection of 1:200 aircraft, with which I was very impressed and which gave me room for thought. During the following 18 months, I put a small range together (12 in all) and made my debut in The Norfolk Group news letter 4, January 94. Initially the main two themes within my range were naval (Second World War) types and UK research and development aircraft. Both themes are still very much in existence. I have also added other producers' models from those who have lost interest in production or chosen other avenues within the scale. I purchased most of the Aircast products and part of The Norfolk Group's aircraft. I also purchased the Sky Gems series (Hunter record breaker Prototype, Swift and DH110) quoted in avia mini ii as 'now defunct', but they are very much alive.
Aircraft purchased from other producers have mostly been revamped and updated.
My range now consists of 49 aircraft types, a total of 81-plus if you count all variants! (Firefly Mk1, T1, Mk5 and U9, Avenger TBM3, AS6 etc). I have now progressed to early jets, the Sea Vixen, Scimitar, Javelin and Canberra are the latest additions, the latter being available in these Marks: B1, T11, T17, T22, B8, B57. I think it fair to give my son Ashley a mention. He came into the business 18 months ago at only 15 and produces very professional finishes of the Hybrid Boscombe types as well as the run of the mill range. In the future we will be producing some exciting models, of which we will keep avia mini readers informed.
WIKING AEROPLANES A Collector's Guide By Ron Crawford
Part Two
How were Wikings used during WWII?
In the runup to the Second World War it was evident to all of the major armed forces that various kinds of training models would be needed for teaching recognition of friendly and enemy equipment, individual skills like estimating ranges and gunnery, and team skills like formation movement and attack and defence tactics.
Germany was particularly well placed. Wiking was already well along introducing a range of world aircraft and could increase production by putting more moulds on more injection machines and adding additional aircraft types. Aside from re-labelling the aircraft (eg, the G-2 or Grossbritanien Spitfire became the E-2 for England-2) and developing accessories like display stands and wooden storage cases, the Wikings were adopted 'as is' for military service. My father was attached to the USAAF, and one of my lingering memories of the War was the profligacy with which the American forces distributed ID models (once they got their acts together). Everyone had access to them, which meant that every child had a good source of toys. That was emphatically not the case with Wikings.
I have known many German veterans, and only a small minority could recall ever seeing Wikings. Models were shipped to regional warehouses and then allocated very systematically to training schools and operational units. Within units a training officer would sign for the models and be held personally responsible for them at inventory time. They would normally be held under lock and key between training sessions. This does not mean that a hefty proportion of Wikings did not go astray. Naturally every system has its loopholes and back doors. German military personnel proved to be just as good at 'liberating' these attractive souvenirs as any others. Commanding officers never have trouble getting personal copies of anything. Quarter-masters always have ways of creating and accounting for missing inventory. And German GIs doubtless equalled their Colonial cousins in Yankee ingenuity. Nonetheless, the numbers of Wikings produced probably fell at most in the thousands of examples. Both interviews and examination of instructional manuals indicate that the actual use of Wikings was left largely up to the training officers. There was no strict curriculum. Rather, each unit could requisition from the Erkennungs-dienst (recognition training office; the Luftwaffe's was in Stettin-Gdansk, now in Poland) Wikings, study manuals, flash cards, film strips, posters, and other aids, and the Erkennungsdienst sent out periodic updates on available materials. Instruction manuals give pointers similar to the Allies' WEFT (Wings-Engines-Fuselage-Tail) system but with more emphasis on the Gestalt. Actual lessons were left to the instructors and inevitably varied from formal lectures with quizzes to 'Hey, check out the new models!' In practice visual aircraft recognition was not a great success in any military establishment. All sides resorted to stratagems like prominent recognition stripes, no-fly and no-fire boxes and corridors, judging intent from direction, numbers, and behaviour, waggling wings, and shouting rude comments on the wireless. Friendly fire casualties probably still ran close to 20% of losses. (Given that half of total aircraft losses are typically non-combat (eg, training, test, transit) events, that gives you an idea of how much difference enemy fire actually makes!) Surprisingly few changes were made during the War either to specific Wiking models or to the lists of available types. Models were almost never updated or improved. Minor changes occurred when moulds were repaired or replaced. Wiking's pattern maker usually got the 'look' of an aircraft right on the first try, and that was sufficient for training purposes. Few models were ever deleted, presumably because of the large number of early types that remained in second-line service or were passed on to Axis allies. A small number of types, such as the Me 323, Me 262, B-29 and Barracuda were added in 1943-45. Somewhat surprising was the very limited coverage of naval aircraft types. No one got rich from the military adoption of Wikings. In fact, the Third Reich ran up a huge unpaid tab before it went out of business. In addition the factory was bombed and strafed by Allied aircraft and then further damaged during the Soviet advance into Berlin. Much of the machinery and tooling was hidden and saved, albeit requiring costly refurbishing.
What happened after the war?
The immediate postwar period was immensely difficult for Berliners. Buildings were wrecked or heavily damaged, roads were blocked and transport was unreliable; anything portable had been stolen by Soviet personnel; food and fuel were in short supply; and firms that were able to regroup had constant problems with materials, utilities, and equipment. Friends who were youngsters at the time enjoy describing how they would 'mine' the rubble around the Wiking factory (actually a converted villa) for models. Even when Mr Peltzer and his workers got the roofs repaired and injection moulding machines operable, there was not a lot of call for miniatures or toys. The first postwar products were items like hair bars and combs, which were easily tooled and in demand locally. Collectors frequently become emotional when they are told that the plastic for those household items came initially from grinding up stocks of leftover Wiking recognition models. Wiking tried remoulding some of the old ID models and preparing some new prototypes, but for unexplained reasons those initiatives did not succeed. We are not certain that the models were actually marketed. In 1948 the Berlin Blockade and Airlift brought Wiking back into the aircraft model business.
The airports in West Berlin, as well as the staging fields to the west, were absolutely jammed with freight aircraft and supplies. To aid in planning and monitoring, the Allies commissioned Wiking to develop a set of plastic 1:400 aircraft and machinery that could be moved about on charts of the airfields. Those models were also offered to the public in 1948-49 as the Luftbrücke or Air Bridge range. Wiking made two further forays into model aircraft. In the mid-1950s Mr Peltzer judged the timing right to try bringing out new ranges of 1:200 aircraft and 1:1250 ships. He had some new models designed, and cleaned up some wartime moulds, issuing the aircraft in silver plastic, nicely presented in grey and blue boxes with display stands and simple decals. The aircraft coincided with the appearance of 1:200 aircraft from Vapour Trails-Corgi, Dinky, Hawk, and other makers and were exported worldwide. They sold at best adequately and were dropped from the catalogue in the early 1960s. Importers' and hobby shops' overstocks were still available well into the 1980s.
To be continued in avia mini vii
FRENCH DINKY:
The 60 Series Aircraft
By John BeugelsMeccano France produced a lovely range of aeroplanes between 1935 and 1940. Their first announcements were in the May issue of the Meccano France magazine.
Six aeroplanes were shown with all the other pre-war Dinky Toys. 60a: Arc en Ciel
The 60 series started with the Arc en Ciel. It was a beautifully shaped model in Art Deco style. The real plane was a Couzinet designed model and only three were built. Just one plane was in service with Air France, flown by Mermoz. The Dinky model Arc en Ciel is cast in two pieces. It is the biggest model in the 60 series, at 94mm long and the wingspan is 135mm. Two large wheels are fitted in fairings and the red painted propellers are two bladed. There is an open cockpit and four closed windows. Underneath is cast Meccano Fab. en France and Dinky Toys. No name of the aeroplane was cast in, just like the other aircraft in the 60 series. Just one die was used for this model, as all the models in my collection have the same die features. For the real enthusiast, seven different colours have to be hunted down. The standard colour is overall gold with red wing tips and red upper fuselage. Rarer colours are silver with red, cream with green, white with blue, gold with blue, cream with red and gold with green. Most models suffer from fatigue and good ones are hard to find, even in France. The model was imported into England by Meccano as 60az. (See picture above from contemporary British catalogue).
60b: Potez 58
This model is a high wing monoplane with a single engine. The fuselage is cast but the wing is tinplate with tabs at the front. Two small wheels are fitted and the two bladed propeller is the same as on the Arc en Ciel and thus rather big for the model, which is 50mm long and wingspan is 75mm. Colours are yellow with grey on wings, yellow with white, yellow with green, red with silver, orange with green and white with red.
60c: Hanriot 180T
This is also a high wing, single engined monoplane. The fuselage is cast but the wing is tinplate. Above the wheels are small steps and a two bladed propeller is fitted. The model is 47mm long and wingspan is 79mm. Colours were green with a white line on the front of the wing and on the tail-plane, red with silver, green with red, blue with white, red with cream or silver with red.
60d: Breguet Corsaire
This is a low wing aircraft. The fuselage is cast and has two open cockpits without pilots. The rudder is fully triangular and the tinplate wing is ribbed. The model has a very attractive pattern on the wings., with the same colour on the front of the tailplane and rudder. With this colour scheme and radial engine, it has a very flashy look. Colours are red with contrasting green, red with yellow, yellow with red, silver with red, and red with white. It is 47mm long and wingspan is 78mm. A two bladed propeller is fitted.
60e: Dewoitine 500 Chasseur
This is a low wing fighter plane, 47mm long with a wingspan of 79mm. The fuselage is cast, with tinplate wings. Colours are white with green on wingtips, white with blue, white with red, cream with orange, cream with red, or cream with blue. Recently I found the unusual colour scheme of beige with blue. All 60 series small aircraft have Meccano France cast inside the fuselage.
60f: Cierva Autogire
This is the same casting as the British Cierva Autogyro made in Liverpool. So you can find both castings in the series, with or without pilot. It is very difficult to tell if it is British or French, as there are no markings inside the models. However, the French propellers have round ends, whereas the Liverpool propellers are pointed, but all the models I have found in France have pointed Liverpool propellers. Models without pilot can be found with two different types of pin. Liverpool models definitely have the house-hold pin type. Models with pilot can also be found with both types of pin. In January 1939 all the aircraft drawings were altered to the thicker type pin. So it is not possible that there could be Meccano Liverpool-made models without pilot and with thick type pins. In my opinion Meccano France introduced the model in 1935 with the thicker type pin used on all the 60 series small aircraft. These pins slightly differ from the Liverpool thick types, but this is very difficult to see. The question now is why thick French pins were used with small Liverpool propellers. The only explanation I can give is that the small propellers suit the size of the model better. It would have been possible for the French models to be assembled with small pins, but in France the thicker type pin was in use on all the models and that was done by an Aylesbury machine and not by hand as on Liverpool models.
It is not clear at what time Meccano changed to the type with pilot but it was probably in 1937. It is possible that Meccano France produced the model without pilot and thick pins until 1940. I have a red box 60 series from 1940 with this type of autogire (autogyro in English). At this time Meccano Liverpool was already producing the type with pilot. The colour scheme on the models without the pilot and thick pins is different from those with small pins. The contrasting colour is not painted on the cowling ring, only on the tailplane. The standard colour for French models is silver with green, red or blue. A lot of colours can be found but surely not all French. Colours are gold with blue rotor and tail, gold with red, cream with blue, silver with red, blue with white, red with cream, yellow with green, silver with blue, cream with red and lilac with white. Contrasting colours can be found on the rotor, but be careful as these could have been re-fitted later. A missing rotor is no problem, as the Bristol 173 rotors are exactly the same size as the Autogyro rotors.
The Boxes.
The models of the 60 series were available in a presentation box or coffret de luxe. Five different boxes can be found. The very first is the violet with gold pattern paper box. The label is the 24-25 series type. The second type is the standard blue box with Avions label and 48mm high. The third type is the same but 35mm high, as are all later boxes. The fourth type box is green and has the famous Meccano boy label. The last box is red and looks very attractive in this layout, it has the 'Meccano boy' label. With the later type boxes the gliding game label was available, in the French language, of course.
All the models were sold both in sets and separately. The boxes for single models were trade packs of six, in yellow cardboard with the model number stamped at one side.
The models and sets are well shown in Meccano Magazines and pre-war catalogues. However one oddity can be found. In 1935 and 1939 the Dinky Toy catalogue shows the four Liverpool 60 series models alongside the Arc en Ciel in the French 60 series set.
Note: the print version of avia mini VI, with much more than is reprinted in this archive, and many, many illustrations, is still available as a back number direct from the publishers. You can order it from this website.
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