Renwal F-84-6 Thunder Jet - Diecast

Hey folks, let's switch gears for a moment and take a brake from the Middle Ages. This week marked the 71st anniversary of the formation of the United States Air Force. On 18 Sep 1947, upon the signing of the National Security Act, the Army Air Forces were abolished and the newly minted United States Air Force was born. 

Long time blog readers know that among my collections is a decent complement of USAF aircraft. I've had a few aircraft waiting in the wings to be photographed and here's one that was a lucky find. Although attributed to Renwal I could find no maker's marks on it. Being diecast it is in start contrast to their plastic offerings of the era. It measures 7" (17.78cm) L x 7 1/2" (19.05cm) wingspan x 2" (5.08cm) H. The friction motor is small and unfortunately no longer works but it's a nice display piece never the less. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Renwal No.166 Navy Panther Jet - Red SP

As a general rule I don't collect any aircraft other than U.S. Air Force planes or Army helicopters but you know what it's like when you buy a toys in a 'lot' just to get one item thus ending up with things you wouldn't normally buy. This Navy jet from Renwal is a good example of ending up with a toy I normally wouldn't buy. It's a cool jet and all and it's based on a real life plane (unlike so many toys of the era) and it displays quite well but really, there's more than enough USAF planes and Army helicopters to focus on. We posted a similar jet in light blue way back on Jan 12, 2012. The jet measures 5" (12.7cm) L x 4 3/4" (12.06cm) wingspan x 1 1/4" (3.17cm) H. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

One of the guys in one of the on-line groups I belong to said recently that, when photographing these toys in solid primary colors, to place them on felt of a complimentary color. I'd need to check a color wheel to find the complimentary colors for let's say, red, green, yellow, etc and then buy some material like felt. He claims the details will 'pop' by doing that and I won't get that annoying bluish 'haze' in the photos caused by the inability of digital cameras to see white backgrounds as truly white, because, trust me, when I'm photographing this stuff I DO NOT see blue. My eyes see a nice white background.

Renwal No. 281 USAF Jet (F-84 Thunderstreak)

Trolling through the photo archives I came across this No. 281 USAF Jet by Renwal. Even though the toy maker's don't always attribute their products to real-life planes, there's certainly a case to be made that their designs are based on real aircraft of the period. This Renwal is certainly a dead ringer for the F-84 Thunderstreak made during the early to mid-1950s. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Courtesy Wikipedia