Hitachi Lockheed 'Jet Star' CL-329

We've got a real nice tin-litho Air Force plane from most probably the early 1960s. This Lockheed JetStar from Hitachi is based on the real life C-140 built by Lockheed. In 1957 the JetStar was the first aircraft to be designed from the start as a dedicated business jet but sixteen were ultimately produced for Air Force use starting in 1962 and remained in service with the Air Force until the 1990s.

The Hitachi version follows the standard two-piece design of tin-litho aircraft by having a fuselage and removable wing section containing the friction motor. It measures 7" (17.8cm) L x 7 1/8" (18.1cm) WS x 2 3/4" (7cm) H. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Japan, Unknown Manufacturer: USAF Mini-Transport Jet - Camouflage

Here's a piece from my mini-fleet of USAF planes, a nice little transport plane in brown camouflage pattern. From my eBay and Web wanderings there doesn't appear to have been a wide array of these miniature tin-litho w/friction motor planes made back in the day. They were nice and more than likely sold as bin toys but I really haven't seen all that many in this size range. The plane measures 4" (10.2cm) L x 4 1/8" (10.5cm) wingspan x 1 3/4" (4.4cm) H. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Beverly Ballon Jet Plane

Here's an interesting plastic plane that was part of a lot of toys I acquired, a Beverly Balloon Jet. I'm not familiar with Beverly but from a cursory look through eBay it appears as if they made novelty toys. The plane has a hole in the top of the fuselage in which you inserted a balloon. By blowing into the rear exhaust (which is a separate piece missing from my toy) the balloon would inflate. I imagine one would then set it on a flat surface and the inflated balloon would cause the plane to roll. Never having seen it in action I can't say for sure. The plane measures 6 3/4 (17.1cm) L x 3 1/8 (7.9cm) wingspan 2 3/8 (6cm) H and is comparable in size to Pyro's USAF jet plane and looks very similar to it as well  In any case it is a cool addition to the fleet. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Opa Bettina

Pyro's plastic USAF jet