Re: Spanish Aircraft Toys, Tin, Die Cast, and Plastic

[hovermd]

Here is another Spanish toy. A very nice metal, die cast Cobra.
I have seen several of these in France in the 1980s, none since.
Did Nacoral make other aircraft?

I flew Cobras for 7 years and LOVE this one! But, I've never seen it for sale. Maybe one of these days I'll get lucky.

Incidentally, I've never see the Playme Cobra, either...

There are more than a few great toys out there on my wish list!!

[grwebster]

Mark, we need to talk when I am in the usa early july.
I have several deskmodels {real, period ones} of the cobra you should probably have, plus probably a duplicate of both the spanish Cobras but with out boxes. {I am sure I have a Playme duplicate, may be boxed but don't remember}
I flew front seat with the Playboys {134th out of Bien Hoa} on night missions {firefly- low ship} in VN for giggles but only for an introduction. I was the commander of the gunship platoon in the 68th AHC next door and wanted to get exposure on these types of missions. Interesting stuff. Kept your attention.
I also wonder what it must have been like for the enemy crouched down in the reeds and paddies and have 3 rotor wapping choppers hovering around over head looking for you in the pitch black night with a huge aerial light rig lighting up the ground.......... jeeze
Today I wonder what WTF I was thinking. But then I think the same about my slow flying on the deck in an overloaded, non-hoverable, C model, playing scout. Nuts. Stupid. But then one day in the plain of Reeds............oops a war story is bubbling up and this is not the place for it.
{1 year-900+- hours of aerial combat- 31 OLCs to the AM! That was really Nuts}
I guess in your day they did not do firefly missions, it was a bit crude.
Probably did more phsycological damage that actual kia results in VN. Amazing that most fatalities in the cobra crews were from mechanical issues, not enemy action as I recall.

[hovermd]

I'd be interested in the Narcol or Playme in the box... drop me a line if you run across them.

Hearing your story about the firefly missions makes me think of my first couple years flying with the US Coast Guard. By the time I was flying Cobras in the Army, we were using Night Vision Goggles as a standard practice. They were early generation "full face ANVIS 5s," but they helped a lot. We trained "Night Unaided," but rarely did much tactical flying without the NVGs. I grew to LOVE the added safety the NVGs provided. Then, I switched to the Coast Guard, which still wasn't using the googles. We were manually shooting instrument approaches to a 50 foot hover over the water in the pitch dark - there were absolutely no outside references. It was NUTS!! I remember shooting one of these approaches to a postage stamp sized flight deck on a little 210 foot Coast Guard Cutter at night in the middle of a Caribbean thunderstorm. It was NOT fun!! And, after seeing what the NVGs could do for a pilot, it made it all seem even crazier in my mind. I was convinced I would kill myself sooner or later, but thankfully the Coast Guard saw the light and created an NVG training program a year later. I, and many other prior service guys, were VERY happy when we made the change.

It all makes me apprectiate what you and the other 'Nam guys did that much more. I have a pretty good understanding of just how far you guys would hang it out there... Still, over 900 combat hours! Are you kidding me!? I'm glad America is doing a much better job of giving our fighting men and women the credit they deserve. But, I sure wish America could have figured that out back in the 60s-70s when you guys were coming home. I, for one, salute you ALL!

I'll say it again - there never has been, and never will be, a finer group of helicopter pilots than the guys who flew in Southeast Asia.

[grwebster]

While not plastic, a new identification model series made in spain in WW2 has been discovered.
If our spanish members could comment, it would help.
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1029&p=4900#p4900

[ec-abs]

I've never seen one like it before, but the review of the Air Ministry, makes me think that models are manufactured to military personnel to become familiar with forms and silhouette of the aircraft, to the aerial reconnaissance.
The label of Casa Reina, is quite possibly the manufacturer. This firm has been a leader in the sale and manufacture of models and kits. If I remember correctly there is still on the streets "Desengaño" in Madrid. As a child I bought there several RC aircraft.

[grwebster]

Interesting, especially as a similar thing happened in New York after WW2. Polks Hobby shop bought up lots of the identification recognition models as surplus and sold them for years out of a big carboard box on the left of the entrance door, I spent hours in that store as a kid.
Thanks for the information.

[grwebster]

I mentioned in another post that the early Play Me aircraft had metal landing gears and just looked through my collection to find some examples.
Here is the JU-52 first version on the left and the last one.


Here is one of my favorite Play Me aircraft


I wanted to show two of their jets and took this photo


I was sure that both were Play Me so when I turned them upside down to show the gear- SURPRISE
The F-86 was a Cragstan!


Here is what the early Play Me F-86 looks like


Then I did the same thing to the F-111


the Cragstan one is on the bottom

[grwebster]

my new Sanchis F-4 is posted here
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1046

[Tone]

Just spotted: another kind of Spanish plastic "aerospace" toy by JYESA, this time a fantasy model:

http://danefield.com/alpha/forums/topic ... sa-saucer/

[richardstarr]

WOW. This is an absolutely beautiful silver REPUBLIC AVIATION THUNDERCHIEF F105D.

I had never seen this particular version. There ain't many of the F105D available.
I have several of the VERKUYL/TOPPING ALUMINUM 48th scale, but I need stands.
Thanks for posting the beautiful colour pictures.

RICHARD STARR