NOTE: This post has been modified to reflect 'Hong Kong' as the place of origin for TN Toys , not Japan
Today Toys & Stuff features another wonderful toy from the Golden Age of Tin, the TN brand USAF-Navy Piasecki Hup-2 helicopter. According to Wikipedia, "The Piasecki H-25 Army Mule/HUP Retriever was a compact single radial engine, twin overlapping tandem rotor utility helicopter developed by the Piasecki Helicopter Corporation of Morton, Pennsylvania during the late 1940s and produced during the early 1950s." The toy helicopter measures 10" (25.4cm) L x 4 3/4" (12.1cm) H to the top of the rear blade. While the TN brand toy helicopter closely matches the outlines of the original, the markings are not at all prototypical. For some reason Asian toy makers liked placing the names of multiple services on their toys like this helicopter which is lettered for both the U.S. Air Force and Navy! Needless to say this is not a prototypical practice, especially when one considers that it only saw U.S. service with the Army and Navy NOT the Air Force! The 'UR' designator on the tail is correct for the Navy, but the word 'NAVY' would have appeared directly to the left of the Star-&-Bar insignia on the fuselage. Still, it's a cool blast from the blast! Enjoy!
