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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Pushing Tin: Japanese Tin-litho USAF Mini-Transport Jet

Not all Japanese airplanes sold during The Age of Tin were large, expensive toys but rather small bin toys of the type featured today on Toys & Stuff. This little gem is only 3 3/4" (9.5cm) L x 4" (10.2cm) wingspan, the maker of which is unknown. Today's toy is also not a fighter jet as the lithography suggests a small transport jet. These tiny toys were sold as bin toys, but I've also seen small tin-litho jets sold in header bags containing a whole bunch of planes, the bags stating something along the lines of "Start your own Air Force". The nice thing about small toys like this is they don't take up a lot of space and are still available for reasonable prices, making them suitable for people on a budget or who simply don't have a lot of room to display their acquisitions. Enjoy!