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Friday, September 19, 2014

Ideal USMC Floating Mechanical Seaplane

We're channeling some more old photos today, this time of Ideal's Floating Mechanical Seaplane, the USMC version. These came in several color variants and markings and appears to be modeled after a Cessna 172 Skyhawk floatplane although I suppose there could be several other contenders. The plane measures 10" (25.4cm) long with a nearly 10" wingspan and has a robust propeller and wind-up mechanism although my toy's mechanism slips. I don't know if the thing would actually glide over the water when wound-up and released but it sure looks capable of it. The photos were taken back in 2010, months before I started the blog and back then I was toying (pun intended) with the idea of making a diorama using Marx soldiers. The plane was to sit on a jungle river next to a pier with medics bringing out the wounded on a stretcher. Like so many other projects on my 'to-do' list this one never saw the light of day, but a few proof-of-concept were taken. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina



















3 comments:

  1. Late comment, but: Yes, the propeller was enough to move it across the water; I know because the grey and blue 'Navy Rescue' version of this toy was one of my first. Sadly, the propeller also had a tendency to kick up spray and, given the wide open canopy windows that meant water would get into the spring/gear mechanism, rust it, and render it immobile. *Sigh*.

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    1. Cool! What kind of saddens me is all those really nice tin-litho toys made back in the day that were meant to go in the water! No wonder there's so few left of them in good condition. I imagine this would have been a really fun toy. My only water toys as a kid (other than pails, and balls, and rafts and stuff) was the original G.I. Joe Scuba Diving Sled. It was awesome!

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  2. I think I had one in 1968. Does anybody know what colors they came in? For some reason I think mine was red and white.

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