For many years I was really into WWII aircraft, mostly those from the European Theater of Operations (ETO) and the P-38 Lightning was one of my all time favorites as it was with so many other plane enthusiasts. Toy companies were quick to oblige kids love affairs with this plane by pumping out Lightnings by the truckload, either as plastic kits, ready made plastic toys, die-cast, wood - I mean you name the medium and the P-38 was probably made in it! This Renwal version, part of their Tr-Scale line of toys, was made from 1945-47 and from 1949-53 with a retail price of $0.29. It came in various colors, with or without decals, single sale or in sets with other airplanes. My example has a rough box and is itself kind of battle worn, the plastic having warped over time and missing its propellers. It measures 4 7/8" (12.38cm) L x 6 1/2" (16.51cm) wingspan x 1 1/4" (3.17cm) H. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina
The box was quite rough but a tad bit of cleaning up in Photoshop makes it look a little more presentable.
Side and end flaps have the same design
is there any value in these planes? my dad has a couple from the same era in green
ReplyDeleteThere's always value in vintage toys! It just depends on what you collect and not expecting to become instantly rich or famous trying to sell one common toy. A decent example of this plane with a box in good condition might fetch $30. If you're trying to sell anything to a antique shop or toy dealer expect to only get half as much (they can't buy something for full retail and expect to sell it for a profit). The toy I posted here was missing the propellors and the box is rough, so I wouldn't expect more than $15-$20 on eBay.
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