Irwin Helicopter #35 - Sikorsky H-5 (S-48, S-51)

I haven't posted a helicopter in quite a while because, well, because I haven't bought any! Some months back this Irwin helicopter became available for a price quite below the king's ransom these usually go for so I picked it up. Every so often I see vintage ads for these and I simply don't recall seeing one where this particular version was listed - maybe I did see it and just forgot. The outline definitely suggests the Sikorsky H-5 (also referred to as S-48 or S-51) and was used by the Army Air Force, then the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. It appears as if the Air Force versions were generally left with their natural metal fuselage while Navy's and Marines were blue and dark blue, and Army OD. That's a very broad statement though and from what I've seen on-line there were a bunch of different schemes. It appears these were in use by the UK's Royal Navy as well as in a number of other countries. Again, generally speaking, the toy world likes to use blue as Air Force - just cuz. Navy works too. But for my purposes, if I ever get to set up my Little Green Army Men again I'll probably draft it for Air Force use. We shall see, we shall see.

Courtesy: Flugzeug.info.net

(https://www.flugzeuginfo.net/galleryphoto_en.php?photoid=5580)

Okay, so after getting this in I was actually quite surprised at how big it was having always thought it a bit smaller than it is. That was a good surprise - I like! The fuselage measures 15" (38.1cm) L x 2" (5.08cm) W. The wheelbase is 4 3/4" (12.06cm) wide and the rotor span is 16 1/2" (41.91cm) with an overall height of 6 1/8" (15.55cm). The rotor is connected to the wheels via gearing and is supposed to move when you push the helo forward, however my sample is jacked-up and doesn't work as it should. There's a pilot inside as well as a 'searchlight' over the cockpit. Still, it's a very nice displayable/playable piece. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

I've posed it here with a vintage Lido 60mm figure for size comparison

Lido figure with Eldon tank

Japan - Haji USAF Gyrodyne XRON-1 Rotorcycle

This odd looking aircraft was built by the Gyrodyne Corporation of America under contract by the Navy with the intention of being deployed on destroyers. They were meant to carry one small torpedo or be used as unmanned drones. Utilizing coaxial rotors and an open framework it first flew in 1955. It was also being developed for the Marines who eventually decided it was too heavy and too difficult to fly and canceled the project. The Navy on the other hand liked its small size and load carrying capacity and continued development. The Navy went on to designate it as the QH-50 but changes mandated by the service essentially killed the program and by 1961 all testing had stopped.

Courtesy Wikipedia

In typical toy company fashion, the Haji Gyrodyne sports incorrect markings. Gyrodyne's were never flown by the Air Force, but for whatever reason they chose to have this thing piloted by a U.S. Air Force pilot vs. a Navy pilot. The toy is decent enough representation of the real thing that a helicopter enthusiast would recognize its lineage having the contra-rotating props, rotorless tail, and open framework of the original XRON-1. Unfortunately my example's pilot is missing his right arm on which the control stick was attached.  The two propellers do turn in opposite directions but my sample seems to work better when the friction motor is being pushed backwards! From tip of rotor to the the tail it measures 9 1/4" (23.49cm) L. The 'fuselage' is 5 1/2" (13.97cm) L x 2 1/8" (5.39cm) W and the overall height is 7" (17.78cm). Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Posed here on my new shelf display with other Air Force toys - might as well stick with the Air Force theme the toy company chose

Japan - Straco USAF Sikorsky UH-19B 'Chickasaw' Lift-and-Go Tin-litho Helicopter

'Fast and Furious' No, not the movie, but the effort I've been going through of late trying to take and edit photos. As 'me' time presents itself, instead of laying down and taking a break I've been out in The Cave or even outside trying to take photos of toys that have been laying around here for years. Plus I've managed to acquire some cool stuff lately (fortunately at nice, low affordable prices) and get those photographed right away.

Today's featured toy is a nifty little tin-litho helicopter from Straco of Japan which has been sitting on the shelf now for several years. It's a Sikorsky UH-19B 'Chickasaw'. The last 'Chickasaw' we featured was way back on  Feb 5, 2012 Today's toy is a smaller version featuring a wind-up motor that causes the helicopter to roll forward a bit, raise up, make a 90º turn, then repeat the process. Unfortunately my toy worked for like, 10seconds and gave up the ghost! It measures 7" (17.78cm) L x 2 5/8" (6.66cm) W at the wheels / 1 1/4" (3.17cm) W at the widest part of the fuselage x 7"(17.78cm) rotor span x 3 1/8" (7.93cm) H. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina 

The original instruction sheet is printed on very fragile, tissue-like paper

Here it is cleaned up a little