Here's an interesting helo I picked up. Hubley made this diecast helicopter sometime in the '50s and it was a nice addition to their line of diecast airplanes. The only thing is, while the airplanes were definitely based on actual planes this helo appears to be a caricature. I can find no photos of any helicopter that matches the outlines of this. The Piasecki YH-16 kinda, sorta matches it except that the Piasecki is r-e-a-l long when compared to this. What differs on the toy vs. the prototypes are two main features: the odd cockpit (there were some really unusual cocpit designs in early helicopters but the toy doesn't match any of them); and the air intakes at the bottom rear fuselage. The YH-16 does have air intake bulges sticking out from its fuselage but they're higher up on the body.
Anywho, the toy came in two colors that I'm aware of (yellow and blue) and two sets of markings that I'm aware of (star-&-bar and forest ranger). Often times the star-&-bar insignia is wrongly placed in an upside-down position. The star-&-bar insignia was used by all the services so you can make believe it flew for the Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, whatever. The fuselage measures 9" (22.86cm) L x 1 5/8" (4.12cm) W x 3 3/4" (9.52cm) H The landing gear spreads out to 5" (12.7cm) wide and the rotors are 8 1/2" (21.59cm) L. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina
Hello,
ReplyDeleteMy name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman, and I write about old & antique toys on my blog:
www.oldantiquetoys.blogspot.com
I was doing a search for "Hubley Toy Blogs", when I came across your superb Hubley helicopter and the excellent photos.
The reason for my writing is to ask if I might use your photos and description to add a post about this great toy.
For each photo or composite photo, I always add a copyright notice.
AS well, I add a link to your website.
I haven't looked at the other toys yet, but If there are other toys, might I also have permission to write about them in the future.
If this is OK, can you give me a short bio of how you came to write about toys, as well as collecting them,
Thanking you in advance,
Stacey Bindman
Montreal, Quebec
Many Thanx for the kudos Stacey,
ReplyDeleteYes you may use the photos and whatever information I have regarding the Hubley helicopter. You (and any of my readers) can contact me at ed_ice_berg@yahoo.com Be forwarned that my replies MAY take a while as I tend to have little 'me' time anymore. I do pack as much quality hobby time as I can in the hour a day I may have but it is what it is. I'll be sure to check out your blog here shortly however right now it's back out to The Cave for more more picture taking!!
I have one what are they worth
ReplyDeleteDepends on condition. If there's lots of paint missing, bent or broken rotors expect a handful of peanuts for it. One in the condition seen in these photos could go for $50 and one with the original box at least double that. Like all collectibles, much depends on where you try to sell it and if interested buyers happen to be aware of it at the time it goes up for sale.
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