This plane is clearly marked 'F-90' although the real airplane, which first flew in 1949, only had two prototypes made and was designated 'XF-90' - one of the series of experimental X-planes. The toy does generally follow the outlines of the actual jet and is reasonable enough in appearance for one to say, "Yup, that's a toy XF-90".
This toy has been attributed to Eldon by every sale or reference I've seen even though 'Eldon' is not marked on it anywhere. So, until I can prove one way or the other that someone else made it then I guess 'Eldon' it is. In excellent condition these tend to be pricey and that baffles me because I can't believe there's a huge demand out there for this thing. I mean really, it's not some rare Star Wars collectible so what's up with the stupid high prices people?? That being said I got mine cheap because it's a little chewed up. Which brings me to another point: I believe I'm going to start a different scale of grading for soft plastic toys:
NBC: Never Been Chewed
SC: Slightly Chewed
ABC: Already Been Chewed
Y: Yecch, Messed-Up
My sample would be graded 'SC' :-) Hey, it's worth a try. Can you remember being a wee little tyke chewing away on a favorite toy because?? you were bored, or your teeth were bothering you, or it tasted good (different, but good)??
The plane is 6 1/2" (16.51cm) L x 4 3/4" (12.06cm) wingspan x 2 " (5.08cm) H
These two photos show the prototype XF-90 with wing tanks. The toy dispenses with the tanks altogether.
Courtesy Wikipedia
Courtesy Wikipedia
