Japan - Masuya Toy SAM-A7 Nike Rocket Plane

Here's a nifty '60 tin-litho rocket plane from the Japanese firm of Masuya Toy. The design is somewhat reminiscent of NASA's North American X-15 experimental plane but with a little creative license by Masuya is lettered for the U.S. Army . The toy features a friction motor and 'bump-&-tip' action. A spring-loaded, wheeled sled beneath the fuselage latches on to a hook connected to the nose tip. When the plane hits an object the nose tip gets pushed back unlatching the sled and the spring in the sled causes it to raise upwards. What I don't know is whether the plane is supposed to tip all the way over or just raise up as the spring on my toy isn't strong enough now to flip the whole plane over. The rocket plane measures 7 1/4" (18.4cm) L x 2 3/4" (7cm) wingspan x 2 1/8" (5.4cm) H. Enjoy!

The plane in 'tip up' mode

The latch within the fuselage which hooks on to the sled

Japan Tin Ladder Truck

When I bought the Marx General Alarm Fire House featured two days ago, it came with two tin fire trucks made in Japan by an unknown manufacturer. Yesterday we posted the Rescue Van and today we''l look at the ladder truck. Unfortunately my truck is sans left front wheel but I'll keep it and perhaps a wheel will come my way some day. This is a pretty small truck at 4" (10.2cm) L x 1 1/2" (3.8cm) W x 1 1/2" (3.8cm) H (with ladder down) and works close to 1/64 scale. Enjoy Last Es euch gefallen The Berg's :)

Pushing Tin: Japan - Yonezawa Rocket Shooting Fighter

Today on Toys & Stuff we feature a really nifty, and somewhat unusual, plane from the Age of Tin. It's a USAF Rocket Shooting Fighter from the Japanese firm of Yonezawa. This particular airplane has the usual features one expects in a tin-litho aircraft of this period like bright, snazzy graphics and a friction motor. What's unusual is that on this airplane the wings are not removable! The wings are integral with the fuselage -  one stamping for the top and one for the bottom. The two stamping's are joined by rolling the seams over along the edges. Inside this shell is the friction motor and a spring release mechanism for a 'rocket' which is inserted into the nose (unfortunately my sample is missing the rocket). Another slightly unusual feature is the metal tail wheel. Normally all wheels are plastic or rubber. The jet measures 10" (25.4cm) L x 7 3/4" (19.7cm) wingspan x 2 1/2" (6.4cm) H. Another terrific entry from the Age of Tin. Enjoy!