#1064 TOOTSIETOY - JET FIGHTERS / EAGLE SQUAD (1988)

Among the Micro Machines competitors, we may also count the classic American company Tootsietoys, who, in 1988, released several sets of jet planes in that scale. I have seen packs of 4 and 6, either in blistercard, or box with window. There were also helicopter, classic warplane and warship collections. Sometimes it is referred as Eagle Squad (with reference number 1701). These are slightly bigger than the average Micro Machine jet or plane from that same year, but still compatible.

Tootsie had similar products in the past, but none made in this scale and style. I have seen the same models in at least two decorations, so very probably, each model had variants to be reused in several collections.

I only own 4 jets so far. These are:

• F-4 Phantom (camo green)
• F-14 (blue)
• F-15 (beige)
• F-16 (white)

The other two (the missing ones) are:

• F-106
• F-19 

The models are marked "Tootsietoy", plus the name of the plane and "China". These were not manufactured in the U.S. anymore, as the toys I presented a while ago in entry #903. The US and Navy Emblems are plastic stickers. The other details seem to have been painted with airbrush and there is paint loss in places that are most exposed (such as the cockpit).

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: JET FIGHTERS / EAGLE SQUAD (Ref. 1701)
• Scale: Approx. 1:200
• Year: 1988
• Company: Tootsietoy (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 6 cm to 10 cm

#707 EIDAI GRIP - MITSUI ZOSEN HOVERCRAFT (Around 1980)

I found this toy hovercraft a few months ago in a flea market. It is not 100% complete, since the big propellers and its fans are broken.

I have found out that Mitsui is a Japanese engineering and shipbuilding company, and Zosen seems to be the Japanese word for Shipbuilding. I do not know who made this toy or if it is actually a toy... maybe it is some promotional ítem? It has a logo on the base that resembles some kind of "G". A reader from this blog gave me the hint and correctly identified the toy to be an Eidai Grip. I will update this entry with some more data soon.

Anyway, a die-cast hovercraft in 3 inches size is something rare. We already saw the two ones made by Matchbox and I am already aware of a vintage model made by Tomica, which is the one that can be found easily in Google when searching "Mitsui Zosen". The Tomica model, however seems to have a plastic base.

Despite intensive search in Google, I couldn't find any pictures of this toy, so I guess it is a very rare one. If you have information about this toy, please leave a comment here. Maybe some Japanese reader can provide some link or hint. Thanks!

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MITSUI ZOSEN HOVERCRAFT
• Scale: 1:210
• Year: Around 1980
• Company: Eidai Grip (Japan)
• Size: approx. 7 cm