in the 70s, Toys of the Seventies

Message Report

Commentor Name:	Steve Layne
Comments left:	Hello. I had a pretty good collection of these when I was about 10 to 12 years old. The first ones I bought were I think a Fokker DR1, Albatross, and SPAD XIII in non-window boxes (the first boxes often had no window from what I've read). I soon bought the WW2 set with 6 aircraft, and a set of four WWI aircraft which I recall may have had the Fokker Eindecker and Sopwith Camel in it. I bought these planes whenever I could scrape a little money together from mowing lawns. They were obtained at the local PX on Fort Hood, Texas in about 1971-73. The first of them cost 50 cents each. I distinctly remember that. They had a retail price of $.59, and the PX always discounted things a little compared to "civilian" stores. I think the WW2 set was $2.75 or so. I remember going once to the PX with my buddy Pat. His mom, who was driving, got so impatient because I just had to go into the Toyland (which was in a separate barracks type building) and look for some Bachmann Mini-Planes- I bought some, too. One summer I talked my mom into letting me order a bunch from the Bachmann catalog. By then (probably 1973) they retailed for $.99, and I ordered fourteen. Shipping was about a dollar. My buddy John Woodbery had me order him a Bell Iroquois, so I got thirteen of them. I recall that a Polikarpov was among them, also a Wildcat, a Catalina, and a Lysander. I had the best time opening that box when it came in the mail!! Wow- there they were for real! You see, the catalog only had little artist renderings of each plane offered, with a corresponding number and the plane name, so when I unpacked the box, I had no idea what the models would actually look like. One of them was damaged but I can't recall which type it was. Anyways, I decided I was too "old" for them once I got into 10th grade, and I took a big, almost forgotten shoebox full of Bachmann Mini-Planes down from the closet (I had thrown away all of the boxes!!) and gave them to my three year old nephew to play with. Needless to say, none survived. It was a really good collection then- probably thirty or forty planes. Starting about 1999 I began re-aquiring Bachmann Mini-Planes on Ebay. I now have just about all the types that were available in the U.S., including some different color variants for many of the planes (different airlines for the same airliner, different Mustangs, P38s, P47s, F105's, Me109s, etc). I also have committed a cardinal sin- no I never throw boxes away any more. I have painted touch ups on many of the WWI and some other planes. By coloring in the wheel covers, props, exhausts, and other details I have made some of them quite striking. I took a Nueiport 17 (version with pilot's head molded right into fuelage- no separate pilot figure)and colored the pilot, darkening the area around his body to simulate the open area, and you cannot tell its not a separate pilot piece. Then I painted the prop brown, spinner plate and wheel covers silver and it looks very cool. I guess I've "devalued" them from a collector standpoint, but I do not EVER plan on getting rid of any of these Mini-Planes again. I now have about ninety of them, including a few of the rarer ones, and one hyperscarce Japanese floatplane fighter. The Japan only releases are hard to get. They didn't sell them here, from what I understand. These are mostly Japanese army and navy WW2 aircraft. I hope to find some more of those in the future. I also have several Cox/AHM Showcase Miniatures (including a fantastic P26 Peashooter) and 1/144 21st Century aircraft, as well as some die-cast metal types which go great alongside the Bachmanns. I've enjoyed telling about my little plane collection. I have them all in a lighted showcase covering 4 shelves, and they are definitely among my favorite possessions. Thanks for reading, and Happy collecting! Steve
Your Name:
Report:	No links or other code allowed.
Security Code
	or back to the page