Assembling plastic scale kits and flying radio-controlled models are popular aircraft related hobbies.  While toy collectors focus on great looking diecast replicas produced by Dinky and Aero Mini, another type of replica, the tinplate airplane, is endearing to anyone who remembers one from childhood.

When aviation was in its infancy, the dominant German toy manufacturers produced clockwork-powered replicas of early aircraft, such as the Wright Flyer.  These toys were designed to be suspended by a wire, propelled in a circle by large Celluloid propellers.

A Japanese-made, wind-up toy of the British R-100 airship, circa 1930 is 6 1/2" long, tin with Celluloid stern propeller.

In the 1920s and 1930s, aircraft technology advanced, and updated lithographed tinplate clockwork planes were manufactured by Tipp & Co. and Gunthermann (Germany), JEP (France), Marx (USA), Masudaya (Japan) and many others.  Some featured battery-operated lights and pilot figures.

The Martin 130 entered service in 1935 on Pan American World Airways' Pacific routes.  The above US-made example, by J Chein of New Jersey, can float in the water aided by its large pontoons.  The large extra prop at the bow pulls it forward.  Wing span 11."

Masudaya's twin-engined, wind-up "J Douglas" dates from the mid-1930s and has a 13 1/2" wing span.  Tin wings, body and wheels.

Post World War Two toys, predominately made in Japan, again reflected contemporary aircraft styles and, while toys were more accurately modelled than their predecessors, toymakers took liberties such as making a DC-7 into an "Electra," a more modern airplane using a mold already at hand.  Airplanes of all sizes and shapes were produced, usually friction powered or battery operated, the latter being a Japanese specialty.

The 1950s friction toy above, left, somewhat resembles a DC-7, but it is marked "Viscount" - an entirely different, prop-jet aircraft.  Its wing span is 15 1/2."  Tin body and wings, plastic propellers and rubber tires.  At right: Bandai, today a leading toy manufacturer, produced this accurate DC-7C, a very long range airliner that first flew in late 1955.  Its wing span is 17 1/2."  Tin body and wings, plastic propellers and rubber tires.

Some battery-operated toys featured remote-control battery boxes with buttons for steering, wired to the toys, but later in the 1950s, automatic motors allowed the batteries to be contained inside the fuselage.  As before, a series of gears drove the main wheels and props via shafts and springs; on jets, the motor produced a whining noise.  Standard actions included blinking lights, starting, stopping, and taxying.

Yonezawa was a leading Japanese manufacturer of tin toys.  This magnificent 707, from the early 1960s, runs on three D cell batteries and has a 17 1/2" wing span.  As each engine begins to flash, the jet whine rises in pitch. 

As they could not fly, tinplate toy airplanes were limited in play value.  This, and the increased use of plastic, marked their decline.  Specimens made in the 1970s and 1980s just aren't as beautiful as their predecessors.  Today, safety regulations and aircraft manufacturers' licensing demands preclude the toys' being manufactured, although the Schylling firm has sold them as nostalgic adult collectibles.  Larger vintage specimens are prized as collector's items and are found in limited supply at auctions and toy shows.

All photos depict examples from my personal collection.

These classic Stratocruisers have 14 1/2" wing spans, and can be found with various maker's marks.  The example on the left has battery-operated wing lights.  Metal wings and body with twin friction motors and rubber tires.