Some More Helicopters

[hovermd]

I think there are a fair number of Yonezawa helicopter toys out there. Most are battery-operated - at least 14 different toys I'm aware of...

I know of only 3 friction Yonezawa toy helicopters and perhaps 1 wind-up toy. I need to research the wind-up toy a bit more to be sure it's actually a Yonezawa.

Anyway, I think a number of these toys already have photos featured elsewhere on the site.

An example is the Yonezawa Fairey Rotodyne toy; not a true helicopter, but certainly related.

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=880&p=3950&hilit=yonezawa#p3950

One of the friction toys:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=598&p=2103&hilit=yonezawa#p2103

And this battery-operated flying toy:

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1074&p=5430&hilit=yonezawa#p5430

Although not always the case, Yonezawa often did a nice job of realistically portraying the helicopter the toy was modelled after. I have a couple personal favorites that currently aren't shown.

Here they are:

Bell 47

Yonezawa Bell 47

Piasecki H-25

Yonezawa Piasecki H-25

Sikorsky S-51

Yonezawa Sikorsky S-51

[grwebster]

Thanks

[hovermd]

And here is a Yonezawa Boeing Vertol 107 in unusual Airport Airways Presidential livery:

Yonezawa Boeing Vertol 107

[alas]

yone.jpg (26.5 KiB) Viewed 12857 times

Here is another one:


and these came in all colors&liveries imaginable I think:

yonezawa.jpg (19 KiB) Viewed 12857 times

[hovermd]

Just to clear things up for followers, GR asked specifically about Yonezawa toys; the maker's mark for Yonezawa is a Y inside a flower. Alas made a couple photo contributions above, but they are actually not Yonezawa toys. The first one is actually by YONE (Yonewa), which is the word YONE inside a diamond. The second toy is likely Y (Yoshi), which is a Y inside a diamond. It's always confusing when maker's marks are so similar...

If you have more questions, I recommend you look at this website to learn more about maker's marks / trademarks:

http://tinplatetoys.blogspot.ca/

[grwebster]

Thanks, Mark for that clarification, because they sure did not look like the aircraft Yonezawa made.
Of the ones you showed the Piasecki H-25 and especially the Sikorsky S-51 are in the classic style I so admired and collected in their aircraft. At some point shortly after the time plastic parts started being used, the head designer must have died or retired and all that the firm did following that were quite different and to much less interesting, starting with the 'Zero' float plane in civilian markings.

[alas]

Mark, I immediately believe you - but that means we cannot believe in WIKI anymore:
Yonezawa Toys (known also as Yone or simply Y) was one of Japan's largest and most prodigious post-war toy manufacturers and an early participant in the growing radio control market.
The company was founded in the 1950s in Tokyo and focused on the production of literally thousands of different electrically operated and mechanical toys through the early 1970s. Some were branded not as Yonezawa but as STS. It is unclear as to the origin of the STS label, but it is presumed to be that of an importer.
Yonezawa briefly dabbled in radio control in the mid-1980s with the introduction of the 1/10-scale Wave Hunter buggy, sold in North America as the Monogram Lightning.
Yonezawa's toy division was transferred to Segatoys in May 1994. http://www.segatoys.co.jp/english/index.html

what is this world coming to...

[alas]

I went through the recesses of my collection and found the Sikorsky S-55, friction, metal 2-bladed rotor, silver, red upper parts, "G-ALK" in yellow on fuselage, "WEST RAND" titles:

a lovely specimen! And this one I now know is really a Yonezawa!

[hovermd]

That Solido box was a trade distribution one. Back 25 years ago in France at least no one valued them and they were given to you if you asked, otherwise they were thrown away.
I have never seen an individual box for the H-19 and must assume they were only sold in trade boxes. BTW There was on French ebay last year a Solido H-19 in army olive drab with wheels that the seller claimed was original. It was not original, but still sold for big money. You could see the additions/modifications in the photos.
Here is a better photo of the H-19s


Here is the other Solido helicopter, the H-21. Note casting marked Piaseki and it had three windows and a door.


it came in olive green also, same casting as above. I don't think there was a white red cross variant, at least I never heard of one.


The H-21, however did come in its own box. Count the windows. there are now five, and the casting now says Vertol. Hard to find, all versions, even the first ones.

I have heard rumors that there were variants of both the H-19 and H-21 in Air Force blue, but have never seen one.

Here is the only Mercury {Italy} Helicopter and its trade box.


Both Solido and Mercury made VTOL diecasts, but this falls outside your forum, I suspect.
Some where I have a whole display board with the very nice die cast Pilen [Spain} helicopters, I'll get a photo up when I get back to the USA


Of course Solido in the 1980s started making helicopters again, but my collecting focus stops at mid 1970s so I didn't track them all down at the time. I recall this one was supposedly the rarest of the bunch, a gunship in camouflage, but I have no idea if it so or not.

Could this be the reported blue Solido S 55 ?

I personally think it looks like a repaint... am I wrong?

[grwebster]

Mark, If it is original, it would be a very hard to find example in blue. I have heard of a blue H-19 variant but after many years in France, seeing many collections, I never came across one.

I can't tell for sure, but it looks right overall. Their helicopters were painted after assembly of both rotors so being all one color is ok.

It also has straight, unbent rotors so was unplayed with which is rare.

The transfer decal looks like the center is green, which could be an indication/verification of its age, as some times when exposed to light, the blue turns to green.

But, I am concerned that there is no yellowing of the clear edges of transfer decals which I have found on all examples from that period that used water slide and not spirit one. And I would look even more carefully, as the one in your photo looks very new. May just have been added but WARNING, WARNING!

Also I would add that Solido's 1950 decals were often not all crisp and clean and often had fuzzy edges.They frequently had the center blue roundel off center.

Look at those in the other photo of my H-19sin the trade box and you can see what I mean. The one in your photo also has a very bright white color band and looks to have clean edges. A bit suspicious, but hard to tell from a small photo. It is a warning though, and one should be cautious.

I will post below some examples of the transfer decals from other original period Solido aircraft so you can see what I mean

All my H-19 examples have been in their box since the early 1980s so the condition of the transfer decals was unaffected by sunlight.

Solido did not paint the H-19 cockpit windows silver as it did all the examples of Piasecki/Vertol H-21 so that is also right.

I guess another concern, and this just a comment without any specific knowledge, is that the blue color seems too light. Not 'military' enough if that makes sense.

I note that Solido painted one of its aircraft in blue, the very had to find Super Cigale. but it is even lighter, I believe, judging from the photos.
http://www.vectis.co.uk/Page/ViewLot.as ... =180&Sub=0

One of the most important things, of course, is the toys provenance- who owned it before? did this person do restorations? is he selling other toys that have been refinished {if it was on eBay it is always a good idea to look at the seller's other listings} ?

Those that know my collection know I am incapable of doing anything, not even putting a new prop on an old toy. I do even have paint around. On rare occasions I may super glue something, but it is always noted in my records.I can't even do this well! I know a major collector who today is inactive who was very proud of his Mercury Cutlass in dark US Navy blue back in the 1980s. He swore to all that it was original. Then one day I visited him in California and he proudly showed me his well equipped restoration work shop with pro level spray booth and all the toys he has 'modified'! I am not making this up. Wonder who paid a bundle for that one when he sold the collection. Personally I have several of his 'mods' {straight counterfeit} and like them for the extreme effort he went to. I would never sell them in any case, just too good a story. Some examples of his Dinky counterfeits are in my Dinky Toy Aircraft 1934-1979 book.

When all said and done, your blue H-19 is Very interesting. Did you get it? I hope so, I would have.