MAC Forum

This is available for $799 from Greece...right click for full image...

I've noticed that toy companies in Greece, India and a handful of other countries often produced toys that mimic the products of more well-established manufacturers in Japan, Germany and elsewhere. I suspect the toys are usually just blatantly copied, although I suppose it's possible the companies purchased the tools and dies at some point. The lithography often does seem pretty "weird" when compared to the originals.

I have seen two of these on auctions. They look like conversions of the Daiya / Bandai 15" DC-7 friction toy, only with two engines instead of four. Note how the Olympic lithographed finish seems to have been superimposed over American Airlines.

There is a very odd example I have seen of this Daiya / Bandai DC-7 with stenciled Balkan Bulgarian Airlines colour scheme, which is even more exotic. I used to have a picture of it in my posts.

Incidentally, there are some very nicely-modeled Japanese tin toys of the YS-11 twin turboprop airliner, which Olympic did operate. I have never seen one finished in Olympic colours, though. I have seen All-Nippon Airways and, oddly enough, TWA!

I'm wondering if it was a promotional batch of toys made for the 1960 winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, near Reno, Nevada, and nothing to do with the Greek Airline . Not a very satisfactory theory though EDIT...And there's another example which shoots my theory down!!! (says made in Greece on it) https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Tin-Ai ... 7675.l2557 https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/lHoAAOSw ... -l1600.jpg