Capital Airlines VISCOUNT by LINE MAR TOYS
Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 6:52 pmCapital Airlines, formerly Pennsylvania Central (PCA), ordered a very large fleet of prop-jet Viscounts from the British maker Vickers Armstrong in the 50s. In doing so, it was following the lead of Canada's national airline, which put them into service in 1954, the first Viscounts in North America. Capital eventually went broke and the Viscount fleet went on to Alitalia, United, Aloha and others from 1961.
Line Mar Toys sold this toy Viscount in the late 1950s. Louis Marx probably "commissioned" this toy plane from a Japanese toy factory. It is numbered J1421. The intricate and striking red "cardinal" livery of the original is reproduced faithfully.
The best-known Line Mar Toys Capital Viscount is not a Viscount at all. It is really a Boeing Stratocruiser, fitted out with wing tip lights and a remote control power pack.
The toy shown here is more like the German Biller Viscounts though it is not from the same mold. The toy is ever so slightly larger, and it is not quite the exact scale model as is the Biller.
This Viscount features the same actions as the Biller: spinning props that one activates using a lever that folds along the lower fuselage, and retractable undercarriage that one activates using the pink lever on top.
This toy plane has plastic three-bladed props and extra passenger cabin windows. The Capital Model 745D Viscount only had ten windows. The later 800 series did have a lengthened body but even those planes did not have as many windows as does this toy model!
Here is the bottom.
This is the box that this toy plane came in. Note how closely it is flying to the ground, and the city skyline in the background.
I have also seen this very toy in early KLM colors with "The Flying Dutchman" titles. This toy, however, is different. It sits on a stand that holds a battery that powers the props and wingtip lights, and it does not have the raised flight deck.
Line Mar Toys sold this toy Viscount in the late 1950s. Louis Marx probably "commissioned" this toy plane from a Japanese toy factory. It is numbered J1421. The intricate and striking red "cardinal" livery of the original is reproduced faithfully.
The best-known Line Mar Toys Capital Viscount is not a Viscount at all. It is really a Boeing Stratocruiser, fitted out with wing tip lights and a remote control power pack.
The toy shown here is more like the German Biller Viscounts though it is not from the same mold. The toy is ever so slightly larger, and it is not quite the exact scale model as is the Biller.
This Viscount features the same actions as the Biller: spinning props that one activates using a lever that folds along the lower fuselage, and retractable undercarriage that one activates using the pink lever on top.
This toy plane has plastic three-bladed props and extra passenger cabin windows. The Capital Model 745D Viscount only had ten windows. The later 800 series did have a lengthened body but even those planes did not have as many windows as does this toy model!
Here is the bottom.
This is the box that this toy plane came in. Note how closely it is flying to the ground, and the city skyline in the background.
I have also seen this very toy in early KLM colors with "The Flying Dutchman" titles. This toy, however, is different. It sits on a stand that holds a battery that powers the props and wingtip lights, and it does not have the raised flight deck.