TSR.2...does anyone remember...

[TsrJoe]

Does anyone out there in 'What If' land remember an approx 1/72 scale injection moulded plastic model of the TSR.2...?

I think it was by Marx? and moulded in either overall grey or later, yellow, red or green plastic with cool red 'lighty up' bits for its exhausts...!  

I can recall seeing a green one in a local toy shop c. mid 70's but having my fathers wooden ones in my collection at that time didnt bother with it....(id also grown out of 'toys' by that time too in favour of models!) aaaaarrrrrggghhh!  :dum:

Check all attics and toy boxes...

Ps. if anyone comes across one and its 'spare' give me a shout...id love to  get my grubby little paws on one! (yeah wouldnt we all...!)

happy modelling, cheers, joe  

[uk 75]

TSR 2 toys

The Louis Marx TSR 2 started life in 1964 (I have one that I had as a present and it is a prized thing).  Marx then changed the toy when the real plane was cancelled and just called it a Supersonic bomber. It was made in yellow and red, and later in green with brown splodges.  The toy survived in shops in this form until about 1975.  Large Toy Fairs such as Sandown Park or Donington will usually have dealers who can get their hands on them.  Only the original is battery powered, the later ones were just friction.   Marx also did the battery powered Bristol 188. This is a fat version of the plane and is now usually in scruffy nick. Again, fairly easy to find.

I also have seen reference to a cardboard TSR2 being given away with the number 1 edition of a UK comic in 1964 (Hurricane, Lion or ?).  I have seen a copy in the British Library at Colindale, but they made a bish (deliberate I suspect) of photocopying the inset so I could not use it (the fuselage was detached and covered the wings rendering the thing useless). If anyone is interested in having another go and then scanning the result for the rest of us, I will check what the comic was.

60s comics are good sources of aircraft.  TV21 used versions of the B70 in one of its strip.  "Jeff Hawke" by an RAF man Sidney Jordan, appeared in the Daily Express from the late 50s to the early 70s.  Worth looking at old copies at Colindale.  The  60s-70s strips were only available in Belgium (they love comics there and many feature planes).   I have seen the TSR2/X15 referred to.  In a similar strip there is a Russian swing wing bomber 20 yrs before the TU160.  I think Jordan is still alive in retirement and it would be worth finding out more about it him.

F111s
Not being a kitmaker I do collect made up planes and have re-painted a toy F111 in RAF colours in 1:200 scale to go with some metal Vulcans (one with Skybolts) made by a well known collector, Jeff Stevenson.  In the 60s a Hong Kong toy manufacturer released a plastic F111 toy in about 1967 in both RAF and Royal Navy colours (actually a bright green for the RAF and blue and white for the RN). At the time I dismissed it as a toy (having just tried to make an Airfix F111 up as an RAF one based on a picture in an RAF recruiting brochure).

I will keep an eye open at Toy Fairs and if I see anyone with a TSR2 I will let you know (UK Ebay might have).

UK75