THE BRISTOL 188 BY MARX

This is the battery operated toy of the Bristol 188 sold by the Louis Marx company of New York, USA during the early sixties.

It was made in Japan and is powered by two D size batteries. It has a curious stop and go motion, with flashing lights set in the engine intakes.

Flick the switch on top of the starboard wing and the toy comes alive.  There’s the sound of the engines firing up as the intakes on either side flash intermittently.

The toy moves forward, stops and moves forward again.  

It has a plastic base and a chrome tin plate top. It carries the number XF 926.

The real Bristol 188 was a British supersonic research aircraft built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the 1950’s, during a time when Britain was at the cutting edge of supersonic research and development. Its sleek shape led it to be known as ‘The Flaming Pencil’.

Three prototypes were built, although only two flew. These aircraft were given the serial numbers XF 923 & XF 926. During tests XF 926 achieved speeds of up to Mach 1.88 (1440 mph) at 36,000 ft.

The 188 project which had been fraught with problems due to its cutting edge and ultimately undeveloped technology was eventually cancelled in 1964. The only Aircraft to survive is the XF 926, which now resides in the Test Flight hanger at RAF Cosford.