Here's some photos of my Ideal Boaterific 'Mighty Blaze' Fire Boat.
As with the others it comes in a plastic display case, plastic moulded base and carded backdrop showing a painted ocean scene showing a container ship on fire in the distance.
The toy is held in place with the usual metal spring clip, which if you're not careful is guaranteed to cause some damage!
Note the backdrop has had a slight alteration. In the top right hand corner the wording has been blanked out. I'm assuming this was done sometime well into the production for some unknown reason so backing cards didn't need to match what was in the box. In this case the backing card is actually the correct one for the 'Mighty Blaze'!
The 'Mighty Blaze' is one of six (which was later increased to eight) 'Marine Classics' motorised toy boats brought out by Ideal during 1966/67 using their unique removable electric motor also used in their 'Motorific' Cars and 'Zeroid' Robot range.
The motor and the batteries are stowed below decks in the deep hull. This also houses the 'automatic bailer' which is designed to pump out any water resting at the base of the hull, or bilge, so the motor and batteries are protected from shorts.
As I've said in my previous two Boaterific posts, the toy boats have lots of delicate chromed detail which is unsurprisingly prone to being damaged. Unfortunately, my 'Mighty Blaze' is missing a couple of parts from the top of the pilot house roof; a small flag pole, which presumably, as the toy was assembled in the U.K. would have been flying the Union Jack, and a radio aerial.
Although Ideal was an American company, which during it's humble beginnings can claim to have created the first 'Teddy Bear', it had assets in the U.K.
According to the small print on the back of the Boaterific display card, the toy and packaging were 'printed and assembled in the U.K., with imported parts made in the Crown Colony of Hong Kong. Apart from differing flags, and possibly packaging, As yet, I've not come across any obvious variations between American and British versions of the toys.
More Boaterific ramblings tomorrow, shipmates!
That's an impressive toy Scoop and an interesting choice by Ideal. Fire engines were popular toys so why not a fire boat. I assume its an American fire brigade badge on the front? Great looking collectable and really well photographed.
ReplyDeleteThanks Woodsy. The logo is the Ideal Fire Co.
ReplyDeleteBeautful!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Zigg
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