There have been five Indiana Jones films, and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles TV series, since the first movie in 1981. There just do not seem to have been a lot of Indiana Jones toys in that time, other than figures.
It took Matchbox until 2023 to release three die-casts from the films. I knew of the 1936 Auburn Speedster 851 sports car in the main Matchbox line, but have only just discovered that there were also two aircraft models in the Sky-Busters range.
The packaging does not mention any specific films, but just has the Indiana Jones name and Harrison Ford, at the top of the cards. Both planes are from the 1930s.
The model I have is called the River Flyer, an open-cockpit, two-seat bi-plane on floats. The plane in Raiders of the Lost Ark was a Waco UBF-2 floatplane, which River Flyer does not exactly match.
The model is overall dull silver, with the civil aircraft registration OK-CPO in blue, and some brown marks on the lower fuselage.
Most of the fuselage, including the tail, is metal. The wings, lower front fuselage, propeller, and floats are all silver-coloured plastic.
The eight-cylinder engine is black plastic. The interior is also black, and includes the head of the pilot.
The underside of the wings have plenty of information moulded in - Matchbox River Flyer; © Mattel 2022; SB165; and Made in Thailand. Printed on is © LFL.
Overall length 102 mm; wingspan 97 mm. River Flyer was part of the 2023 Sky-Busters range.
As with other recent Sky-Busters, there is a small Playmat packed behind the plane. This is four inches by four inches, but opens out to four inches by eight inches.
It is double-sided. One side has a river meandering through a jungle, with the Indiana Jones title in one corner; while the other side seems to be the same scene from a much lower altitude, with the river closely flanked by trees.
The second Indiana Jones Sky-Buster was the MBX Airliner, which is really the Douglas DC-3. This is silver, and carries Air East Asia markings, and is also from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
I only have vague notions of these types of plane in the early films Paul but it's an interesting angle for Matchbox for sure. I wonder if they sold well or were largely for older fans of the movies?
ReplyDeleteNeither aircraft has a huge role in the film, or is on screen for very long, but they are nice models. The cards are also well done, as are the mini playmats.
ReplyDeleteWhat a missed opportunity! Why not make the wonderful german bomber from the first film! I have seen a small diecast of the tank from Last Crusade, but not much else. Bill
ReplyDeleteI do recall the German mechanic at the side of the plane. I think Kenner issued him as an action figure. Marion Ravenwood got into a plane too didn't she? For me the most memorable vehicle is Tot's long exhaust-riddled car. I wonder if that was issued as a toy?
ReplyDeleteThat is one cute die-cast! I miss the days when Dinky Toys made die-cast airliners. I had the Dinky Air France Caravelle, and some others, and man were they great! SFZ
ReplyDeleteI've never seen this before! It's a really cool toy and a great tie-in to an equally great movie! Thanx for sharing this Paul!
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