KEEP YOUR ROTORS RUNNIN'!

I've been admiring this wonderful ATM image of the Bristol Belvedere twin-rotor Helicopter. Its so Gerry Anderson! I love the classic airport setting with the prestige car - a jag? - in front.

https://www.airteamimages.com/bristol-belvedere_G-ALBN_bristol-aeroplane-company_63926.html

I never owned the Dinky version as a kid but I have bought and sold a couple over the years, always a treat to find languishing in die-cast piles at boot sales. Its such a lively light green with flashes of red. Its amazing that Dinky modelled this aircraft - only 26 of the real thing were ever made I understand. 

Have you got a Dinky one/ had one?

image; Ebay. UK

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Speaking of twin-rotors, Paul A sent me observations about the HUP-1 helicopter.

Hi, Here is a short film from You Tube, which I thought might interest you. It shows a US Navy Piasecki HUP-1 Retriever single-engine/twin-rotor helicopter giving a rescue demonstration. Note the opening door on the underside for picking up downed airmen. Later versions did not have the angled endplates on the tail stabilisers.

Piasecki HUP Helicopter in Vintage Navy Color Film - YouTube

It is very similar to the later, and much larger, CH-47 Chinook. There were several toys based on this aircraft, and a few kits. Some of these toys have appeared before on MC.

MOONBASE CENTRAL: Chinook on the horizon (projectswordtoys.blogspot.com)

By the way, that item was the first time I ever commented on a MC post, having just found the site at the beginning of 2020.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

MARX BRISTOL 188 TOY RESTORATION BY KEVIN D: PART 3

Hi MB

More chrome panels and some silver paint have completed the restoration process. On the whole, I'm pleased with the overall look of this and I'm glad I bought it!

Take care,

Kevin D

MARX BRISTOL 188 TOY RESTORATION BY KEVIN D: PART 2

Hi MB

I have made a bit more progress. I have added more chrome panels, I've now covered the rear of the fuselage and the tail. I am painting the thin edges with silver paint as the chrome will not adhere to tightly curved edges. 

You can see the difference in the shot of the top of the fuselage, aft of the black and white stripe has been done, forward of it hasn't been.

I have glued the tail in place, it looks as though it is meant to just clip in, but mine won't stay. The Pitot tube is the sawn off end of a paintbrush, sprayed white. You can see I'm spending a lot on this restoration!

Nearly there,

Kevin D

MARX BRISTOL 188 TOY RESTORATION BY KEVIN D: PART 1

Hi MB,

Don't know if you'd be interested in this, but I thought I'd show you a toy restoration project as I did it [ Ed.]

I'm not actually that much of a collector of toys outside of Anderson related vehicles, but when I saw Scoop's post on the Bristol 188 toy by Marx, I thought there was a toy I'd really like! I'd never even heard of the aircraft before (and I'm interested in that sort of thing!).

Anyway, I did a quick ebay search and found one. It was battered beyond belief but I thought it might be fun to try to rescue it. Nobody else thought so, as I was the only bidder. (£10 but that seemed ok to me?). It arrived, looking as it did in the listing, most of the chrome gone, a gaping hole in an engine intake and no nose wheel. Incredibly, despite all of that, the drive worked!

So, onto restoration. I have some chrome sticky backed plastic, so decided to use that, cutting out panels and sticking them on. I have done the wings and engines so far and it seems to be working. The hole in the intake I repaired by cutting out new panels in clear acetate and painting them in clear red paint. The white part between them I cut from a piece of plastic that fell out of the toy!

The nose wheel I used was from a wrecked Dinky Harrier, I cut it down, drilled out the stump on the model and just push fitted it in. It is not accurate, but it is robust and allows the toy to steer.

Take care,

Kevin D

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.