RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

I really do like the diversity of this forum, well done to the organisers ..

Ok, so I'm wondering if anyone can help here ... back in the late 1960's I was in Singapore with the RAF and model making was one of the many pastimes a few of us did at the time, I remember buying two aircraft, one was a Zero and the other was a Kawasaki Hein and I only got those as they were the only ones available and the reason I got them was this ...

They were a large kit, about a 18 inch or so wingspan (memory .. it was a long time ago) and came with lights wiring and a motor, the thing being that when completed these things actually taxied, the prop would turn the wing lights flash and they would roll along the floor quite nicely, everything being hidden as the batteries were inside the fuselage and the aerial doubled as the switch, the only drawback being the cog assembly to the rear wheel for the drive, goes without saying I cant recall the company name either .. !!

I have asked all sorts of model shops and done a few searches but cant find anything like them or about them at all, even e-mailed Hornby with a description and the idea to maybe produce them, just got a thank you .. so after finding this sub forum thought it worth the asking if anyone else has seen or heard of these type of model and of course if they are available at all .. ??

Having thought about it I can see where some people may think .. 'so what .. big deal' .. the tendency, as with most things, being to perhaps to judge, in this case, the past by the technology available today instead of as it was then

The thing being as I say this was in the 60's and the technology around today probably hadn't even been thought of then and so these models at the size they were and able to run freely were something special then, when and where RC for vehicles was more often than not a battery box with connecting wires, or in relation to aircraft was control line or with regard to ships etc, you switched a motor on and ran to the other side of the pond to retrieve it, with very little or no control over them all.
I had never seen them before, or since and yes it could be nice to have a bit of retro fun perhaps so just thought I would reach out and see if anyone else knew of them ??

Hi, I was at RAF Seletar in 67 to 68 when we moved to RAF Changi until 70,
Bought my first Tamiya Chieftain with all the control cables coming out of the back,
It was called r/c but on reflection it was no such thing,
The biggest memory of it was it's ability to drop track pads like autumn leaves.
I bought a very large scale Jaguar E which I still have all these years later,
The shops in Singapore being duty free sold everything at crazy prices,
My first Seiko watch all singing automatic day/date was $28 Singapore,
I bought a Honda Superdream for $200 singapore from an airman going back to blighty,
The Singapore dollar was worth less than 30 pence at the time ,
Great for going into JB for a nice fresh caught crab supper.

Small world ... I was at Seletar in 69-70, being a photog I worked in JARIC across the airfield, I did an exchange posting from Tengah where I was initially from late 1968 but instead of going to Changi when Seletar closed in 1970 I went home early, which miffed me a little at the time, but the silver lining was that I was home for my 21st. I forget its name but I was in the block opposite the Sally Ann and one one side of the parade ground.
Yes I recall the models well, I bought a Tamiya Panzer Tiger I think it was, as you say classed as RC but not in reality, I do remember Monogram models being well thought of as they included moulded details inside the cockpits of their aircraft models, looked good but a pain to paint .. did you ever see the type of model Im talking about ..??

I confess to having very little interest in model aircraft at that time so no,
Being attached to 130 Flt RCT with our DHC 2 Beavers (U6) in West camp which is where we were billeted, relying on the little black bus to take us to East camp and the swimming pool.
Loved Jalan Kayu village where I think we were actually liked !
Chicken soup then into a cab to the Naffi downtown for a couple of beers (Where I met Sunny Bono And His wife Cher )before another cab to Bugis street,
Ohh Memories.
Speaking of Tengah I was in the right hand seat of a Beaver waiting for clearance to join the Runway at Tengah,
The controller telling us we were next after the Lightning had landed,
Watching him approach over the trees, A puff of smoke from the back of the aircraft and the Jockey took to the silk, The a/c nosing into the trees and at the same time the controller yelling at us to get the he** out of it so full throttle and we were gone,
The Pilot was ok thank goodness which is more than you could say for the aircraft.

Aaaahhh memories as you say ... a good time to be there I think ... I have cine of Jalan Kayu village and the pool, ( it was sea water if I recall correctly, salty anyway), and a fair bit of Singapore city itself, Clifford Pier, Collyer Quay, and Raffles Square ... yes Bugis Street .. that was an eye opener for an 'innocent' 19 year old I can tell you

Yes Lightnings at Tengah, 74 (Tiger) Squadron and 'miracles' ... Royal Austrailan Air Force Mirages that is .. when they visited, they always tried to stand on their tail and go straight up like the Lightning could but never quite made it .. !!

Did you ever get up country, I did Penang a couple of times, spent some time at Butterworth the Aussie base near there and KL, also spent a bit of time in the Cameron Highlands .. good memories ..

Where do I begin? Penang, twice, The first at Christmas where me and a mate met up with two Wraf girls and it was brilliant (No not like that) the second became a security nightmare all very official secrets that I will not talk about,
The Beavers were pretty much non stop either on detachment to Nepal (I spent time there between monsoons operating a radio ) or to Laos,
By the by XP821 which is now on display at the Army Air Corp Museum in overall UN White which was detached to Laos has a story to tell that you won't hear from any one in the Museum,
One of the Beavers did the mail through the week, Flying to Kluang then Seremban on to KL Military then Butterworth where we would sometimes pick up a body bag c/o that Hereford Regiment then back to KL but this time KL International then into Seremban then Kluang and back to base, Got lots of practice taking over on the long legs while the captain had a nap.
Like you say Good memories.

Hi again, we will i think have to be careful as Mods maybe jumping in as we are a little of subject perhaps ..??
Just to say I assumed you were RAF, but realise you could be Army as I know there were Army bods at Seletar, we had one in our room but he was I think something to do with recce and intelligence as he worked at Jaric too ? Re; stories to tell, one of our lads went up country from Tengah to take some official photographs, something to do with an air crash there is shall we say 'iffy' waters, he said the opposite side, whoever they were, were armed to the teeth, and at one point he had a clear shot of one of their vessels and was going to take a picture, but something told him not too and he put the camera down .. just a feeling he said but he was not one to line shoot at all, it being something of a scary scenario apparently ..??

Getting back to subject, it doesn't look like anyone else has seen or heard of these models, they are a little old hat by todays standards I guess, but at the time were a little bit special and it would be kind of fun to have one again if they were around ?

Indeed I was a Pongo and while I spent a lot of my military career with army aviation I was not in the Army Air Corp,
I did my required annual tally of Jumps but most of my service was away from my regiment instead I wandered from Nato units to Ghurka Regiments then a spell in Berlin flying around the Wall and the Border Fence,
I even spent a spell at a place in Hampshire where noxious chemicals were brewed and examined.
On reflection and after talking with others who served I appear to have had a more interesting career than most.
I would not have missed it for the world although of course there is the Dark side where ones comrades and in my case my best friend did not get home.

Not from me lads, reminisce away.
My respect to you both for your service and good luck finding the planes that sparked the trip down memory lane