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Taiyo Jet Hopper
SOLD: AU$125 on 26th January 2015
Scale: 1/16
Type: Ready To Run
Year of release: 1986
Condition: Cosmetically very good. But only semi-working. It powers up, and runs *sometimes* – but then it stops.
Description
This Taiyo Jet Hopper is an original first release Taiyo Jet Hopper. You can tell it’s the original release because of the tall front tyres, along with the fat, spikey rear tyres.
This example is a true first edition Jet Hopper – a Jet Hopper “Mk1”. This was sold in Japan, Europe and elsewhere. Later releases of the car saw changes to the decals, tyres, suspension arms, springs and other bits.
This example is in very good cosmetic condition – very clean, with all decals, and all headlights. There is some wear to a few decal edges. But overall it’s a very presentable buggy that is better than most.
The tyres have some wear – I would estimate there is 50% tread left on the rear tyres. The tyres are however perfectly fresh and rubbery (not deteriorated in any way). The front tyres are excellent.
When testing this buggy, it does power up. And I was at times able to get it to run. However after a few minutes it would stop. It is most likely a circuit board issue.
The box is in fair to good condition, structurally in tact, with good artwork, but also some edge wear and fading on one side. The transmitter seems near new. The original manual is also included, however the very back page is half torn off.
Original first release Jet Hoppers (with both the tall front tyres and fat rear tyres) are pretty hard to find. This is a very presentable example that would be a very worthy project for someone looking to restore one, at a far lower price than the ($500) cost of a new in box example. Alternatively you might weight up the value of all the parts included here, particularly the nice body.
A great opportunity to get a first release Jet Hopper, at a reasonable price.
Please see the photos to understand the condition. Feel free to contact me to find out more.
History
The Taiyo Jet Hopper is of course, one of the most famous R/C toys ever made. It was first released by Taiyo in 1986, and subsequently found it’s way around the world. It was branded both Tyco and Taiyo in the USA, Metro and Taiyo in Australia, Dickie and Taiyo in Europe, and just plain Taiyo elsewhere. It is possibly the biggest selling R/C model ever – although figures are hard to confirm. But the scale of it’s popularity during the mid 1980s was phenomenal. One confirmed figure is that 280,000 Jet Hoppers were sold in Australia alone, during 1986 and 1987. It’s combination of realistic ready-to-run buggy looks, catchy name and high speed made it a hit in virtually every market in the world from 1986 until the end of the decade.
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