Author Topic: Taiyo and Tyco - brands, boxes, names etc. What do you like?  (Read 9660 times)

R/C Toy Memories

  • Bronze Level
  • **
  • Posts: 51
    • R/C Toy Memories - A blog about my vintage R/C cars, toys & other stuff
Taiyo and Tyco - brands, boxes, names etc. What do you like?
« on: September 18, 2014, 04:13:23 »
It's pretty quiet in these forums, so I thought I would start a topic.
Where does everyone stand in terms of Tyco and Taiyo?

Taiyo was the original manufacturer of every R/C model that Tyco ever sold.
People in the USA knew the models with the Tyco boxes, branding, and names.

However in Japan, Europe and even the UK, the original Taiyo models were just as prominent.

Personally I like a mix of both. I prefer the Taiyo originals in many cases - the original Taiyo Jet Fighter and Jet Racer are works of art. And the early range of black boxes with photos on the front are really great. Also, often the names of the original Taiyo models were more appropriate - the Taiyo Cyclone is a much appropriate name for a 6WD that does crazy spins than "Tyco Scorcher".

It's also nice to have an absolute original - the first "Jet Hopper" for example, ever released in the world, as it was released in Japan in 1986.

However on the other hand, the USA Tyco boxes of the early releases are great, with the vehicle on a slant and the window box style. And the graphics/details all over the Tyco boxes are all in english, and make the toys look really exciting.

TLDR - I appreciate both, and have collected a bit of both. Of course, in Australia, we basically had the "Tyco" style boxes but they were all branded "Metro" after a local toy distributor here, so Aussies like to seek out the Metro releases too.

What are your thoughts?

To me the same thing applies in cases like when Taiyo or Nikko models were sold via Radio Shack. Radio Shack often branded/marketed them really well and we grew up knowing those models better. But then the original Nikko releases were sometimes more sophisticated, or had better names, than the Radio Shack releases. Radio Shack actually had a tendency to "cut down" some models they licensed from Nikko (for example, removing the working headlights).

In the end: it's often worth collecting EVERYTHING. The only problem is where to store it.  :D

cheers,
H.

http://www.rctoymemories.com -  A blog about my vintage R/C cars, toys & other stuff

BlackLoverZingZing

  • Copper Level
  • *
  • Posts: 2
Re: Taiyo and Tyco - brands, boxes, names etc. What do you like?
« Reply #1 on: September 29, 2014, 08:10:11 »

The experience gained from this site useful and it is very valuable. It allows me to bring these experiences to use in everyday life

Hopper

  • Copper Level
  • *
  • Posts: 42
Re: Taiyo and Tyco - brands, boxes, names etc. What do you like?
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2014, 15:01:55 »
Here are two pictures of the Taiyo Lambo Twin Turbo in Taiyo Branding with two different box designs. It took a long time to find these pics and so far I have not seen any others in the one year I have been collecting.

Dragon

  • Administrator
  • Platinum Level
  • *****
  • Posts: 4862
  • Have you played my board game?
    • Rival Troops
Re: Taiyo and Tyco - brands, boxes, names etc. What do you like?
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2014, 19:10:52 »
Personally, Tyco was always what I looked for. Tyco was the brand I got familiar with as a kid as the one that meant quality for R/C cars and slot car racing sets. I even had a set of Tyco blocks which were on par with Lego blocks, unlike most of the other plastic building blocks that are around now.  Now that I'm older, I still look at the Tyco brand as the favorite since it was the one from my childhood... then again, I'm looking more for some quality products to have fun with than collecting.
"Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again? ... OK, well, the button on the side. Is it glowing?... Yeah, you need to turn it on. Err, the button turns it on. Yeah, you do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes." - Roy (The IT Crowd)

R/C Toy Memories

  • Bronze Level
  • **
  • Posts: 51
    • R/C Toy Memories - A blog about my vintage R/C cars, toys & other stuff
Re: Taiyo and Tyco - brands, boxes, names etc. What do you like?
« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2014, 02:17:13 »
The Twin Turbo Lambo is an icon. The Taiyo version is obtainable, but as always with ready-to-run, the hardest to get is new in box.

New in box of any vintage ready-to-run RC model is pretty much somewhere between "rare", "ultra rare" and "forget it" :)  Simply because they were all too easy to take out of the box and play with. I think there are some models for which there are no new examples left in the world.

Dragon - yeah, Tyco certainly had nice packaging. The Tyco window boxes are very friendly and attractive, and covered with details. In Australia they were the same, only with Metro branding.

I do like the late 80s black Taiyo boxes just as much though.
Not so keen on the Dickie white European boxes.

For me as a kid, it was more about Radio Shack models (as I was a huge fan of the range stocked at Tandy/Radio Shack) and of course dreaming about Tamiya kits.
http://www.rctoymemories.com -  A blog about my vintage R/C cars, toys & other stuff

Tycoon

  • Copper Level
  • *
  • Posts: 3
Re: Taiyo and Tyco - brands, boxes, names etc. What do you like?
« Reply #5 on: February 13, 2015, 10:11:10 »
When I was about 14 or 15 years old I had a Tyco rc car. It was made in the mid 90s. I know everyone had one.lol Well this one was special, and I have not been able to find it anywhere. There are no pics online, I can't even remember what it was called. Bear with me while I try and explain what it looked like. First off it was very long and the color was red. It had 2 very skinny front wheels with suspension, and had a Huge single track/trax, on the rear. It looked somewhat like a snowmobile but wasn't one! Im sure it was made by Tyco. If anyone knows what it was called or have a picture they want to share it would be amazing! Thanks

Dragon

  • Administrator
  • Platinum Level
  • *****
  • Posts: 4862
  • Have you played my board game?
    • Rival Troops
Re: Taiyo and Tyco - brands, boxes, names etc. What do you like?
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2015, 02:21:36 »
Hello Tycoon, could you tell us the approximate years that it would have been available in stores? It seems like something that I've seen before, but I can't remember the name at the moment.
"Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again? ... OK, well, the button on the side. Is it glowing?... Yeah, you need to turn it on. Err, the button turns it on. Yeah, you do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes." - Roy (The IT Crowd)

mstana

  • Silver Level
  • ***
  • Posts: 135

Dragon

  • Administrator
  • Platinum Level
  • *****
  • Posts: 4862
  • Have you played my board game?
    • Rival Troops
Re: Taiyo and Tyco - brands, boxes, names etc. What do you like?
« Reply #8 on: February 18, 2015, 19:44:23 »
Here is a screenshot from that page, just in case. Thanks for your help mstana.
"Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again? ... OK, well, the button on the side. Is it glowing?... Yeah, you need to turn it on. Err, the button turns it on. Yeah, you do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes." - Roy (The IT Crowd)