Ideal Fighter Jet

Made by Ideal in 1959, advertised heavily that year.
Very well made, one of the best battery operated toys of the period.

[@oldnavy57]

In 1960 I requested and got this toy from Santa and it was singularly responsible for my wanting to become a pilot. So, later in life I joined the Navy and became a Naval Aviator and wouldn't you know it, I didn't get Jets but rather Heavy Multi- engine aircraft. It was still fun though and I wouldn't change a day of it. This was and would remain the greatest gift I ever got.

[@rmi6599]

I was 10years old in 1959 and received one for Christmas. To this day I remember playing with it for hours at a time. This was pretty hi-tech back, the best toy I ever owned.

[@TheAerovons]

me too, loved it!

[@dr.migalitoloveless1651]

Wish I could of had one.

[@scottgoodman8993]

@@TheAerovons You lucky dogs!

[@TheAerovons]

@@scottgoodman8993 Ha I actually got my Mom to take me to a toy store and get a jet pilot plastic helmet with a visor to go with it LOL

[@davidtigwell9021]

Same here. I had a "Steve Canyon" helmet to go with it, too. Awesome!

[@cquinn4555]

What an impressive toy I can't imagine how cool it would have been to have this as a child ... simply wow!

[@ComputerLearning0]

This was a kid's dream to have one of these back in the day. I remember when these were the rage back then. I wanted one but at $23 plus tax (if you include the optional Steve Canyon jet helmet, which was a necessary component because it was part of the imaginary experience), it was a little beyond what many parents might spend considering a lot of families were spending their money on frivolous things like food, shelter, heat, electricity, etc. Back in 1959 when this toy was really popular a lot of wives didn't work so the house only had ONE income. Add two, three, four (or more) kids to the mix and this toy just wasn't part of the Christmas/Birthday plans. This was sure a great toy though, and with just a little imagination a kid could have a lot of fun with it :)

[@scottgoodman8993]

My brother and I shared a helmet. No joy on this toy. We would have broken it in an hour anyway. $30 week was standard pay for a working man. No way was $23 reasonable.

[@dennishadley9151]

I received my Fighter Jet for Christmas in 1959 when I was 5yrs old . Wish I still had it awesome toy. Thanks for posting

[@DaMan869]

I love old toys like this. I like to see how toys have evolved since their original debut. Most of the old toys are better than the newer toys. Sometimes, bigger/newer isn't always better.

[@davidtigwell9021]

I had one circa 1959 or 60. Absolutely the best toy I ever had, bar none. I saw somewhere it cost $19.95 at the time. That's nearly $300 bucks today! My family was anything but wealthy, but somehow they swung this. Whew! I reckon I became a pilot as a result of this toy! What a piece of engineering it was. And BTW - it never broke. The blue bulb for the "radar" target failed, but it was easily replaced with a white one, like the example in this video. Thanks for this video! Tons of memories!

[@drpsionic]

I had one then and I have one now, the pride of my collection.

[@ToyKingWonder]

Awesome Charles!

[@erikhertzer8434]

A shame manufacturers don't reissue these items...for nostalgia sake... much like model kit manufacturers often resissue their kits from the 1950's. Nonetheless, this is a brilliant piece of toy engineering.

[@ToyKingWonder]

Every once in a while you see that. They brought back Ideal's Robert the Robot for a bit, and there has been a few others.

[@richardherzog5405]

AS kids we had to use our own imagination and with toys like this it took you to a real battle. Imagination

[@fredkruse9444]

That is high - tech fun for 1959!

[@solidwriter]

Hey thanks so much for posting this. And you're right; most people don't have a clue how complex and wonderful these old toys are. Just got one and the only dart it came with literally shot 30 feet across to the back wall of the apartment. Insane!

[@angelanbrentenlowndavis2949]

Kids these days have no idea how much fun we had as kids. We loved our cool toys. All they do now is yell and scream profanities at a video game. Get no excersise. We ran the neighborhood in search of who had the coolest toys. On bicycles! All day!! Miss those days soon much...

[@divermike8943]

What I love about this vintage toy video is this guy actually plays with it. I understand collectors trying to keep everything mint but not playing with it, but come ON! What fun is that?

[@ToyKingWonder]

Everything in The Collection, be it toys, cars, or musical instruments, is used. That is what things are made for. I don't abuse them, but I keep everything running and usable. I have two Jimmy Jets that others would dismiss as "for parts", but they both work. Not using items with electric motors will cause those motors to seize up. Not driving collector cars causes flat spots on tires, failed batteries, lack of lubrication to parts, rust, condensation, dust issues, etc. I have a 1955 playground slide in my backyard, every year it gets new paint in the right areas to keep from rusting. The only thing I typically (and there have been exceptions)keep mint are those things that are still sealed or have parts wired in place as they are brand new in the box. I have the Hubley version of golf called Golferino, never removed from box and I just don't want to. But everything else works and I enjoy.

[@Vaderd2k926]

Great video! I’m 66 and I owned and enjoyed both this toy and the one you mentioned. Incredibly complex toy with so many moving parts and it NEVR broke down in any way. Perhaps that’s why there are a number of them still around today in good working order. I remember it being quite difficult to hit the projection target with a dart. Also, wasn’t one of the target types an actual ufo? Thanks for the memories. Remco, Ideal and Marx. These were the giants of the era. They never disappointed.

[@carlwest2752]

Awesome vintage toy and nice sillouette of an ME-262.

[@curtismarean6963]

This comes from what I call the "golden age" of American toys. These had a style you cannot find at all any place. By anyone. They were amazing. Still are to this day.

[@42lookc]

Anyone that says that toy is crude: for _sixty years ago_ ??? Are they kidding? The imagination and planning and design that went into that unit is off the charts! Pardon the pun. That's what us farm kids would have called 'a rich kids toy'. Far and away out of reach of us in reality, but dreamed of indeed.

[@billyalonzo406]

That has got to be the best toy they ever made

[@circuit-breakermi3865]

Dang I wanted one sooooo bad as a kid! I can't recall who it was but someone I knew had one back then.

[@FlashKW1]

Of all the toys I ever played with, this one was far and away the best. I am so grateful someone put this one here on KZbin for me to find. I spent HOURS playing with this awesome toy and NEVER got tired of it. Funny that after all these years, this is the one I remember and miss most. Thanks so much!

[@skipeb3]

I had one. It was awesome...my favorite toy.

[@tomskell9622]

I had one too! Haven't thought of it in around 55 years.

[@JonJll]

Begged my folks for this! Finally got it after I had my tonsils out.I was kinda disappointed as a six year old. The silhouettes seemed scanty and the darts wouldn't stick. Really taught me the lesson about being careful what u wish for. To this day my 90 yr old Mom remembers The Fighter Jet!

[@georgepasymowski2508]

What a super toy. I remember the commercials for it back in the day. Great review. Thanks for the memories.

[@ToyKingWonder]

Thank you George! Check out my video for Ideal's Countdown as well, you'll love it!

[@mcdoctorglock]

All the target switch needed was to add a flying saucer! I would have loved this device when I was in my pre-teens, but I was about a decade off.

[@occamsrayzor]

I don't know if you're still around to see these comments, but this is just remarkable. Thanks for showing these toys that I knew nothing about (Just as well, as I would have been green with envy of anyone who had one of these).

[@ToyKingWonder]

Yes I am still around, and thanks for watching!

[@WildBillCox13]

Pretty darn cool. I would've been about 5 or 6 when this was advertised on TV.

[@prestonsmith4419]

You can't look at a toy like this through 2019 eyes. This was a great toy and did require a lot of imagination. Every bit of graphics wasn't laid out like the computer games of today. Wish you had shown the box, though. Love the packaging of things from the past.

[@patlysobey1938]

I had one of these when I was a kid and I never understood the revolving mirror mechanism and what it was supposed to do. It was a great toy even though it was not fully functional and it was eventually broken and thrown away. I found one on ebay a while back and it was fully functional and it actually projected the images on the wall. Pretty neat. The engineering in some of these toys was amazing.

[@ToyKingWonder]

It surely is one of the best. Ideal was just a fantastic toy company. When you opened a present and saw the Ideal logo, you knew you were in for something good.

[@TheMonkeyNeuron]

Such wholesome classic content

[@TheZeke1974]

These old toys are so cool! I think kids these days are really missing out since all they are about are these damn video games, Ipods, I pads, and smart phones.....

[@SeaMonkey137]

When I was a kid there was an old, mechanical submarine game in the corner of the arcade that I was always drawn to. The "torpedo" (light passing under a plastic ocean) was really cool. The mechanical games spark imagination far better than the sterile, digital all-video games.

[@malcolmthompson9848]

I had one in the early 60s that was a hand-me-down. The stick was broken but I loved this thing. I remember building a space capsule out of my bunk bed and pretending I was Allen Shepard.

[@ToyKingWonder]

Exactly. A friend of mine used old army blankets and crates to extend his dad's workbench into a "fuselage" and we were a B29 Superfortress. The imaginations back then were so strong.....

[@madvette74]

very cool toy.. makes me want to start collecting again..

[@bobm153]

I had one and loved it too. Became a civi pilot in the 80's.

[@iplaymytele]

Very Cool… I was born in 1954 I’m 67 years old toys like this work a little out of my parents monetary range….! But I had a couple rich friends that had stuff like this…..!

[@fancylad2006]

Beautiful, thank you for posting

[@heru-deshet359]

I had one of these. I was lucky enough to get it as a hand me down from an older cousin when I was a kid. I wish I still had it, but when my folks would move anything that was considered "outgrown" was given away to have less to take with us.

[@dphotos007]

Cool toy. I had a Jimmy Jet.

[@Jreb1865]

Wow... Never seen it before. Super cool

[@dooley1230]

Ron Howard had one in The Courtship of Eddie's Father from 1963.

[@vinny4411]

Andre he also got an astro base for his birthday as well..

[@letsridehard]

This toy was the reason I became an F14 pilot.

[@billhuber2964]

I wonder how many kids became pilots who played with this

[@fsissd01]

i went int the USAF in 1968 and went into Flight Simulation. Ialso became a pilot, All because of Steve Canyon and my Ideal Fighter Jet. Retired from the USAF in '93.

[@dr.migalitoloveless1651]

It's great that it's in such mint condition after nearly 60 years

[@grahamjw75]

very cool! I was not expecting the plane silhouettes flying across the wall had no idea toys were that advanced in 59....wow

[@ToyKingWonder]

Yes, I didn't know that feature until I actually got this toy home and started getting it to work...

[@garycoulombe6697]

I had one of these

[@MrBonger88]

Wow, I didn’t know that this existed. I’m a 70’s child so things like Vertibird were more common to me. This thing is awesome

[@ToyKingWonder]

I was a little before you, but this toy was a little before my time as well. These were out in 1959, and I never knew anything about them--no older cousins had them nor hand me downs from any older brothers of my friends. As I said in the video, I had no idea of the projection system until after I bought one! Oh, and I got two things when the very first came out....the first Hot Wheels, (Firebird and Cougar in the Drag Race Set) and the first Vertibird, with astronaut and life raft!

[@ww2Mollison]

Amazing...how cool is this?!? Thank you for posting it.

[@ToyKingWonder]

I am glad you enjoyed it!

[@marshalt]

this is the coolest thing ever!!!

[@blampfno]

I got one of these from a family member as a kid, but at that point it was largely non-functional hand me down I used for its physical prop aspects. I had no idea it did all this cool stuff. Very advanced for a toy from the late 50s.

[@ToyKingWonder]

I wasn't aware of a lot of what it did until I got it. My Uncle sent me my cousin's Deluxe Reading Playmobile when he didn't want it anymore. I was 6 and the item just showed up one day in the mail. It was in perfect condition!

[@ToyKingWonder]

Thank you for the letter! I used to do the same thing as you with my Jimmy Jet when I was a kid, but it was in my closet, 1/2 of which wasn't used but it was a large closet that led to a crawlspace door on its end. So of course that was the "hatch" to the "engine room". Nice and dark in there and played for hours! You can get a very nice one of these for I would say $150+, depending on box, description, and as always, other bidders on eBay at that time.

[@MarkLeeHorvath]

Great review. I actually had one of these around 1959/1960 but, at 5 years old, was not aware of the nuances of it's functionality. I do remember spending hours playing with it however.

[@jonycreche2731]

That is ingenious,

[@Idelia412]

I remember playing with this in Sears Toy section. I broke it while playing with it. I was a little devil then!!!!! LOL

[@trainsforu]

This thing is insane! Love it.

[@ToyKingWonder]

Yes, I was reading on some blog and some idiot woman was going on how primitive and "hilarious" this toy was. Hilarious? I played with my Jimmy Jet for YEARS on pure imagination (as you know, you had to use your imagination ALOT with the Jimmy Jet!). People like that don't get imagination and "play" toys; only computer toys (which I have nothing against in their place) which require zero imagination and don't inspire creative play.

[@bentleymurphree216]

ToyKingWonder very cool, games that you have too use your imagination we’re the best, I remember playing war with a friend of mine against an imaginary enemy and it was the most realistic battle, just like if we were in a real war, I like computer games also, but I don’t believe any computer war game is even close to the imaginary war that played in our minds. This fighter jet game Console and some imagination, a kid could be shooting jets and zipping through the clouds for hours.

[@ToyKingWonder]

@@bentleymurphree216 Yes, they were toys that ENHANCED your imagination and experience, not replaced it. You were not just reacting, you were creating scenes in your mind and sharing them. We would play "B29" made out of cardboard boxes, then later, more elaborate crates. Once we set up cardboard targets of enemy fighters out in the yard, and would try to hit them with an old BB gun and knock them over from a slot in the "plane"!

[@rjds1800]

DCS is impressive but this is something else!

[@ToyKingWonder]

@Idelia412 Yes, I remember the old days when they would have samples of the toys out for you to play with....those were fun days!

[@ToyKingWonder]

Thank you so much for thinking of me! Actually, my wife got me one for Christmas, bless her heart--AND the Marx Big Bruiser! Great Christmas. All the rockets are there and it works! Sometime I have to make a video of it and put it up. I have it on display in my office and look at it all the time, as it is very good. Thanks again.

[@ndingo]

My left ear enjoyed this 😀

[@ToyKingWonder]

Shot with a lavalier mic on a single channel and not mixed to stereo. Suggestion 1, listen in a "mono" setting if you have such a thing. Suggestion 2, jam an icepick into your right ear, deafening yourself, and you can enjoy and never know the difference!

[@AmIonArock]

I would to have this for a couple of hour and I would seriously play it, I still got a good imagination. I saw one on ebay so of course I had to check it out. But I found the commercial which if I had seen it then I would had gotten on of these for christmas. They also sold a special helmet to go with this. anyway I did subscribe because I like you.By the way, we were the lucky ones , back then we knew how to play and go on adventures. Unfortunately I was not able to get my boys to do the same things they had no interest. thank for vid.

[@gladec3896]

My cousin had the blue one similiar... I didn't but used an Exosketch and a hand planer lol

[@ToyKingWonder]

@oldnavy57 Thank you for your service. When I was in high school, I thought of going to the Air Force for pilot training. Believe it or not, I wanted to do the big heavy bombers and not the fighter jets! Of course, my eyes weren't very good and I developed other interests. While I never became a pilot, I never gave up on planes, and I am now very much into R/C planes. My big toy when I was a kid was not this one--I think it was out of production by then. Mine was Deluxe Readings' Jimmy Jet

[@patrickmuhwheeney6518]

Really fun...Thanks!

[@tjfreak]

I wasn't around til 64 & by garbage picking days in the early 70's I used to find a lot of this stuff seen in these vids.Like today people cleaned out things & tossed it..1 thing wrong - out to the curb..I don't think there were the scavengers like today & no social media means to sell it.

[@d.b.1176]

It would be a $200 toy today adjusted for inflation.

[@darkstar6260]

Yea, just got this on E-bay, and works great after repair. Wire was broken off motor inside. It does so much! Am just missing the darts.

[@miloliss2484]

old toys are so cool. kids don't play outside or use their imagination anymore it's all about ipads, phones, and computers

[@morse8622]

I love old toys even if I emailed nine

[@Barracuda48082]

Awesome times..ha..I envisioned you licking the sution cup on the dart..ha

[@ToyKingWonder]

Nah....! Lick always grossed me out. The guy that drooled on the air pump needle to fill up the basketball or football. The teacher that would lick her fingers to turn a book page. That candy you were supposed to pour in your hands and then lick off. I knew a kid called Scotty Garland that would lick a mirror and smell it, and then declare "it stinks!" and would want me to smell it, and that was pretty much the time I would leave. Kids and their licking grossed me out. The worst was when someone made S'mores and first, the melted chocolate would kind of smell like poop, and they then would lick the brown goop off their sticky fingers. Yuck.

[@HootOwl513]

I had one. As I recall the lightbulb on the tracking arm, under the scope ''glass'' was colored blue on mine. Also one of the 6 target groups you could select was a brace of UFOs. I just noticed the 2 engine, sweptwing jet you selected looks like a 737 Max.

[@ToyKingWonder]

@subfixerlee Cool! Yeah, I thought about getting that Steve Canyon helmet, but it would probably be very tight on my big head, plus I'd have to wear it out and about, and you know the kind of stir that might cause.

[@tb9489]

This is fan fucking-tastic!!!!

[@tvdays]

i still have the toy

[@jpatt1000]

@ToyKingWonder I agree. Normally my kids don't get video games or stuff like that. For me, I think the best toy out for a while are Legos. They require you to think and use your imagination. I'm 34 and still have all of mine, and once in a while they still get some use. I always built planes of some sort, and there are four taking up residence in our room right now.

[@MrRustybear3]

Sigh*....brings back memories!

[@patricklozito7042]

I had this and the rocket launcher you described. Yes, it was a wonderful time.

[@timpriddy349]

Road warrior poster......my brother had that......notice 4 headlights of a Kenworth instead of a Mack 2 headlight in the drawing

[@ToyKingWonder]

Interesting. Kind of like the futuristic truck in the Soylent Green poster and in the movie it was just an old truck.

[@ToyKingWonder]

@TheXR750 You know, alot of stuff was not cheap. There were some washers and dryers that were not that less expensive than models now, and those were in 1960s dollars! Just one example of many. I remember my 1972 GiJoe Mobile Support Vehicle was like $14, and that was alot back then for a toy.

[@morse8622]

I was born in 2007 but I like old toys

[@ToyKingWonder]

I think you WON in that situation!

[@locouk]

Looks pretty neat for it's day, I can see you need to clean the mirrors on your console.. They look dirty!

[@Haruki_Aikawa]

Nice video, but all audio is on left side

[@ToyKingWonder]

That is because Chloe got her paws on the mix and when he was enjoying a Greenie Dog Bone everything got discombobulated. Chloe. Rated R.

[@ToyKingWonder]

@FlashKW1 You are very welcome!

[@ToyKingWonder]

Yes, I loved setting my Jimmy Jet up on a card table (when i wasn't in a closet with it pretending I was a bomber on a mission) so I could swivel around and shoot those missiles at my sisters! That, and of course, Mattel Shootin' Shells!

[@Scorpion85629]

How much would those cost if they were built today?

[@dr.migalitoloveless1651]

At least a couple hundred dollars.

[@ToyKingWonder]

@jpatt1000 Imagination is so important. I remember playing on the platform of my swingset slide in 1967. That was the Bridge on the Enterprise, I was Captain Kirk and an empty slide-open Spidel watch band case was my "Communicator". All alients and asteroid fields were in my head. Toys like this just take it one step further and let you have real fun with your imagination.

[@DEZZIS51]

I had one of these. It cost $10.00 back then.

[@androgeniko]

DEZZIS51 how much of that ancient money would be today?

[@Snachito]

I would have LOVED this toy when I was a kid!! Although I probably would have ended up mounting it to the handle bars of my Big Wheel so I could shoot the darts at my little brother!!

[@drpsionic]

It was a big toy. I got mine when I was ten and on a table it reached beyond my shoulders. It would not have fit on a big wheel very well.

[@daltonmcglaughlin9182]

Amazing! I want one!! Lol

[@stardaddyo9]

Cool

[@tb9489]

I'm sorry, did i miss something? Is this battery powered, if so how? So damn cool

[@ToyKingWonder]

Take another look at the video, especially the latter part to see it in action. The missile darts are purely mechanical, but the lights, motor, etc are all run by D cell batteries.

[@ltsmum3316]

I've got tone, I've got tone!!!!

[@tv321123]

whish i had one

[@glennledrew8347]

I find the scroll speed of the projected planes to be too fast; makes my eyes tired in rather short order. ;) Half that speed would be better. Now, if there was a way to control the speed, the player could work their way up as they get more skilled. The bank angle indicator could have perhaps integrated a vertical motion also, so as to also indicate pitch; that would have been rad! But as it is, an awesomely versatile and fairly complex toy for its day.

[@markmnorcal]

Where's the helmet that came with it?

[@udefz150i5]

👍👍

[@ToyKingWonder]

@locouk I didn't clean them, for existential reasons.

[@rrocero]

Thesenare what real toys are

[@CoffeeinAmerica]

Me-262? (7:00)

[@ToyKingWonder]

Now that you mention it, I think so!

[@dr.migalitoloveless1651]

@@ToyKingWonder yeah the enemy plane does look like an old ww2 Messerschmitt 262.