Ideal Fighter Jet

[@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.

[@swl9104]

Like a P-3?

[@gotchagoing4905]

Santa left one at my house back in '59. I went on to fly two tours in Vietnam in the Army. Air Cav troops both tours and several crashes. But I DO HAVE a single control 'stick' on the electric wheelchair compliments of the VA ;}> I wouldn't change a damn thing.

[@cquinn4555]

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

[@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!

[@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!

[@richardpiper6265]

I could not go out to play for over a year due to an operation so spent a lot of time alone fun time with this toy. Thanks for taking me back to good times back then.

[@kennethhoffman8845]

The funniest thing: My dad claimed he couldn't afford this toy at the time BUT... he compensated. Somehow, somewhere he found a complete set of 100% REAL aircraft instruments. The whole smash. An artifical horizon, an airspeed indicator, an altimeter, a turn and bank indicator, a compass and an engine manifold pressure gauge! How he acquired them is still a mystery to me, but it is true! He then mounted them on a piece of plywood he had cut in the shape of an instrument panel, added some old fashioned metal toggle switches that activated lights on the panel. With that and my Steve Canyon helmet I was a ten year old in aviation heaven!

[@Offthbadan]

At $20.00, this had to be fairly expensive for the average family in the late 50s I’m guessing.

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

​@@Offthbadanthat's like the equivalent of a few hundred notes!

[@daveh3405]

You must have had a great dad.

[@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.

[@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!

[@MattMorris481]

I was an 80’s kid but I would’ve loved this. I can just imagine my dad watching the news having to listen to that motor going for hours.

[@drpsionic]

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

[@ToyKingWonder]

Awesome Charles!

[@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.

[@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

[@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!

[@postal_the_clown]

My folks broke up in '58 and for the next 5 years or so Ideal, Marx, Mattel, Remco, Gilbert and Kenner were my siblings. I spent a lot of hours on this toy because my Mom worked graveyard. It was good prep because less than 20 years later, we were playing with joysticks following moving lights with names like Fairchild, Magnavox, Bally and Atari.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@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.

[@fredkruse9444]

That is high - tech fun for 1959!

[@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!

[@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.

[@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!

[@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.

[@richardherzog5405]

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

[@NunyaBizness-p8y]

This is absolutely incredible. Even as a Millenial, born on the tail end of "cool toys being made", I am astounded by this. As a pilot myself, this toy is so similar to the meat and potatoes of a real cockpit in terms of instrumentation and interactivity, it's quite amusing. I never saw anything like this as a kid much less had one. It's interesting to note as well, that a society's ambition can be judged by the toys it makes for children. The toymakers of this generation wanted to see kids grow up accustomed to the idea of achieving proficiency with highly technical things. To have something like this as a boy about 10 or 11 and at the time when the F-86 Saber was THE fighter plane? My God what a time to be alive! Sure, you can fire up an Xbox and play Ace Combat or another aviation arcade/simulator and have a much more visceral result, but to have the same tactility that this toy offers requires thousands of dollars of peripherals to make it even remotely lifelike. Nowadays kids are required to use zero imagination or aspire for anything but earning a basic wage and the cheap ambiguous toys of the modern era reflect that. Unreal.

[@ToyKingWonder]

You can imagine my shock at figuring out what it did when I was under the impression it was just a dashboard toy--great in and of itself--but had no idea about the targeting system. This goes hand in hand with the Ideal Countdown set as well. Ideal was an outstanding toy company, and I think this and the Robot Commando were the best things they made.

[@rogeryscankill962]

you'd be the coolest kid in the block with this thing in 1961

[@madvette74]

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

[@WildBillCox13]

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

[@tootired76]

My 10 yo son told me it must have sucked when I was a kid because there were no video games. I told him we had really cool toys but he didn't get it!! My parents bought a new recliner chair which came in a nice, chair shaped cardboard box which my brothers and me immediately converted into a cockpit/tank! We played "12 O'clock High" and "Battle Of The Bulge"! My friend and I "flew" a C 130 into Viet Nam! Imagine!!!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@longi625]

What would be great is if another company made an updated version of this toy. It would be amazing with today's technology. I'd love to own one of these toys! If I had been a ten year old when these were available, I would have loved one of these. I always wanted to be a fighter pilot and this would've been a dream come true.

[@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.

[@walterheinen5298]

I got the remnants of this toy from my brother. Not much worked electronically, but I still played for hours with it. Would love to find an intact one now as an adult.

[@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...

[@fancylad2006]

Beautiful, thank you for posting

[@ProfRage]

one of the coolest toys I've ever seen..

[@ww2Mollison]

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

[@ToyKingWonder]

I am glad you enjoyed it!

[@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.....

[@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.

[@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...

[@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.

[@grob318]

I had one and my sister still had it until a few years ago. Cool!

[@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!

[@bobm153]

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

[@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.....

[@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…..!

[@Jreb1865]

Wow... Never seen it before. Super cool

[@billyalonzo406]

That has got to be the best toy they ever made

[@dr.migalitoloveless1651]

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

[@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.

[@Trojan0304]

Had this as a kid😊

[@skipeb3]

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

[@tomskell9622]

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

[@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!

[@NathanWaldock]

That is a great game / toy id love one ,id rather see my kids play with this than being on the frickin phone,thanks for sharing,cool 🤙🤙

[@TheMonkeyNeuron]

Such wholesome classic content

[@ToyKingWonder]

Thank you!

[@astraltraveler2725]

Cool video.

[@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.

[@dphotos007]

Cool toy. I had a Jimmy Jet.

[@Idelia412]

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

[@KerryJudy-i2l]

I had hot wheels and was happy to have em……can’t imagine having one of those, they musta been over $15-20 cause I never got one. Really nice….kids don’t have to use imagination nowadays.

[@miloliss2484]

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

[@trainsforu]

This thing is insane! Love it.

[@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..

[@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.

[@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!

[@garycoulombe6697]

I had one of these

[@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.

[@jonycreche2731]

That is ingenious,

[@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!

[@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"!

[@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.

[@letsridehard]

This toy was the reason I became an F14 pilot.

[@ToyKingWonder]

Funny how things stimulate young minds and stick with you!

[@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.

[@patrickmuhwheeney6518]

Really fun...Thanks!

[@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

[@tb9489]

This is fan fucking-tastic!!!!

[@marshalt]

this is the coolest thing ever!!!

[@AchimEngels]

7:20 Thats an Me 262!

[@ToyKingWonder]

Awesome! I did not realize that...

[@juanfelipecopete9368]

Wow, what a toy

[@Scorpion85629]

How much would those cost if they were built today?

[@dr.migalitoloveless1651]

At least a couple hundred dollars.

[@gladec3896]

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

[@innfield8836]

We are neither 'morons' or 'idiots' - and how 'cool' or otherwise this is depends on the individual's perception.Still, nice to see

[@morse8622]

I was born in 2007 but I like old toys

[@patricklozito7042]

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

[@rjds1800]

DCS is impressive but this is something else!

[@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]

@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.

[@ToyKingWonder]

I think you WON in that situation!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@tvdays]

i still have the toy

[@ToyKingWonder]

@FlashKW1 You are very welcome!

[@davidroberts8074]

My brother had this toy years ago

[@d.b.1176]

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

[@locouk]

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