The Taiyo Aero Jet Fighter is a radio controlled car manufactured by Taiyo (Japan), and released into the Japanese market in 1987.
Features and Performance
One of my personal all time favorites thanks to its wild styling and equally wild performance, the Aero Jet Fighter was designed to imitate the far more expensive hobby grade buggies that regularly competed in tracks across Japan, the USA, and Europe.
To do this, it had a long list of features that were only beaten perhaps by the Taiyo Max Hopper 4WD, both of which I'd consider to be the ultimate off-road toy grade racer of the 1980s.
- 9.6v 8xAA (12V Alkalines)
- Large Scale 1/14
- Dual Mabuchi 280 Motors
- Rear Wheel Drive (2WD)
- Top Speed 31km/h (19mph)
- Pistol Grip Controller with Handguard
- All Round Shocks
- Large Front Adjustable Wing and Super Large Rear Wing
- Rear Differential
If the Taiyo Lamborghini Countach is the king of on-road racers, then surely the this Aero Jet Fighter is the king of off-road racers, both with top speeds of 31km/h, the fastest of any Taiyo / Tyco radio controlled car, thanks to the dual Mabuchi 280 motors and 2WD system.
Speed vs Traction
The Aero Jet Fighter's Dual Drive 2WD system provides for a higher top speed (31km/h), compared with the Max Hopper's Dual Drive 4WD which offers increased traction but a reduced top speed due to the increased friction of driving 4 wheels.
Driving the Aero Jet Fighter feels much like a modern brushless RC - pressing the throttle indoors is a dangerous proposition as it immediately flies off and heads for the nearest set of ankles.
Overseas Variants
Sold in the US, UK, and other countries as the 1988 Tyco Twin Turbo Hopper, and the 1990 Tyco Twin Turbo Aero Hopper, and in Australia and New Zealand as the 1988 Metro Aero Phantom.
Available in 27Mhz Black/Red and 40/49Mhz Silver, I think you'll agree that the silver version looks absolutely spectacular! Australian version shown below.
One of my all time best Tyco / Taiyo RC cars, just an incredible leap of technology for Taiyo just one year following the Jet Hopper / Turbo Hopper. It demonstrated what they were truly capable of if they had a decent budget, and were given the opportunity to design a 'real' RC car that could realistically compete with hobby grade models.
We can only imagine what they might be selling today in our local toy or department store had they survived the tumultuous 90s in Japan/US... quite possibly we'd be picking up a brushless RC car in the same aisle as the Coca Cola and Doritos!
Availability and Collectability
There is no question as to their collectability - this is one of the best cars Taiyo / Tyco ever made, both in performance/features and straight up monsterously cool looks.
The good news is that most buy/sell collectors haven't realized this yet, and so it's still possible (as of the time of writing in 2024) to buy one of these unboxed for a reasonable price. They don't appear as often as many other cars - they're rarer than Bandits or Turbo Hoppers - but they do come up, so if you're patient you can still catch a bargain.
