The Tyco Chevy Pickup is a small radio controlled monster truck, manufactured by Taiyo Toys (Japan), and released into the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and many other countries worldwide by Tyco Toys in 1988.
Features and Performance
Stylized as a Chevy Pickup Truck in the US, it was available in Black (27Mhz) and Red(49Mhz). With large air-filled puffy tires, and good ground clearance, it makes a great kids Monster Truck.
Yet even with 4xAA batteries (no 9.6v 'Turbo' here) it still manages to be plenty quick, though with that sturdy front bumper I'd be fairly confident that any damage a kid could do while driving should be fairly superficial (unlike most 9.6V Turbo models which will happily end themselves in a few second by smashing into a pole/wall and ripping off the front suspension).
That said, this is NOT a Four-Wheel-Drive and so it's not intended for climbing over big rocks or conquering couch pillows, it's much better on a flatter surface indoors, or at best some light rocky or mildly muddy terrain outdoors.
Looking underneath the truck we can see a very sturdy construction, with reinforced steering column, easy to access battery hatch, and rear low and high gear lever.
Localized and Customized Variants
The best boxed photos I could find for this model are both non-standard.
We have a Red 49Mhz model that is authentic but is a localized French/English language variant sold under the IRWIN brand, I believe in Canada.
More interesting is the Black 27Mhz model which has several stickers replaced with 'Pick-Me-Up', 'Cisco', and 'Pak-Mix' branding. Was this an unofficial hand-made promotional item? While Tyco did many promotional variants with custom branding, it's unlikely they'd have removed the Tyco flag, and the stickers do look a little hand-cut, so I suspect this one was some unofficial handywork.
Video
Here is a video on NostalgiaRC's YouTube channel demonstrating the Taiyo (Japanese) version of the Chevy Pickup which has different wheels, tires, and stickers, and was made a few years earlier, but is otherwise the same.
Collectability and Availability
Each year there are only 1-2 Tyco Chevy Pickup trucks appearing on eBay for sale, with the majority already in the hands of collectors. That makes these Tyco RC cars especially rare, and in demand by collectors.
At the time of writing just one is available online, and it's been modified which could be keeping away collectors, though personally I see these as opportunities for a good restoration project if the price is right.
