The Tyco FX-4 is a radio controlled car designed like a fluroscent jet fighter, manufactured by Taiyo (Japan) and released into the US, UK, and other markets worldwide by Tyco in 1993.
Background / Concept
Fluorescent colors were all the rage in the late 80s to early 90s. We had glow-in-the-dark everything (including Nite-Glow slot cars), from Fluro Clothes, to Fluro T-Shirts, Fluro Markers, Watches, Hats, Pens, Bikes... and especially toys! So many Fluro toys...
And so it was in this Hyper color environment that the Tyco FX-4 was launched, along with a few other Fluro colored cars by Tyco of a similar vintage, including the 1993 Tyco Mini Traxx Pickup, perhaps inspired by the 1990 Tyco Wild Thing several years earlier that may have been the first ultra bright chassis.
Features and Performance
Underneath the Jet Fighter body is a standard 9.6V Turbo chassis (in fluorescent yellow plastic), a good choice due to its combination of high speed, dynamics, and reliability.
This chassis dates back to the 1990 Tyco Heads Up Turbo Hopper, or the Taiyo 1989 Heads Up Hopper to be more precise, which itself took the latest and final version of the Turbo Hopper / 1988 Taiyo Jet Hopper II and made several improvements such as relocating the battery compartment from the top (resolving the original Turbo Hopper / Jet Hopper's main gripe of needing to remove the body every time you changed batteries), and switching from 8xAA to a new 9.6V Turbo Battery pack with connector.
Identifying the chassis is important in this instance, as while it was improved, it was also lightened in several areas which does often result in cracks and broken parts - namely the roll cage and side protection which are hollowed out, and the bumper which just loves to crack, so be careful with those.
This light and high powered combination is driven by a Mabuchi 360 motor, for a top speed of 27km/h.
Completed by a set of four shock absorbers round and those improved Heads Up semu-pnumatic tires made of rubber, and you have a combination that loves to run amok at speed in the dirt, mud, stones, and pretty much anywhere.
Available in two versions, the 27Mhz Fluro Yellow / Green and the 49Mhz Fluro Red/Orange.
6.0V Jet Turbo Version
Apart from the 9.6V Turbo version released (the current review), there was also a 6.0V Jet Turbo version released, which uses the cartridge batteries. This appears to be smaller, and will obviously be a bit slower, however it actually looks pretty darn good! 6V is plenty for a little buggy, and with those decent tires and shocks, it would have been heaps of fun to scoot around in. Unfortunately, like its big 9.6V brother, there just isn't many of them around.
Glowing Jet Engines
I can't finish talking about the features until I mention the on-board lights, or should I say, Jet Engines!
The FX-4 comes with two afterburner style lights on its tail, looking quite decent for 90s light technology. At the time this was made there were some low brightness Red LEDs (as used for the power lights on the car and transmitter), but nothing as strong as this. I suspect it may be using those little glass 'Christmas light' style bulbs in there.
Collectability and Availability
Needless to say, given this cars great looks, extreme 90s'ness, and excellent 9.6V performance, it's on the must-have list for me, though you'll have to be patient.
The Tyco FX-4 does appear occasionally on eBay, though not as often as many other popular models, perhaps just a few times per year. So if you're looking for one you will need to do a saved search, or perhaps put the word out in our forum that you're looking.
