The Taiyo Aero Mini Hopper 3 was 1/20 radio control car manufactured by Taiyo (Japan) and released into the global market in 1988.
The cultural fascination around aerodynamics was in full swing following the advent of computer aided design (CAD), and products everywhere were jumping on the aerodynamic hype train.
Seeing an obvious opportunity, Taiyo would take all their most popular models and re-release them as ‘Aero’ versions using the same chassis and overall concept, but with a sleaker, windswept ‘aerodynamic’ body.
This Aero Mini Hopper III took its cues from the Taiyo Mini Hopper 3, released around the same time in 1988, with more than a little borrowed from super, super cool 1987 Taiyo Aero Jet Fighter.
Features and Performance
Unlike the regular version, the Aero version is Made in Singapore, though other than that it’s chassis is the same. Powered by 4xAA Batteries it’s got a slow-moderate speed, decent suspension and grippy rubber tires, and the overall build quality is excellent 80s Taiyo style.
Perfect for letting the kids buzz around the house without too much risk of breaking anything.
Recommendation
Mini Hoppers are always great buys, because they give you 80% of the nostalgia from back in the day, at 50% of the cost (or less) of a full size 9.6V Turbo model.
I started with a single Mini Hopper 2, and now 100+ models later… uh…. on second thoughts, maybe you should give it a miss! j/k
Updated 01/07/22: Added photos of White version.
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