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.
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 Heads Up chassis (in fluro 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.
Naming the chassis is important in this instance, and 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.
Jet Hopper II / Head Up Hopper chassis.
Completed by a set of 4 shock absorbers all round, and some excellent air-filled off road 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.
We can’t finish talking about the features though until we mention the on-board lights, or should we say, Jet Engines! The FX-4 comes with two afterburner style lights on its tail, looking quite decent for 90s light technology.
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.
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