When I began my research for TycoCollectors.com, my thoughts on Taiyo (Japan) and Tyco (USA) were as you might expect – big soulless corporations, right? Surely the most popular 90s toys were just churned out by committee?
Not quite. In fact, what I found was the opposite! Stories of everyday people with a lifetime passion to create such wonderful toys that had only existed in their imagination. Through this article, I aim to raise the profile of a few of those people, every one of which played an important role in creating the most popular toys of the 80s 90s, and had a lasting influence on both toys and hobby grade RC today.
If you’d like to know more about radio control patents, particularly hobby grade, check out OverlandRC’s full directory of radio control patents.
Shohei Suto – Father of Taiyo / Tyco’s most popular toys
If there is one single person responsible for all of this, everything you see at TycoCollectors.com – it’s Shohei Suto, Founder and President of Taiyo Kogyo Co. Ltd. (Japan).
His company began manufacturing ‘Tin Toys’ in the 1970s seeing significant success, to the extent that even today the Taiyo brand is highly sought after by tin toy collectors, fetching prices often exceeding that of Taiyo R/C cars. It wasn’t until the late 1970s that Taiyo began experimenting in plastic-based radio controlled vehicles.
In a remarkable feat, they would become a world leader in this category, with the #1 selling Toy RC product in the world barely 5 years later!
The ‘Golden Age of Toy RC‘ between 1987 – 1992 produced RC toys that are commonly cited by middle-aged men and women in the 2020s as “my first RC”. These were the most successful toy radio controlled models ever produced, becoming household names, starring in TV shows, Christmas commercials, and were every bit as popular as Sega and Nintendo under the Christmas tree.
Those cars were predominantly produced by one company – Taiyo RC (Japan) who manufactured toys for the Japanese and European markets, and produced the same for the American company Tyco RC who would later become a part-owner of Taiyo, and would soon dominate the radio controlled toy market worldwide. The head of that company was Shohei Suto whose contributions down to the smallest details of his toys is well documented in the many patents that bare his name.
Sadly very little is known of the man and his company, and so this is a matter of ongoing research for TycoCollectors.com. It is reasonable to assume that Shohei Suto was directly involved in the design and engineering of the original Japanese versions of these models and many of the most popular Tyco RC (USA) RC cars, but sadly there’s not a lot of documented history that I can find on the company, though it does leave behind some patents, and a few tidbits of information on old archived places of the 90s internet.
Suto is named in U.S patents as inventor of at least the following products:
Fast Traxx
One of the most successful R/C toys of all time, the Fast Traxx remains highly popular and well regarded even today, over 30 years later!
Tyco Scorcher / Taiyo Cyclone
Almost as successful as the Fast Traxx, the Scorcher is nearly impossible to find in good condition today (despite gazillions being sold worldwide) simply because they were all played and played and played until destruction! The mark of a good toy, never left on the shelf to rot.
Fire Power
While Taiyo/Tyco made many misfires in the mid 90s with gimmick cars, the Fire Power and it’s cousin the Python are undeniably great toys. (Patent photos unavailable).
Bandit, Eliminator, and other RC Suspension components
Suto registered patents for the sophisticated suspension designs used in top-tier models, such as Bandit, Eliminator, 4WD Racing Pickup, etc. He also registered for drive units, steering, and other electro-mechanical elements of Taiyo / Tyco designs that made them unique in the market, with high quality, high performance at low cost due to his engineering smarts.
He truly was the father of Taiyo / Tyco RC.
Shown here at patents of the Tyco Hammer.
Not believed to have been directly designed by Suto, but relies upon his original work at Taiyo designing RC car suspension and control systems.
Taiyo the Company
Suto ran the Taiyo company with his wife as Vice President until the mid 90s when his ill health led him to step aside, selling the company to SEGA of Japan. Suto sadly passed away around 2006.
There are very few sources of information regarding Taiyo Kogyo Co. Ltd, though we’ll cover that in another article (or more likely YouTube video).
If you, or anyone you know can provide information about the company (with exception of the legal dispute, we’re aware of that), please contact me directly so I can help document Taiyo and Suto’s achievements before they are lost and forgotten forever.
Neil Tilbor and Michael G. Hetman
Named as inventors on patents for the following:
Tyco began heavily influencing Taiyo’s RC designs in the 90s after buying a stake in the company, with the US company now calling the shots in terms of design and product marketing.
Based on the many patents and other available records, Neil was heavily involved in the Taiyo to Tyco transformation, and directing the conceptualization and design of the new range of RC toys that Tyco would market across the 90s, both in a hands-on role, and making key strategic choices in terms of components, price and marketing, while leaving the actual engineering to the experts.
Neil appears to have retired in New Smyrna Beach Florida, and I wish him well if he’s out there. If he would like to talk to me (confidentially, or otherwise) about how these products came to be, and anything else on his mind, I’ve love to hear from him (admin@tycocollectors.com or contact us)
It’s clear that both Neil and Michael were fundamental to Tyco R/C in the 90s, and directly contributed to the dreams, experiences, and wonderful memories of millions of children all across the 90s. For that they will be remembered, and they should be proud.
Honorable Mentions
There were a few other inventors who worked with Tyco RC on popular (and/or infamous!) products.
Seth M. Chilton
– Python
Jonathan A. Jaffe
– Tantrum
Steven M. Menow
– Triple Wheels
Warren E. Bosch
– Triple Wheels
– Fire Power
