Micro Action Jets - A Collector's Guide

The “Micro Action Helicopter Base” play set looks like a small book when closed. The play set itself is made of thin plastic and is held closed with a velcro fastener. Funrise made several other play sets in this same format (including a “Micro Action Air Base” ). While these different sets utilized the same pieces, the deco on the inside was changed.   NOTE: The photos below are used with the kind permission of the person I purchased this set from,  Beachcityphotographer   Front of closed play set (the back is plain white)     Spine of closed play set     Top of closed play set (same decal used on bottom)   Opening and unfolding the play set reveals the helicopter base...     The large, blue plastic parking ramp can be removed and is marked "(C) FUNRISE 1988 MADE IN CHINA" on the underside.   The example I own was purchased loose and came with the following parts: 1 pair of gas pumps 1 ramp/bridge 2 t...

In addition to Galoob and Funrise, the Imperial Toy Corporation also produced a line of micro vehicles (including military jets) in the late 1980’s. Unlike the competition, Imperial made their vehicles out of die-cast metal and called them “Steel Screamers.” But Imperial’s metal planes had one big thing in common with the competition: they’re the same sculpts as the competition. Imperial appears to have used jets from both Galoob and Funrise to create their line. I’m not sure if Imperial somehow acquired the molds the other two companies used to make the jets or if Imperial made new molds from the toys themselves, but as you can plainly see below, Imperial’s jets are identical in sculpt to those produced by Galoob and Funrise. Even the deco used is often similar to the originals. Imperial did make one significant change by altering the wheels/landing gear and adding a small, functional axle with two wheels to the nose of each jet allowing them to actually roll around. Imperial produ...

Name (as shown on packaging): Kaman SH-2F Seasprite Versions: 1 Color Scheme: bluish gray Left Side: star and stripes, “NAVY” Right Side: star and stripes, “NAVY” Date Stamp: None Size comparison to other Funrise Micro Action aircraft

Name (as shown on packaging): Bell AH-1J Sea Cobra Versions: 1 Color Scheme: olive green Left Side: star and stripes, “MARINES” and “SM” on tail Right Side: star and stripes, “MARINES” and “SM” on tail Date Stamp: None Size comparison to other Funrise Micro Action aircraft

Name (as shown on packaging): Sikorsky SH-60 Sea Hawk (sic) Versions: 1 Color Scheme: dark bluish gray Left Side: star and stripes, “NAVY” Right Side: star and stripes, “NAVY” Date Stamp: None Size comparison to other Funrise Micro Action aircraft

Name (as shown on packaging): Kamov KA34 Hokum Gunship Versions: 1 Color Scheme: light tannish gray with darker camouflage spots Left Side: red star Right Side: red star Date Stamp: None Size comparison to other Funrise Micro Action aircraft

Name (as shown on packaging): MIL MI-24 HIND-D Versions: 1 Color Scheme: green with beige camouflage spots Left Side: red star Right Side: red star Date Stamp: None Size comparison to other Funrise Micro Action aircraft

Funrise made some of their single-axle jets in a color-changing plastic. I do not have any examples in my collection but have seen some in online auctions. They were supposed to change color in warm and cold water. The packaging photos all show greenish jets that change to a yellowish color. Despite the photos on the packaging, the actual jets I’ve seen appear white in color, almost like glow-in-the-dark plastic. I’m not sure if this is due to a degradation of the color changing plastic or if they were originally this strange white color. To date, I’ve only seen 4-packs of the color changing jets and all packages were marked “1988.” The following jets are pictured on the back of the packaging (those marked with an asterisk I can confirm as being produced as color changers): A-4 Skyhawk* F-4 Phantom* F-10A Thunderbolt II F-14A Tomcat F-15 Eagle* F-16A Fighting Falcon F/A-18 Hornet F-19 Stealth* SR-71A Blackbird* MIG 21bis Fishbed* MIG 238N Flogger* TU-26 Backfire Bomber* ...

Funrise produced eight different military helicopters and I have seven of them in my collection (I’m still missing the Apache). They seem to be much less common than the jets and they seem like they’d be more easily broken than the jets. While they lack wheels they do have main rotors that turn. Two of the ones that I have (the Lynx and the Defender) came packaged with a version of the aircraft carrier playset. The helicopters seem to lack any manufacturer/date markings. The names of the eight helicopters are listed below as they are shown on packaging, errors and all... American: Kaman SH-2F Seasprite McDonald (sic) Model-500 Defender AH-64 Apache Sikorsky SH-60 Sea Hawk (sic) Bell AH-1J Sea Cobra Soviet: MIL MI-24 HIND-D Kamov KA34 Hokum Gunship British: Westland Lynx

Funrise produced this large transport helicopter "playset" for use with its line of Micro Action cars and trucks. While not really intended for or very compatible with the Micro Action jets/helicopters, I thought I would include it here as it is a Funrise aircraft itself. The version I have in my collection was packaged in a a white box with a black and white photo of the contents on one side. While I cannot say for certain, this type of simple box was often used by companies for merchandise sold via catalog (rather than the more eye-catching packaging used for merchandise sold in retail stores). The helicopter came with 24 various Micro Action cars and trucks (I've not photographed them as of yet but they are pictured on the box). These vehicles could be loaded into the helicopter via a variety of opening hatches and doors. There were two large hatches on either side (behind the cockpit), two smaller hatches on either side (in the tail) and a door/ramp at the rear o...