When I was little, I just couldn’t do without my toy airplanes. They were what my primitive child mind considered a necessity, before I learned about carbohydrates, water, protein, and– you get the idea. It was my favorite toy, and every single day, I got some out of my massive box of them and frolicked around with them.
Now, the jets didn’t have anything real special, like voices, flashy lights, sound effects, and that sort of stuff. That, though, is how they appeared superficially. In my mind, while I was playing with them, a group of tiny F-14 Tomcats was a crucial component of a carrier air wing, poised to defend the country and the task force from any potential hazards, not some small piece of metal or plastic with a paint job slapped on it. A toy P-51 Mustang was the aircraft of a decorated American ace, and I spent some time with it downing make-believe Nazi fighters.
Those planes remain as one of my favorite toys of my childhood, and I played with them for several years. Unfortunately for the planes, some broke from simple wear and tear, while others were destroyed when I accidentally dropped them, turning to pieces like a real jet falling from the sky and crashing in a fiery explosion. I still think of those planes that simply vanished from my collection, which are probably gathering dust, getting soaked, and possibly rusting in some random location, almost like a decommissioned military plane sitting in a scrapyard.
They wouldn’t be forgotten, though.
At some other point in my life, I discovered these awesome paper models of famous fighter jets, and the best part? They could actually soar in the skies, which the toy planes could only dream of truly doing. I got a few models and assembled them, in memory of the old toy airplanes I played with when I was a kid.
Citation: CLASSIC DIECAST AIRPLANE LOT 52 PLANES ERTL MATCHBOX TOOTSIE TOY ZEE MILITARY COMMERCIAL WINGS. 2010. VintageToys.com, n.p.
Three of my paper jets :).
I really like the way you explained the way you played with your toy jets and the vivid imagery you used like,”…a real jet falling from the sky and crashing in a fiery explosion.” I also liked the way you posted pictures so readers could actually see the planes. It allows us to imagine the wars much more easily. When I was little, I loved to play with Legos. Every day, I would dump all of my Legos on the ground and build fortresses to protect my Lego men against the oncoming Lego army. Now, all of my Legos are sitting in the garage gathering dust. But when I was little, my Legos were the number one toy I had to have.
I think that you did a very good job of showing that the planes had been special to you. I really liked the imagery (and the images) in the post, as well as that one line, “They wouldn’t be forgotten, though.” Great post.
“In my mind, while I was playing with them, a group of tiny F-14 Tomcats was a crucial component of a carrier air wing, poised to defend the country and the task force from any potential hazards, not some small piece of metal or plastic with a paint job slapped on it.”
Of course. Imagination is wonderful, isn’t it? You capture its power in the words you chose, contrasting those strong adjectives and verbs with the ones you chose to characterize the reality. Well done.