Unique Art Sky Rangers

This is a wonderful toy. Sky Rangers by Unique Art. I think it’s from the late 1940s or early 1950s, but might be a bit earlier. I know the German firm Bing made a similar toy in the early 1930s, and Lionel made an electric version in the mid 1930s.
Here’s another picture:

The operation of this Unique Art toy is pretty simple. The plane goes on one end of the wire, the blimp goes on the other. The blimp is a counter weight. Then the lithographed plane is wound up. The two airships then move around the tower.
Here’s the Sky Ranger’s plane up close:

Here’s a close up of the Sky Ranger blimp:

Here’s a link to see Unique Art Sky Rangers on eBay
I found a video on Youtube of one of these running. Here it is:
| US $399.00 End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 17:34:45 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $399.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
Unique Art Co. tin toy "Sky Ranger" airship
| US $15.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Aug-03-2010 13:58:06 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list |
1930S UNIQUE ART TIN LITHO SKY RANGERS AIRPLANE PLANE
| US $24.99 End Date: Friday Aug-06-2010 13:39:48 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $24.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
VINTAGE 1930'S UNIQUE ART SKY RANGERS TIN TOY BLIMPS
| US $160.00 End Date: Friday Aug-20-2010 9:25:28 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $160.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
