Seats: '85 MBT Mauler
Rotors: Playmobil ??? on glue cap for stem, topped w Playmobil hat
All Else: '14 Animal Planet Helicopter

About Big Bad Chopper:

Remco released The Bad Guys Big Bad Chopper as the air vehicle for its villains. When I was nine it was an amazing toy, the hybrid of Vietnam-era Bell UH-1 Iroguois ("Huey") and the Bell Jet Ranger. As an adult, though, I'm not as impressed because it's just too deformed. The two person cockpit of either real world helicopter had been squished into one seater.

The other Sgt. Rock vehicles/playsets hold up, but The Bad Guys Big Bad Chopper doesn't. Sometimes old vehicles meet the nostalgic goalposts- like Tonka's Turbo Prop plane. Sadly, this isn't the case here.

The Big Bad Chopper may have been a second year product out of Remco's development for the Sgt. Rock/The Bad Guys lines. Sgt. Rock figures/vehicles were essentially repainted in black and recycled as The Bad Guys. I can't find a Sgt. Rock (good guys) version of this helicopter anywhere, so I'm not sure if was only used for The Bad Guys characters in the early 80's. The playset also included several static Bad Guys figures, which was a sly army building technique Hasbro could have tried with Cobra.

Remco recycled the mold in the late 80's for lines like Commando Force and American Defense.

Design:

The original helicopter wasn't exactly a real helicopter, and I don't think this one is, either. It's just a nicely done Animal Planet Helicopter made by Chap Mei. It's likely been released in several color schemes for various sets over the years, but that's a guess. It's a fine stand-in for the original helicopter.

The Chap Mei helicopter that I bought came in a lot, and lacked its rotors. The Playmobil ones are slightly undersized, but get the job done anyway.

Sculpting & Modifying:

The only thing I changed was the seating of the cockpit. Chap Mei had a one seat piece, but I modified the two seater from the Mauler to replace it. A little chopping here and there and it slid in nicely. The Chap Mei seat will get used down the road for another project.

The modification works well for ARAH and Jonny Quest figures, but it's too cramped for 25A figures.

Although I was fussy about making this into a two seat flight deck, I didn't feel compelled to add any seats/benches to the cargo area.

Colors & Paint:

Based on the Remco version. As an Animal Planet chopper, it has some blue parts. I left those blue because it matches the blue used on some of the Bad Guys/the customs of them I'll be making.

Thanks for looking.