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All Spain Ibi Toy Autogyro Sculpture

Toy Autogyro Sculpture

This fantastic sculpture of an early model helicopter celebrates the local toy industry.

Ibi, Spain

Added By
Alan Newman
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The sculpture in the traffic roundabout.   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
The sculpture in the traffic roundabout.   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
The toy autogyro in the Old Payá Toy Factory museum.   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
An autogyro aircraft, 1961.   NASA/public domain
In the sun light   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
  abogadapascualaguilar / Atlas Obscura User
Autogiro in the roundabout   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The town of Ibi in Alicante is the center of toy manufacturing in Spain, responsible for some 40 percent of the country’s toy production. Throughout the town are numerous public artworks that celebrate the importance of this local industry, which dates back to 1905. The town's visitor information office is even in the form of a toy train.

One of the most striking examples of Ibi's toy-themed public art is found on the traffic roundabout in town. It is a sculpture of an emblematic toy autogyro made by the Ibi-based manufacturer Rico in the early 1930s. Inspired by the autogyro aircraft invented by the Spanish aeronautical scientist Juan de la Cierva, the toy was one of the earliest toy models of a rotary winged aircraft. The toys were made in lithographed tinplate with a clockwork mechanism. One of these tinplate toys also takes pride of place in the town's toy museum, the Old Payá Toy Factory.

A massively oversized reproduction of the toy can be found in the Ibi traffic roundabout, one of the busiest entrances to the town. This amazing fiberglass sculpture has a 15-foot wingspan and is 13 feet long. It was unveiled on October 31, 2018, along with a commemorative plaque. 

Related Tags

Toys Aircraft Sculptures Industrial Local History

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Located on the roundabout that regulates the traffic on Juan Carlos I Avenue, the road from which traffic enters from the east.

Community Contributors

Added By

Dr Alan P Newman

Edited By

Xavixavir, Meg, abogadapascualaguilar

  • Xavixavir
  • Meg
  • abogadapascualaguilar

Published

June 5, 2019

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Toy Autogyro Sculpture
1 Av. de Juan Carlos I
Ibi
Spain
38.626638, -0.567515
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Ibi

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