Toy Autogyro Sculpture

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.