A guide to buying Harold the helicopter toys

Of the various helicopter characters in the world of animation or cartoons, Harold the Helicopter is probably one of the most amusing and friendliest, making him a great favourite of kids amongst all the other helicopter toys in the market. Harold the Helicopter comes from the Railway Series created by father and son pair-up of Reverend Wilbert Awdry and Christopher Audry. The books, however, are better known as Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends due to its TV adaptation.

Who is Harold the Helicopter?

Like Thomas the Tank Engine and other characters of the series, Harold the Helicopter lives on the island of Sodor. He is especially proud of his flying abilities, which makes him more versatile and faster than other characters on the land.
Harold's mission The Coastguard owns Harold the Helicopter, and he lives along the branch line of Thomas’s railway, specifically at the Dryaw Airfield. As a coastguard helicopter, it is Harold’s job to perform rescue missions whenever needed and monitor the island for any signs of trouble. Personality of Harold The personality of Harold the Helicopter is likened to a Royal Air Force pilot in the 1940s and 1950s, which should explain why he tends to use old-fashioned terms like 'wizard' in his dialogue.
Helicopter design The helicopter design itself, however, is based on UK’s Sikorsky S-55, which is considered one of the most successful of the various first-generation designs for helicopters. Known as the Westland Whirlwind in the UK, it was given designations such as HAR 1 and HAR 3, which could be where the name ‘Harold’ came from. TV adaptation In the TV adaptation of the series, Harold the Helicopter is not owned by the coastguard, but by Sodor’s Search & Rescue Centre instead. He also lives in a different place, with the series taking him from Dryaw Airfield into The Misty Island Tunnel of the Rescue Centre.

Harold the Helicopter toys

Wooden helicopter One of the most popular Harold the Helicopter toys in the market is its wooden helicopter version, which is designed to be a part of the Thomas Wooden Railway System. It does not resemble therefore, any toys belonging to the Thomas Take Along system. Features The wooden Harold the Helicopter toy boasts of a realistic design and spinning rotor blades that are sure to impress your child, along with its durable paint to withstand the usual wear-and-tear that comes with preschool play. A final word Another version of Harold the Helicopter was also produced by its manufacturer as part of the Take-n-Play system, which is characterised by having portable play sets for its vehicles.