According to Iranian state radio, a local firm, seeking to capitalize on the frenzy that followed the crash of the RQ-170 — is now producing miniaturized toy versions of the craft. Most of the toys, which come in several colours and are made of Iranian plastic, have already been snapped up by Iranian government organizations, according to the group that manufactures them.
“We plan to send a full squadron of 12 to the White House for President Obama as a present,” said Reza Kioumarsi, a spokesman for the Aaye Art Group, a Tehran-based non-profit, non-governmental company that makes novelty items. The company is trying to determine what Obama’s favorite colour is before sending the drones, which are 1/80th the size of the real drone, Kioumarsi said.
“He said he wanted it back, and we will send him one,” said Kioumarsi.
Ayeh Art group designs “cultural products” — mugs with verses of the Koran printed on them, for instance, and small buttons picturing mosques. This month, the firm began producing a 1:80 scaled model of the RQ-170, the unmanned aircraft that crashed in eastern Iran. The firm is now making 2,000 of them a day. “This is not made in China,” Kioumarsi stressed.
There will be a special ceremony on February 1 marking the 34th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The specifications for the toy will be 30×14 cm and will be sold for $5. The toys come with a transparent plastic stand emblazoned with a quotation from Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic: “We will put America under our feet.”
The products made by Ayeh Art Group are not widely known in Tehran, but Kioumarsi said he was confident that the model drones would sell like hotcakes.
The Iranian government, meantime, has shown no indication that it will be returning the real RQ-170 to the United States. Last week, the Foreign Ministry demanded an apology first.
Source: The Washington Post
where can i purchase one?