The Cox Shrike

The Cox Shrike Timeline

About fours years ago (wow that long) I was sorting out two yellow shrikes with a view to make a good one and use the worst body for a special.
I noticed that, although they looked the same, there were subtle differences in the moulding and that started the search to see just how many versions of the Cox Shrike there were.
Man did that turn into a mission. I finished getting all the versions I know of about a year back, but documenting them all has been a mission in itself. I think I’ve got as far as I can get so now need some help to finish it off.
I know there will be mistakes and errors in it but hopefully these can corrected through the forum members vast bank of knowledge.
The dates I have listed for each version is the year, or years, it appeared in a Cox Product catalogue. Where I couldn’t confirm that I have added a question mark. Also the version, body type numbering and designations I have used are not official, just what I made up for my own clarification.

The COX SHRIKE Catalogue #9100
Version 0ne:

Yellow No 5 1968


Type 1 Body: First shown as Box-art in 1968 Cox Product Catalogue.
Red No 5 decals on rear wheel spats with oval Cox decals on the upper rear of the wheel spats.
Canopy dark blue.

No Roll Bar slots or cross reinforcing in rear wheel spats.


Shrike Cockpit


Steel axles with horseshoe shaped clips for wheel retention. Yellow wheel hubs, front hubs chrome finish which Is not all that resistant to glow fuel.


Rounded profile ribbed front tyres and square profile block-tread rear tyres.
Engine: Cox .049 Baby Bee with three bladed non safety tip pusher prop with pink rubber spinner
         
Version Two:
Yellow No 8: 1969?


Same Box Art as previous year.

Type 1A Body: No Roll Bar slots in body but now with cross reinforcing in rear wheel spats.


Red No 8 decals on rear wheel spats with oval Cox decals now inside faint raised ovals on the upper rear of the wheel spats. Otherwise the same as previous year.



Version Three:
Yellow No 8: 1970?

Same Box Art as previous years


Type 1B Body: As type 1A but now with Roll Bar slots in rear wheel spats for aluminium roll bar.
Otherwise the same as previous year.

All Shrikes from here on have an aluminium roll bar until the very last Shrikes (version Ten) which had a Red plastic Roll bar.
         

Version Four:

Green: 1971



Type 1C Body: Colour Chartreuse Green. Pictured in 1971 and 1972 product catalogues
New Box Art.
Strip decals with Shrike bird on purple and white back-ground on rear wheel spats and now with oval Cox decals located inside faint raised ovals on either side of body behind the canopy. These ovals, along with those on the rear wheel spats, continue until the end of Shrike production.
Note: The oval decals in the 1971 Cox Catalogue show a black border. All the existing photos of actual production Shrikes of this version I have seen so far, including the 1972 Cox catalogue, do not show that black border.
Canopy light blue. Steel axles with horseshoe shaped clips for wheel retention. Green wheel hubs, front hubs chrome finish. Rounded profile ribbed front tyres and square profile block-tread rear tyres.
Engine: Cox .049 Baby Bee with three bladed non safety tip pusher prop with green rubber spinner

Version five:

Green: 1973


Type 1C Body: Colour Chartreuse Green. Shown in 1973, 1974 and 1975 catalogues
Basically identical to previous version except for decals
Strip decals with Cox wording and green, white and blue stripes on rear wheel spats. No oval Cox decals on either side of body behind canopy although the faint raised ovals are present.
Canopy light blue. Steel axles with horseshoe shaped clips for wheel retention. Green wheel hubs, front hubs chrome finish. Rounded profile ribbed front tyres and square profile block-tread rear tyres.
Engine: Cox .049 Baby Bee with three bladed non safety tip pusher prop with green rubber spinner.
Note: I have seen some NIB green Shrikes with a red rubber spinner so I guess it depended on stock availability at the time.


Version Six:

Red: Year of introduction?


Type 1C Body: Colour Red
Strip decals with blue Shrike bird and red stripe on white background on rear wheel spats with Cox squared white on red decals on either side of body behind canopy. 5 screws holding body together now crosshead
Canopy dark blue. Red plastic axles with horseshoe shaped clips for wheel retention. Red wheel hubs front and rear. Square profile softer compound ribbed tyres front and rear. These seem to have a tendency to split with many new still in box shrikes seen with split front tyres.



New type wheels and axle with earlier wheels on right



Engine: Cox .049 Baby Bee with three bladed non safety tip pusher prop with red rubber spinner.
To date I have not been able to find this colour version pictured in any Cox publication.
No Shrike pictured in Product Catalogues 1976, 77, 78 or 79.

Note: The frontal area of the Shrike body is what I refer to as the hammerhead.
The sides of the hammerhead are parallel on all versions up until 1981 where they are tapered which was done to enable the steerable front wheels for the R/C Shrike. So far, all the Red Shrikes I have seen (on both Hammerhead styles) have plastic axles instead of the previous steel and later models have circular speed washers in place of the normal horseshoe circlips for retaining the wheels.

Version Seven:
Black R/C 1981


R/C Shrike: (pictured in 1981 catalogue)
Type 2 Body: Colour Black. New body mould now with profile driver, internal changes for housing R/C gear, including hole in belly pan recess for on/off switch and tapered hammerhead accommodating steerable front wheels operated by a single channel Sanwa/Cox Unit.


Alloy Roll Bar. Silver/chrome and red strip decal with RC Shrike wording on rear wheel spats with Cox Silver/chrome and Red squared decals on either side of body behind canopy. Silver/chrome trim decal along each side on the belly pan
Canopy dark red. Black plastic axles. Black wheel hubs, front hubs have mag wheel type trim with chrome finish.
Square profile softer compound ribbed tyres front and rear. Front tyres are larger in width than non-R/C Shrikes.
Engine: Cox .049 Baby Bee (8cc silver tank) with three bladed non safety tip pusher prop and Red rubber spinner.

Note: The tapered Hammerhead front ends have two round spigots moulded as part of the upper body that act as the pivot points for the steering mechanism. On the R/C Shrike these spigots appear vulnerable to frontal impact and it is not unusual to find them repaired, broken or missing altogether.
That fragile front end pictured below with a broken spigot on the left-hand side

           
It is also interesting to note the the R/C version in the 81 Cox catalogue picture above has a hard wire aerial exiting the RHS of the body. All production R/C Shrikes I have seen, including new in box, have a flexible aerial wire exiting the upper body by the left-hand rear wheel spat.


The same picture also shows the red tether version with the larger front wheels and chrome trim as fitted to the R/C version.
I have never come across this version either. These may have been pre-production mock-ups for the photo shoot.                        
It has also been said that the R/C Shrike came in Red but I have yet to see a genuine one.
They are usually just the R/C Gear transferred to the red version 5 Shrike body. The easy tell-tale is the black steerable front axle which also has to be used as they were never made in red to the best of my knowledge.


Version eight:
Red 1981


Type 2 Body: Tapered Hammerhead. (pictured in 1981 catalogue)
This non-R/C Red Shrike tapered Hammerhead body is identical, including front spigots, R/C gear mounts and hole in the belly pan for the on/off switch and small hole in the upper body for R/C aerial, to the R/C Black version.

   
Plastic front axle with horseshoe shaped clips for wheel retention and it is non-steerable. It is not interchangeable with any of the earlier Shrikes although it could be fitted to the black R/C Shrike if desired. Red plastic rear axle with horseshoe shaped clips for wheel retention.


 Red wheel hubs with square profile soft compound ribbed tyres front and rear. Alloy Roll Bar. Canopy dark blue. Strip decals with blue and white Shrike bird and red stripe on white background on rear wheel spats with Cox squared white on red decals on either side of body behind canopy.
Engine: Cox .049 Baby Bee with three bladed safety tip pusher prop with red rubber spinner.        


Version Nine:
Red: Year of introduction 1982??


Type 2A Body: Alloy Roll bar, Plastic Roll Bar, Tapered Hammerhead.
This body version is identical to the previous version five type 2 body with the exception that the holes for the on/off switch and R/C aerial are gone.  One could assume perhaps (always dangerous) that the R/C version was no longer being made while the tether version continued.
       
Comparisons between Body type 1C parallel Hammerhead (left) and body type 2A tapered Hammerhead


Canopy dark blue.  Red plastic wheel hubs with square profile soft compound ribbed tyres front and rear.
Red plastic axles with circular speed washers in place of the horseshoe circlips for retaining the wheels.


Decals now have Large Shrike bird on rear wheel spats with Cox round white on red decals on either side of body behind canopy. Supplementary decal sheet with numerals 0 -5, helpline phone number and body trim supplied along with the usual accessories.
Engine: Cox .049 Baby Bee with three bladed safety tip pusher prop with red rubber spinner

Version Ten:
Red: 1994