My dad got into RC planes somewhere around 1980. He always had Tower Hobbies catalogs laying around. I wore the pages out looking at RC cars. But the Big Bear was a TV ad. I remember saving up the money, watching anxiously for the ad so I could write down the address, and sending off the money...
I had a Marui Big Bear. The plastic spur in them was made out of candle wax. I replaced it 5 times, and back in the 80's, that wasn't an easy thing to do. Send off a money order, and wait. And if I remember correctly, they were $4.62 each. That was a bit of money to come up with for a 13 year...