Favorite toys of yer youth

Alex

With the proximity of Christmas, tis given me ample opportunity to ogle the toy departments. I never knew they had such great stuff nowadays. There's all kinds of cool material from the latest GI Joe, Transformers, and Star Trek films. (I'm buying me a phaser and a Megan Fox action figure)

I thought it might be a decent topic to hear what toys others had in their glorious pasts. I know for some of you that is happening as we speak but I don't carry bitterness simply because you're taking your rightful turn.

For me, it was all about something called Star Wars which came out on my seventh birthday. I had the Falcon, the Vader carrying case, one of those Endor speeders and lots of figures. (But only one damn stormtrooper) X-( Even sent in a kellogs box top to get a free Emperor.

(If I knew how much original trilogy SW material would fetch now, I'd never have sold them) X-(

Agent_M

well I had a few star wars toys, my pride and joy was a large Darth Vader. I remember it being huge but it was probably only about 9 or 10 inches. I also had a few Transformers including a Jetfire and a Metroplex.

TonyDP

I was really into the Micronauts toy line. They were put out by Mego in the late 1970s and consisted of dozens of plastic and die-cast robots, vehicles, playsets and action figures with removable and interchangeable parts. They were really fun and imaginative toys and over the years I'd built up an almost complete set including some ultra-rare Italian pieces. I sold them all on eBay about 7 or 8 years ago for some good coin but I sometimes regret having parted with them.

Jarvio

I have a ridiculous amount of star wars figures in the cupboard somewhere, so I guess it'd have to be those

Barry Nelson

My favorite toy was probably a slot car race track I had, I believe it was 1/32 scale and I use to race the cars against my brother and dad. As I recall I would occasionally have power pack issues and the cars would die on the far reaches of the track. The key to wining the races was to know what car was least likely to die on the track. BTW this would have been around the late 1960's.

Sir Miles

Apart from getting lots of Action Men with tanks, jeeps and helicopters - my favourite toy for a couple of years was this Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle

Mr Martini

I'd have to say the game boy I had in my early teens was entertaining. I also had a toy called Construx. I see it's owned by Fisher-Price, but don't think FP owned them when I had the sets as a child (maybe they did. ?:) ) Anyone, lots of fun rainy Saturdays were fun building different things with those.

Hardyboy

Tony is a man after my own heart. In the 1970s I had almost every Mego toy--beginning with the World's Greatest Superheroes, then the Star Trek collection (how I loved that play set!), ending up with the Micronauts line. Mego went out of business not long after I got too old for it; somehow, that seems appropriate.

Barbel

Major Matt Mason, Mattel's Man in Space!

Pendragon

action figures of all types. super heroes, star wars, random ones my folks brought home...

I was a fan of making little houses in trees and on the ground and then making like my figures lived in them...

my favorite structure was an EPIC Ewok village that my Dad and I built in one of our trees. it was like, 5 levels high, all held together with twine.

Loeffelholz

Barbel wrote:

Major Matt Mason, Mattel's Man in Space!

Had it! B-) And also the lunar crawler thingie...and a space capsule...

The biggest problem with MMM was that, after he'd been bent and posed a few times, the wire underneath grew brittle, and he wouldn't pose any more*...also, his painted-on spacesuit started to flake and peel eventually...

* _{I'm about at this point in my crappy day job} )

Agent_M

I remember having one doll that looked a bit like the six million dollar man but had hooks for hands I even had a van for him that had a ships wheel instead of a steering wheel anyone remember what the hell that was all about?

Jamesbondjr

My favourite toys when I was young were M.A.S.K. they were very popular in the early to mid 80s with a cartoon series and comics.

asio

Whilst not my favourite toy, I did own a Flash Super Powers action figure (I was an 80's kid).

I'll never forget him, because one day I lost him whilst playing under the house, and then we moved before I had the chance to capture him back.
If I can still fit under the house at my old place, he might still be there... ?

Napoleon Plural

Two kept me dangling on a string. The first was the glorious pink Lady Penelope Car from Thunderbirds. Okay, it would have got damaged early on and I was never actually into the series... my interest was piqued just as it was discontinued and I have never actually perchased it... though I can pick one up for £200 or so on eBay.

The same with the James Bond Aston Martin. Elusive from the ages of five to eight when my interest was at its zentih. X-( It had been discontinued, but someone at school might have one with all the gadgets including the tyre slashers and revolving numberplate. At last the toy shop said they had one 'in stock' and I showed up, only to find it was the Lotus Esprit James Bond car, which was a bit rubbish because the gagets were a half-way house. Eventually a year later the Aston Martin got a release sans tyre slashers and revolving number plate and I was sated.

Less hassle over the Batmobile, a great toy and everyone had one.

Alex

I remember my plastic army men. One assortment of green colored American infantrymen, the other grey colored German. For some reason I played with the Axis powers figures more. They looked cooler. Then I cindered them up with firecrackers.

http://www.e-moka.net/contenuti/images/debian_toy_story/big/sid-2.jpg

toutbrun

All about THUNDERBIRDS

I had a costume and their secret lair with all vehicules. Both were destroyed by time and myself, so this year I bought part of the TAKARA kits. It's a wonderfull reproduction, but it's very expensive...

Rainier Wolfcastle

After reading Napoleon's post I had to check the "Who was James Bond when you were born" thread to look if I could find out his age - his favourite toys are so similar. Was not too surprised that we were born the same year! :007) (And have the same taste regarding Bond actors :v )

As a child I liked Lego and my grandpa's N-scale trains but die-cast cars always were my favourite toys.
I generally preferred Corgi Toys over Matchbox or Dinky but the TV-related Dinky models were very attractive, too. I had some Corgi and Dinky catalogues from a few years back, and to dream of playing with those toys (which were no longer available in the stores) was exciting.

I got Lady Penelope's pink Rolls-Royce but wished I would get the Thunderbird 2, the Captain Scarlet cars, the UFO interceptor and SHADO 2 mobile and the other Gerry Anderson vehicles. I didn't know the TV shows as they were never shown in Austria (or much later) but the design of the vehicles was superb.

As Dinky was more difficult to obtain in stores here, I got a lot of Corgi cars instead, so cannot really complain. Of course the James Bond DB5 had long been my favourite, and around 1976 I got my first 007 toy - the 270 Aston Martin (in its later form with Whizzwheels; without tyre slashers and revolving number plates which was a little disappointing when compared to the car in the older catalogue).
A year or two later I got the Lotus Esprit, my favourite Bond car although not my favourite Corgi model. I prefer the DB5 and Toyota 2000GT. I liked the Esprit but the fins would not stay retracted on mine.

I am still collecting 007 model cars from Minichamps, Autoart, Kyosho etc. but Corgi toys from the 1960's/70's remain my favourites.

Sir Miles

Alex wrote:

I remember my plastic army men.

I had 100's of these too, Alex. Many boxes of the differing regiments - I used to set them out all over my bedroom (or the front room) and play with them for hours )

Napoleon Plural

Cheers Rainier Wolfcastle! You seem to have been luckier than I in your purchases. But the idea of getting the Toyota from YOLT seems like some kind of fantasy for me; if only those models were available freely in the UK back then; the autogyro for instance that is easy enough to pick up now.

I went off the toys when I was about 11 and Corgi introduced stuff like the Superman van, a grey box like vehicle with little or nothing to do with the movie save a pic of the cartoon superman on the side and a cardboard computer room on the inside. I agree the Thunderbird designs were wonderful.