What were your favorite toys and gifts?

[Ivan Seeking]

The holidays got me thinking about toys and some of my Christmas favorites. I think my battery operated, self-propelled, talking and lighted Lost in Space robot was an all time favorite. My first walkie talkies were very cool, and I spent who knows how many hours looking at stuff through my microscope [a toy really]. We also had these battery powered trucks called Johnny Electric...or something like that, that my friends and I spend many hours driving around a dirt lot. These were like big RC trucks but without the RC. They were WC.

 

[mezarashi]

Wow, I can't really remember all the gifts I've got in the past. I don't think I ever really valued 'toys' (the conventional type). Maybe it was how I was brought up or something else. Alot of my 'toys' were home-made with things found around the house.

But I did get some presents that were memorable, like my first astronomy book and also this ultra-fun (at that time atleast) math quiz calculator. I remember wearing the keys out >.< Ah, thinking of the past makes you feel old.

 

[Mk]

My first pair of socks. I still wear them. On my thumbs.

 

[wolram]

An apple and an orange, maybe some nuts and a turkey banger for dinner

 

[dx]

Batman action figures and my nintendo.

 

[Artman]

GI Joe space capsule and space suit! I still have it (although it has some broken pieces). The year I got it, I remember sitting and watching the Christmas tree lights reflected in the plastic canopy.

One of my favorite presents was just a cheap little lighted magnifying glass. I played with that for hours and hours.

I got a 3" reflecting telescope one year, which started my interest in astronomy. I still have that too (also has some broken pieces, I was tough on things).

One year my brother and I got some WC cars. They were fun. I took mine apart and used the motor and steering mechanism for other projects. Like I said, I was tough on things.

 

[hypatia]

A little science lab geogology/mineral kit, I think I was around 8. lol I would put on a oversized lab coat and walk the neighborhood. Doing inspections of peoples yards for alien rocks which might of come from Mars.

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

Luxury! When ah were a lad ah got a lump o' coal an' a smack 'round the 'ead... an ah were GRAIRTFUL!

 

[hypnagogue]

One word. Transformers.

 

[hypnagogue]

The transformers catchphrase was "More than meets the eyes." I don't recall doing this, but my father tells me when I was very young I used to pronounce it with a very earnest air, "Morgan eats the eyes."

 

[Artman]

Luxury! When ah were a lad ah got a lump o' coal an' a smack 'round the 'ead... an ah were GRAIRTFUL!

You got smacked in the head a lot, didn't you ElHI?

 

[Artman]

A little science lab geogology/mineral kit, I think I was around 8. lol I would put on a oversized lab coat and walk the neighborhood. Doing inspections of peoples yards for alien rocks which might of come from Mars.

Oh, this is too cute.

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

You got smacked in the head a lot, didn't you ElHI?

Aye, AN' IT NE'ER DID ME ANY 'ARM!

 

[Astronuc]

I think my battery operated, self-propelled, talking and lighted Lost in Space robot was an all time favorite.

I go the same toy, probably in the same year.

Then there were some smaller space robots.

Erector sets and pieces were fun. We also had Meccano.

I was into model trains (HO, primarily Athearn) ,and so getting a new locomotive or freight cars, especially unique ones, was great.

Like hypatia, I got a mineral set one year, and for one birthday, I received a microsope - I spent a lot of time looking at small things.

Back around 4-5th grade, my parents bought me Van Nostrand's Scientific Encylopedia - and I still have it. That was one of my main sources of inspiration in study science and math.

 

[BobG]

Favorite: A box of chalk. A box of chalk, a cement driveway, and a sunny day and I was set. A couple of us used to go a little overboard in creating entire cities of roadways, even naming all the streets.

Number two: A highway set, where you snap the various pieces of the road together. You could make city roads with four-way, three-way intersections, overpasses, cloverleaf exits for the interstate, etc. I even began accumulating buildings to make my cities more than just a map.

(If Sim City had been around when I was a kid, I probably never would have seen the light of day.)

Third favorite was an erector set. The electric motor that could be used to power an elevator, vehicle, etc. was nicest touch.

 

[Math Is Hard]

When I was about 5, I wanted this toy called an "Inchworm" more than anything in the world. It was this kid-sized vehicle that looked like a friendly, plastic, green worm on wheels, and you powered the thing by bouncing up and down on it. It had been on TV and there was a fun little song in the commercial that I went around singing. When we went to see Santa I told him that was exactly what I wanted for Christmas.

Christmas morning came and I opened up my presents. No inchworm. Shoot! Oh, well. Maybe next year. Then Mom took me over to my grandparents' house to have Christmas dinner. Grandpa started saying that there was this funny green thing out on the lawn and he figured Santa must have left it there by mistake. I ran to the window and there it was - the INCHWORM! My eyes were like saucers. I started screaming at the top of my lungs -
IT'S MINE! IT'S MINE!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I got the same toy, probably in the same year.

From the Sears catalog?

 

[Astronuc]

From the Sears catalog?

Possibly, or my parents simply bought it at Sears. That was sometime around the mid-60's.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

On my 4th birthday, I got a big red tricycle. I remember my reaction upon seeing it as if it were yesterday (it was 51 years ago). I not only loved the toy, but I really felt my parents' love.

 

[Evo]

The transformers catchphrase was "More than meets the eyes." I don't recall doing this, but my father tells me when I was very young I used to pronounce it with a very earnest air, "Morgan eats the eyes."

My little sister has every transformer that McDonalds had with their happy meals. I loved those things.

 

[Evo]

When I was about 5, I wanted this toy called an "Inchworm" more than anything in the world. It was this kid-sized vehicle that looked like a friendly, plastic, green worm on wheels, and you powered the thing by bouncing up and down on it. It had been on TV and there was a fun little song in the commercial that I went around singing. When we went to see Santa I told him that was exactly what I wanted for Christmas.
Christmas morning came and I opened up my presents. No inchworm. Shoot! Oh, well. Maybe next year. Then Mom took me over to my grandparents' house to have Christmas dinner. Grandpa started saying that there was this funny green thing out on the lawn and he figured Santa must have left it there by mistake. I ran to the window and there it was - the INCHWORM! My eyes were like saucers. I started screaming at the top of my lungs -
IT'S MINE! IT'S MINE!

That's so cute!

I bought my oldest (the spawn of Evo) a bubble frog. It was a big green frog riding toy that as she rode around in it, bubbles would come out of it's head. Why don't they make toys like that for grown ups?

 

[Kazza_765]

I got a physics kit. I remember doing experiments with dad when I was really young, must have been about 7 or 8. I don't remember a lot, but I clearly remember learning about momentum at that age. It had a little flat car, and you would put a weight on top of it, then run it into an obstacle, and the weight would fly off. Oh, and I remember dropping two different weights and seeing that they fall at the same speed, and shooting a coin off a table and dropping another at the same time to show they both fall the same.

My other favourite was Leggo Technic. I built my own remote control car using switches and electric motors from Tandy (radioshack equivalent), because the motors that came from Leggo were way too expensive.

Lol, no wonder I'm studying Engineering/Science now.

 

[edward]

The toy I remember the most was a RADIO FLYER WAGON. I think I was about six or seven. I do remember that I could not get one until WWII was over. There were a few available but my dad thought that it was unpatriotic to use that much steel in a toy during war time.

I used to love to take things apart to see what made them work, and sometimes I didn't always get the old wind up toys back toghether again.
But the old Radio flyer was indestructible and perfect for that.

Of course this was in the days BP (before plastic)

 

[Astronuc]

I got a physics kit. I remember doing experiments with dad when I was really young, must have been about 7 or 8. I don't remember a lot, but I clearly remember learning about momentum at that age. It had a little flat car, and you would put a weight on top of it, then run it into an obstacle, and the weight would fly off. Oh, and I remember dropping two different weights and seeing that they fall at the same speed, and shooting a coin off a table and dropping another at the same time to show they both fall the same.
My other favourite was Leggo Technic. I built my own remote control car using switches and electric motors from Tandy (radioshack equivalent), because the motors that came from Leggo were way too expensive.
Lol, no wonder I'm studying Engineering/Science now.

That reminds me of a gift that kept me busy when I was about 11 or 12 - and electronics kit in which components were on a board, and I could build about 100 or so circuits, including a short wave radio, which actually work. It was all low voltage (DC) as I recall.

I wonder, do they make such kits anymore? I went to Radio Shack, and they don't sell those kits - just components if that. Most shops now sell consumer electronics, cell phones, and stuff.

 

[edward]

ASTRONUC

My first radio kit was a crystal kit.(no batteries needed) There are some specialty stores still selling them , so I would imagine you could find an electronics kit.

http://www.discoverthis.com/crystal-radio.html

 

[Janus]

Tinkertoys were a a Christmas standard. (I always got a set every year, which helped replace the bits I lost or broke over the course of the previous year)
One year I got the BIG set which came with an electric motor and everything!

Major Matt Mason, Mattel's man in space.

When I was nine, I got a chemistry set.

 

[Kazza_765]

That reminds me of a gift that kept me busy when I was about 11 or 12 - and electronics kit in which components were on a board, and I could build about 100 or so circuits, including a short wave radio, which actually work. It was all low voltage (DC) as I recall.
I wonder, do they make such kits anymore? I went to Radio Shack, and they don't sell those kits - just components if that. Most shops now sell consumer electronics, cell phones, and stuff.

I had that one too :) I forgot about that. I've seen them occasionally in the last few years over here, but not often. And besides the one I had as a kid, I don't think I've ever seen another physics kit for kids.

 

[JasonRox]

Legos!

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I always loved Legos, Tinkertoys, and Lincoln Logs.
Any more I usually love getting books the most.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh yes, Lincoln Logs!

So did the Indians burn all of your buildings as well?

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Oh yes, Lincoln Logs!
So did the Indians burn all of your buildings as well?

Did you set your's on fire Ivan?
Err, umm, I mean the indians.

 

[Kerrie]

I loved my big wheel. Back in the day though, they didn't have the girl colors.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I loved my big wheel. Back in the day though, they didn't have the girl colors.

Were you a Hoppity Hopper?

 

[Moonbear]

When I was about 5, I wanted this toy called an "Inchworm" more than anything in the world. It was this kid-sized vehicle that looked like a friendly, plastic, green worm on wheels, and you powered the thing by bouncing up and down on it. It had been on TV and there was a fun little song in the commercial that I went around singing. When we went to see Santa I told him that was exactly what I wanted for Christmas.
Christmas morning came and I opened up my presents. No inchworm. Shoot! Oh, well. Maybe next year. Then Mom took me over to my grandparents' house to have Christmas dinner. Grandpa started saying that there was this funny green thing out on the lawn and he figured Santa must have left it there by mistake. I ran to the window and there it was - the INCHWORM! My eyes were like saucers. I started screaming at the top of my lungs -
IT'S MINE! IT'S MINE!

Oh, I remember the Inchworm! That was the coolest toy that year! And, yeah, heh heh, my grandparents would do things like that too..."Santa forgot to leave this under the tree for you, so dropped it off at our house on the way out of town."

 

[Moonbear]

The toy I remember the most was a RADIO FLYER WAGON. I think I was about six or seven. I do remember that I could not get one until WWII was over. There were a few available but my dad thought that it was unpatriotic to use that much steel in a toy during war time.
I used to love to take things apart to see what made them work, and sometimes I didn't always get the old wind up toys back toghether again.
But the old Radio flyer was indestructible and perfect for that.
Of course this was in the days BP (before plastic)

I had one of those as a kid...but it wasn't bought for me...it was my dad's. He was amazingly careful with his toys, so my sister and I had a lot of them to play with as children. They were great. Sadly, we weren't as careful with them and left the metal toys out in the rain a few too many times. They'd be worth a small fortune now if we kept them in as good of condition as he kept them. If I only knew then what I know now...

Oh, and last year, someone really great sent me Legos! Wait until Zz sees me playing with Legos at Downtown Disney! If he's going to make me join him on pin hunts, he has to help me swipe the good Legos from unsuspecting small children.

 

[GCT]

I would go for the x box 360 or one of the newer nintendo or playstation versions...but then I would probably play it all day and end up becoming a bum. Not to mention frying my brain.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Oh, I remember the Inchworm! That was the coolest toy that year! And, yeah, heh heh, my grandparents would do things like that too..."Santa forgot to leave this under the tree for you, so dropped it off at our house on the way out of town."

OhHHHhhh! You remember Inchworm?! That's so awesome! I sure loved that thing. I would have probably lost my mind if I could have had one of those Bubble Frogs that Evo mentioned.

Ivan and TSA, I used to have Lincoln Logs, too. But I never had a problem with the indians burning my cabins down. It always turned out to be the green plastic army men who were at fault. After a swift trial they were sentenced to die in the backyard - usually by being strapped to a firecracker.

 

[JamesU]

I want an iPod nano this christmas

 

[Moonbear]

OhHHHhhh! You remember Inchworm?! That's so awesome!

Yep...*cues music* "It's Inchworm, It's Inchworm...It's a wonderful toy, fun for a girl or a boy!"

 

[Moonbear]

Were you a Hoppity Hopper?

I was...I had a red Mickey Mouse one. My sister had the yellow one.

 

[Math Is Hard]

aha! I found it!

*sigh* just like I remember it.

 

[Moonbear]

aha! I found it!

*sigh* just like I remember it.

Yay! That's it! Yep, amazingly, it's exactly as I remember it too! (Sometimes I remember toys differently than they really looked...things seemed a LOT bigger when I was much smaller. )

 

[Math Is Hard]

I was...I had a red Mickey Mouse one. My sister had the yellow one.

You should dig those out of the closet. You could hippity-hop around Downtown Disney!

 

[Gokul43201]

This was my favorite: used to be called Run Yourself Ragged. Now they've got some screwball name for it

http://tv.cream.org/extras/toys/images/screwball.jpg

 

[Moonbear]

You should dig those out of the closet. You could hippity-hop around Downtown Disney!

I wish I still had it! Though I'm not sure I'm still in hippity-hop shape! I can't believe I used to be able to bounce around on that thing all day long!

 

[Entropy]

LEGOS! I still love them to this day! Also loved my bigwheel. I'd always race down this big hill and crash, with my mom running down after me screaming at the top of her lungs in fear.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

This classic robot is from the original Lost In Space series. He comes complete with his remote control and is in working condition. His speech isn't as clear as it used to be, and he veers a little to the left when he is rolling along. There is a small crack (see penny in photo) and a couple of small splits in his rubber arms. He is complete and missing no parts. There is a secret compartment in the front that you open by hand, and when you push the button on his back, and his arms flop out, just like on the TV show! Use the remote control, and colorful lights appear in his dome and chest, and he says a few of his famous phrases like "Danger, Danger Will Robinson!" and "Intruder Alert!" He can also repeat whatever you say into the remote control. Push another button on the remote and he off he goes across the floor! The remote control is fully intact and works as it should. There are a few scratches but nothing to notice. Small batteries go in the back, larger ones fit into the Robot himself. His colors are bright and shiny, and you can open and close his pincers. Enjoy this wonderful toy from the past!

http://cgi.ebay.ca/LOST-IN-SPACE-ROBOT-24-INCHES-TALL-W-REMOTE-WORKS_W0QQitemZ6014538389QQcategoryZ20914QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

 

[Astronuc]

ASTRONUC
My first radio kit was a crystal kit.(no batteries needed) There are some specialty stores still selling them , so I would imagine you could find an electronics kit.
http://www.discoverthis.com/crystal-radio.html

Edward, thanks for that link - I found something similar to what I had - http://www.discoverthis.com/electronic-project-lab-50.html
50-in-one electronics kit. About the same time I did get an 8-band radio - AM/FM/SW which was pretty cool.

I also remember a chemistry set that my folks bought (from Sears) for my brother and me. Some chemicals were poisonous. We did the experiments in a book, but we also improvised and made some probably very toxic stuff.

One year I got a bicycle, which I used a lot to get to and from school or just ride somewhere in the city for 20 or 30 miles.

I built a lot of plastic models of warplanes and warships, but pretty much gave that up when I turned 15.

One of my most favorite gifts was a Canon F-1 SLR camera that my father brought back from Japan. I still have it.

 

[BobG]

I loved my big wheel. Back in the day though, they didn't have the girl colors.

Those can get you into trouble. Did you know it's illegal to ride those down the street in the middle of the night even if you're over 18?

 

[Janus]

You mean no one here remembers Major Matt Mason?

http://www.buyoldtoys.com/forsale/mmm/images/PB090032_JPG.jpg

And, I almost forgot, the Thing Maker Fright Factory: