(Topic ID: 157159)

Favorite childhood toys and youthful memories

By Mr68

7 years ago


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There are 9,736 posts in this topic. You are on page 171 of 195.
#8501 1 year ago
Quoted from j_m_:

I graduated high school with chuck who was their drummer on the 'So Far, So Good... So What! ' album

Arguably their best album......

10
#8502 1 year ago

Still got 'em

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17
#8503 1 year ago

I went through an old junk box from the garage tonight and found some great treasures from the 60’s.
I found a red dog assembled from the ends of a freebie dental visit toothbrush (looks like I chewed on its tail), an Oscar Meyer Wiener whistle, a Creepy Crawler bug I made (my best ever), a genuine mini Wham-o Superball and a black Rat Fink ring.

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#8504 1 year ago

Didn't have the dog or the Oscar Mayer, but absolutely yes to the Thingmaker spider, the Superball, and the Rat Fink ring!

It looks like you can still buy the old original Thingmakers, which of course were the best ones but became banned because of the fairly dangerous heated plate. I can't even imagine how many hours and hours of fun we had with that Thingmaker. I remember cranking out the bugs by the hundreds, but then getting into the artistic side of it and carefully creating single masterpieces like your spider. It is awesome that it survived all these years.

10
#8505 1 year ago

it is amazing at the things that we were allowed as kids to play with in the 60s and 70s that are deemed dangerous by today's standards.

the way that I saw it, if you used common sense, you didn't get hurt. if you got hurt, it was probably your own fault. heck, we jumped off the garage in our our above ground pool back in the day and no one was any worse for wear at the end of the day.

the thing maker sets were great fun, as was the hot wheels toy were you got to melt wax-like ingots into a crucible and pour out the molten material into metal frames to make your own cars.
hot wheels factory (resized).jpghot wheels factory (resized).jpg

#8506 1 year ago
Quoted from j_m_:

it is amazing at the things that we were allowed as kids to play with in the 60s and 70s that are deemed dangerous by today's standards.

The things we played with in the 50s were getting shutdown in the 70s . Dart guns and things that were choking hazards were being focused on by the regulators.

We were still drinking from garden hoses, though.

#8507 1 year ago
Quoted from j_m_:

it is amazing at the things that we were allowed as kids to play with in the 60s and 70s that are deemed dangerous by today's standards.
the way that I saw it, if you used common sense, you didn't get hurt. if you got hurt, it was probably your own fault. heck, we jumped off the garage in our our above ground pool back in the day and no one was any worse for wear at the end of the day.
the thing maker sets were great fun, as was the hot wheels toy were you got to melt wax-like ingots into a crucible and pour out the molten material into metal frames to make your own cars.
[quoted image]

I've never had one of these, or ever seen one in person, but has anyone here had one of these? (Circa 1962)

#8508 1 year ago
Quoted from cottonm4:

We were still drinking from garden hoses, though.

That was pretty normal through the 80’s too. But we had lost lawn darts just as I was getting old enough to really play with them.

#8509 1 year ago

I have 2 sets of Jarts from the 70’s! I need to find a way to fix the flights though.

#8510 1 year ago
Quoted from girloveswaffles:

I've never had one of these, or ever seen one in person, but has anyone here had one of these? (Circa 1962)

I remember Vac-u-form. I was 10 in 1962. Strange, but I do not recall seeing any of the commercials. There were so many ways for a baby boomer kid to spend his money. I had the Aurora Model Motoring racing cars, some bicycles, And mostly model car kits. And the neighbor kids and I were busy building push cars out of any piece of trash wood and wheels we could scrounge up.

#8511 1 year ago
Quoted from Zartan:

I have 2 sets of Jarts from the 70’s! I need to find a way to fix the flights though.

You need to find a way to scan and 3D print or have it drawn up in CAD.

I still have my set, and one of the rings has a hole punched thru it from the dart!

#8512 1 year ago
Quoted from j_m_:

it is amazing at the things that we were allowed as kids to play with in the 60s and 70s that are deemed dangerous by today's standards.
the way that I saw it, if you used common sense, you didn't get hurt. if you got hurt, it was probably your own fault. heck, we jumped off the garage in our our above ground pool back in the day and no one was any worse for wear at the end of the day.
the thing maker sets were great fun, as was the hot wheels toy were you got to melt wax-like ingots into a crucible and pour out the molten material into metal frames to make your own cars.
[quoted image]

I still remember the hot burning wax smell it made.
Other memories of smells I remember as a kid that are no longer around.
Bowling allies, cigeretts and ball wax?
Airports, where you picked up your luggage, my dad always smelled of an airport when we picked him up.
Of course golf pro shops!
All these places had a unique smell because of the materials that were used. I wish they made candles of them.

#8513 1 year ago
Quoted from Viggin900:

Other memories of smells I remember as a kid that are no longer around.

I cut/pried open a "D" cell battery about 1961. It was the rankest thing I had ever smelled. The odor stayed in my brain for years. I remember the battery being blue and yellow in color. Or black and yellow in color.

That would make it a Ray-O-Vac.

Notice the "leak proof" text on the Eveready batteries. They must have been thinking about pinball machines

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#8514 1 year ago

I'm taking some liberties here. I remember when I saw my first speedometer that clocked 160 miles per hour. I lived down the street from a Pontiac dealership and walked through its car lots all the time.

One day, there was a black 1962 Corvette on the used car lot, with the hardtop, and with fuel injection. The speedo read 160. Several years later I bought a 1959 Vette with that 160 mph speedo. Cruising down the highway at 80 mph put the speedo needle dead center and pointing straight up.

But here is what I found interesting about speedometers and why the needle always points straight up and center when you are at highway speeds. (This was true with the Vette's 160 speedo and also my '77 Lincoln Mark V with its 80 mile per hour speedo. Interstate speed limits got cut to 55 mph in 1974 when Nixon put the nation on a "let's save gas" routine. Sammy Hagar's " I can't drive 55" was my theme song).

" Why your car’s speedometer goes up to 160 mph (even when your car can’t)".

"...even Apple, the company that cast aside tradition when it reinvented phones, music players and headphones, bows to convention when it comes to speedometers. It displayed a classically-styled speedometer that reached 160 mph, an auto industry norm."

Enjoy.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/10/business/speedometers-160-mph/index.html

'58-'62 Corvette 160 mph Speedometer

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1977 Mark V 80mph Speedometer.

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1974 thru 1981 or 1982 were dark years for driving the highways. I got a lot of tickets

10
#8515 1 year ago

Rather than a new thread, even if its been mentioned, what was your favorite/most memorable Christmas Present? What were your disappointments?

My Fav at 7 were a Tool kit for kids with a real saw! They left me in a room to play, and I cut the legs off some furniture!

My disappointment? Not getting a Strange change!

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#8516 1 year ago

I am on only child. At 5 YO, my parents enlisted a neighbor to come to the house dressed as Santa Claus. I got a pair of red cowboy boots that year. This is the only Christmas I can remember.

When I was 14, my dad got me an electric razor.

I was not cheated while growing up but these are the only Christmas gifts I can remember.

Which rings up another memory. We were in the garage and my dad handed me his electric drill so I could learn to use a drill. However, I hit the trigger lock button by accident and the drill would not shut off. I remember crying from fear.

13
#8517 1 year ago

1968 - got my first set of Hot Wheels track. And yes, I still own it (though the box itself is long gone).

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#8518 1 year ago
Quoted from mbeardsley:

1968 - got my first set of Hot Wheels track. And yes, I still own it (though the box itself is long gone).[quoted image]

I used to have the same set when I was a kid. X
I also remember how loud the Super Charger was too as your Hot Wheels went zooming around the track.

13
#8519 1 year ago
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#8520 1 year ago
Quoted from OLDPINGUY:

What were your disappointments?

There was a rather heavy gift for me under the tree when I was 8 years old.
I wondered what it was for several days leading up to Christmas.
I picked it up and shook it and knocked on it trying to guess what it was.
Was it a racing set?? Or something to build?? Or a cool game??!! I was so excited!!
When I finally unwrapped it, it was a set of four books of Disney stories for children. Worst present ever. I never read any of them.

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18
#8521 1 year ago

Probably one of the most anticipated toys that me and my brother wanted and the most disappointed when we finally got one.
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12
#8522 1 year ago

This one was probably the best and most fun though often times frustrating to keep it working at 100%.

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#8523 1 year ago
Quoted from pinwiztom:

though often times frustrating to keep it working at 100%.

Sounds just like a pinball machine

#8524 1 year ago
Quoted from mbeardsley:

(though the box itself is long gone).

There went your collector value money

#8525 1 year ago
Quoted from pinwiztom:

One of the most anticipated toys that my brother and I wanted and the most disappointing when we finally got one.

At least your older sister liked the vibrating toy she got for Christmas a lot more than that.

11
#8526 1 year ago

Märklin electric model trains.

Pure German quality above anything else..

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#8527 1 year ago
Quoted from Flippermatt:

Märklin electric model trains.

Pure German quality above anything else..

Looks a lot like the train set my wife just sold on ebay
only they are by MARX
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#8528 1 year ago
Quoted from pinwiztom:

Probably one of the most anticipated toys that me and my brother wanted and the most disappointed when we finally got one.
[quoted image]

My friend had one of those things. That saved me some money. It was sort of like the original POS. I would like to see some TV commercials on this football game to see how it was hyped.

24
#8529 1 year ago

This was one of my favorite Christmas presents. That's me playing, with my brother, dad and grandfather watching.

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#8530 1 year ago
Quoted from SunKing:

This was one of my favorite Christmas presents.
That's me playing, with my brother, dad and grandfather watching.

I don't see it listed in your current collection. Wasn't it a keeper?

#8531 1 year ago
Quoted from pinwiztom:

Probably one of the most anticipated toys that me and my brother wanted and the most disappointed when we finally got one.

One of my friends had one of these and I thought this would be great. One minute of play and I thought this sucks, no way to maneuver the players.

#8532 1 year ago
Quoted from littlecammi:

I don't see it listed in your current collection.

He flipped it right after Christmas.

LTG : )
Disclaimer : Just kidding. Looks like a great Christmas present and a great Christmas !

#8533 1 year ago
Quoted from girloveswaffles:

I've never had one of these, or ever seen one in person, but has anyone here had one of these? (Circa 1962)

I had one and loved it. I am a University Engineering Professor. We used to prepare industrial arts teachers and also mid-level managers for manufacturing in NJ before everyone moved out.

There is still a vacuum former still in our lab and at one point we had a Mattel Vac-U-Form too. But I have not seen it in years.

Programs like mine went out of favor until STEM and MakerSpaces appeared. But by that time the good stuff in the labs were mostly picked over. And now most everyone wants to play with 3D Printers and Drones. I try to turn them on to better toys, hey kid let's fire up the TIG welder, but they are mostly not interested. But every once in a while someone notices my race kart up on the wall and when I say I raced it from Daytona to Weedsport NY and at Pocono, Summit Point and and Louden and everywhere in between they seem interested for a few minutes until they ask if I have gone to RPM or driven a simulator. And I just smile as if I did meet them at RPM, they would see what skill is.

But my M2 always gets their attention until they ask if I have ever drifted in it. Even my kids don't get it. But my nephew just got a job at Raytheon and he crews his dads, my brother's Spec Miata. Me, too old to get in and out of it any more. My sister in law didn't let my brother race Karts after he got married. If it didn't have a roof and roll bar....

And we spent hours when he was young keeping the PinBot in order until he lost interest and took up drones and 3D printing. But now he is happy he learned to weld and program my CNC.

Sorry for getting off topic.

///Rich

#8534 1 year ago
Quoted from RichWolfson:

Sorry for getting off topic.

Don't be . I enjoyed your story.

12
#8535 1 year ago

Since it’s almost Christmas; I’ll repost my 1st pinball game too.

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11
#8536 1 year ago

My 1st pinball game, 1966

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#8537 1 year ago

I remember having one of these as a child.

DisPin (resized).jpgDisPin (resized).jpg
13
#8538 1 year ago

I still have my first "machine" - I was about 3 when I got it, so it was around 1960.
Picture taken 5 minutes ago.
Unrestored, HUO.

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#8539 1 year ago
Quoted from DCP:

I still have my first machine. I was about 3 when I got it around 1960.
Unrestored, HUO.

Can we get a close-up of the shooter lane?
The balls look a bit rusty. They probably used the same supplier Stern uses for balls.

#8540 1 year ago

My first pinball.

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#8541 1 year ago
Quoted from littlecammi:

Can we get a close-up of the shooter lane?

Here you go! There are probably a few thousand plays on it, no waxing or cleaning or replacing the balls, ever.
I keep meaning to do a little light restoration of the thing.

20221222_092524.jpg20221222_092524.jpg
#8542 1 year ago
Quoted from OLDPINGUY:

My 1st pinball game, 1966
[quoted image]

Quoted from RCA1:

I remember having one of these as a child.
[quoted image]

Don't forget to ring that bell

Screen Shot 2022-12-22 at 8.29.43 AM (resized).jpgScreen Shot 2022-12-22 at 8.29.43 AM (resized).jpg

#8543 1 year ago
Quoted from cottonm4:

I cut/pried open a "D" cell battery about 1961. It was the rankest thing I had ever smelled. The odor stayed in my brain for years. I remember the battery being blue and yellow in color. Or black and yellow in color.
That would make it a Ray-O-Vac.
Notice the "leak proof" text on the Eveready batteries. They must have been thinking about pinball machines
[quoted image]

I found some with a magnavox odyssey from 72. Some still tested fine lol

#8544 1 year ago

For some reason this toy sticks out to me, I had mono when i was little and my grandma bought me a He-Man Bashasaurus vehicle to play with since i was home sick from school for a few days. I was around 5 and i thought it was the coolest toy. Like most kids my parents eventually sold it on a garage sale.

bashasaurus-w-box-complete-1984-he-man-masters-of-the-universe-motu-mattel (resized).jpegbashasaurus-w-box-complete-1984-he-man-masters-of-the-universe-motu-mattel (resized).jpeg
#8545 1 year ago
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#8546 1 year ago
Quoted from cottonm4:

Don't be . I enjoyed your story.

Thanks but unfortunately Industrial Arts will never be back in public high schools. Some private schools have MakerSpaces and some even have great teachers. But those days will never return to the detriment of our children.

///Rich

#8547 1 year ago
Quoted from Luckydogg420:

Since it’s almost Christmas; I’ll repost my 1st pinball game too.[quoted image][quoted image]

Please buy this so we don’t have to keep seeing it for the next year.

Vintage 1979 Tomy Atomic Pinball Tabletop Game (For Parts) - $8 (Austin)

austin.craigslist.org link

#8548 1 year ago
Quoted from RichWolfson:

Thanks but unfortunately Industrial Arts will never be back in public high schools. Some private schools have MakerSpaces and some even have great teachers. But those days will never return to the detriment of our children.
///Rich

Bummer. If it was not for Industrial Arts, such as basic electricity, sheet metal, plastics, woodworking, acetylene welding, auto mechanics, and other shop classes, I probably would have never graduated high school.

I am able to work on my pins from the skills I learned in all those shop classes.

12
#8549 1 year ago

I was looking through my scans of my family slides from the 50s and 60s - many great memories.
Here's my Mom in about 1961 or '62, in the family car. We had a DKW Auto Union 1000 station wagon that had a 2-stroke engine. You had to add oil in with the gas. It hauled us around the country a few times. No seat belts, no head rests - the idea in those days was that you were just not supposed to crash! Luckily, we never did.
MomInHer1959AutoUnion1000Wagoncirca1962 (resized).pngMomInHer1959AutoUnion1000Wagoncirca1962 (resized).png
Here's a stock photo of an Auto Union - note the weird "suicide door" that opens from the front! Plus the fact that it's a 2-door station wagon. I remember Mom turned on the ignition with the key, and then started the car by pushing a little button on the dash. We thought that was cool!
DKWAutoUnion1000StockPhoto (resized).pngDKWAutoUnion1000StockPhoto (resized).png

#8550 1 year ago
Quoted from OLDPINGUY:

Rather than a new thread, even if its been mentioned, what was your favorite/most memorable Christmas Present? What were your disappointments?
My Fav at 7 were a Tool kit for kids with a real saw! They left me in a room to play, and I cut the legs off some furniture!
My disappointment? Not getting a Strange change![quoted image][quoted image]

I had that exact same tool set and I never got a strange change set either. my cousin had one so at least I was able to enjoy his

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