FARK.com: (6801352) Memory Lane: Remember everything you ever wanted for Christmas as a kid? Take a look at this catalog from 1976 for a glimpse of how we used to live

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		Memory Lane: Remember everything you ever wanted for Christmas as a kid? Take a look at this catalog from 1976 for a glimpse of how we used to live (dailymail.co.uk)		536
		More: Cool, Argos, Six Million Dollar Man, astronomical catalog, Argos catalogue

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Mobutu		2011-12-09 04:27:53 PM

Really, I'm the first? :)

While I grew up a Jehovah's Witness and thus without Christmas, I do remember quite a few of these toys, mostly stuff my Grandpa found at garage sales, or those that the less-poor kids in our neighborhood had.

One friend had the USS Flag, the GI Joe HQ set, and the AT-AT Walker, the B-Wing, etc. The fact that Star Wars and GI Joe figures fit in most of the vehicles made us just add the Star Wars toys into our massive GI Joe collections (I had the evil twin's junk car, and one of the A-10 looking flying contraptions, an X-Wing, and a few figures to add to the pile.)

oh_please		2011-12-09 04:29:38 PM

SPLAMM: [www.samstoybox.com image 430x310]
I always wanted one of these but never got one. I am a much more violent person because of this. I blame Obama....and maybe my mama.

Your anger is misplaced. My friend got one and it was fun for maybe 10 minutes, then we were all, "lets have a dirt clod war"

Mobutu		2011-12-09 04:30:13 PM

NMTurtlelady: I got the Ready Ranger backpack (new window) for Christmas one year. I considered it a triumph because my folks argued over it for quite a while beforehand. "It's for boys!" "It doesn't matter! She wants it, let's get it for her!"

I had to wait until I was an adult to get Converse Chuck Taylor high tops for the same reason. Mom had a real thing about gender-appropriateness, Dad didn't give a rat's ass. I liked Dad better....

Yet still grew up to be a damn dirty lezbo? I KEED I KEED! ;)

Coelacanth		2011-12-09 04:33:30 PM

TheCruxOfTheBiscuitIsTheApostrophe: [i194.photobucket.com image 288x384]

I'm superfly on TNT, I am The Guns Of The Naverone!

/Get off my mountain.

Oh, that's a collector's dream right there. Marx always made the best playsets.

NMTurtlelady		2011-12-09 04:37:57 PM

Mobutu: NMTurtlelady: I got the Ready Ranger backpack (new window) for Christmas one year. I considered it a triumph because my folks argued over it for quite a while beforehand. "It's for boys!" "It doesn't matter! She wants it, let's get it for her!"

I had to wait until I was an adult to get Converse Chuck Taylor high tops for the same reason. Mom had a real thing about gender-appropriateness, Dad didn't give a rat's ass. I liked Dad better....

Yet still grew up to be a damn dirty lezbo? I KEED I KEED! ;)

Hmm. Now there's a suggestion that might make my husband's Christmas a little more interesting....

EdVenture		2011-12-09 04:45:58 PM

Lando Lincoln		2011-12-09 04:49:16 PM

I had the night version of Chutes Away. Man, I loved playing that game.

www.samstoybox.com

dm491094		2011-12-09 05:03:09 PM

This was one of my favorites. Still have it, in the box.

/hot

Grandmaster_Slapnuts		2011-12-09 05:06:52 PM

Attila the Bun: branchtroy: [img685.imageshack.us image 640x310]

I loved me some Micronauts.... Want to PLAY NOW!

I gave mine to a cousin (when I was too old to play with them anymore) and he destroyed them! Now I wish I hadn't...

/biotron robot
/stratastation
/mobile exploration lab
/hydro copter
/galactic command center
/rocket tubes (which had to be returned because it did not work)
//but I never had a battle cruiser :(

I had most of the Micronauts toys. I didn't get a Biotron until near the end of my time collecting them, and that was one of the ones I wanted most. I had a Hornetroid though. I also didn't ever have a Baron Karza, though I had the white one like it whose name escapes me. Alphatron, Betatron, and Gammatron provided the most amusement for me in my youth. I loved Micronauts toys more than Star Wars toys.

SlowMind		2011-12-09 05:27:13 PM

eCurmudgeon: [www.funstuffonly.com image 600x408]

Of course, between my brother and I, we'd pull the launcher ropes hard enough to make the tops slam into each other with enough force to go straight-up and nearly embed in the ceiling...

This. One time we even played strip battling tops with the girl across the street.

Mobutu		2011-12-09 05:37:19 PM

NMTurtlelady: Mobutu: NMTurtlelady: I got the Ready Ranger backpack (new window) for Christmas one year. I considered it a triumph because my folks argued over it for quite a while beforehand. "It's for boys!" "It doesn't matter! She wants it, let's get it for her!"

I had to wait until I was an adult to get Converse Chuck Taylor high tops for the same reason. Mom had a real thing about gender-appropriateness, Dad didn't give a rat's ass. I liked Dad better....

Yet still grew up to be a damn dirty lezbo? I KEED I KEED! ;)

Hmm. Now there's a suggestion that might make my husband's Christmas a little more interesting....

I like Schlafly Beers if he decides to thank me for the suggestion.

/even though I suggested no such thing.
//still taking full credit.

CzarChasm		2011-12-09 07:24:13 PM

I think I just blew like 45 minutes reading this thread...

/ and now I have the biggest shiznit-eating grin on my face...
// want my capsela set back now

jojostan		2011-12-09 07:37:29 PM

Pud: I actually got one of these one year. I was the coolest kid on the block ...at least until the batteries died.

[upload.wikimedia.org image 640x149]

To paraphrase Jean Shepard, That was the greatest Christmas gift i ever received, or ever would receive.....
retrothing.typepad.com

Virtual Vertibird

SuddenlySamhain		2011-12-09 07:58:41 PM

miss diminutive 2011-12-09 06:54:40 AM

What the hell are those things at top left? Some kind of archaic, screenless computer?

/didn't grow up in the 70s

they're called ABACUSSES!!!! smartass PUNK!

Omahawg		2011-12-09 08:15:28 PM

got this for christmas '75. now my 2 year likes playing with it. all complete 'cept big bird and his nest vanished a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away

27.media.tumblr.com

Gordon Bennett		2011-12-09 08:19:25 PM

miss diminutive: [i.dailymail.co.uk image 640x827]

What the hell are those things at top left? Some kind of archaic, screenless computer?

/didn't grow up in the 70s

Those are large beetles that assist drug-addled writers with their paranoid screeds.

3.bp.blogspot.com

theyipper		2011-12-09 08:35:33 PM

I played this and still have it.. frustrated me because I thought the timer went too fast.
www.timewarptoys.com

RichMeatyTaste		2011-12-09 08:37:45 PM

Dear god the G.I. Joe aircraft carrier.... The holy grail of 80's toys if you were male.

danceswithcrows		2011-12-09 08:49:02 PM

Jerkwater: Screwball Scramble. I didn't know either and the name doesn't seem right, but that's it. I had to do some pretty fancy Googlin' to track it down.

That game was also sold as "Run Yourself Ragged". I remember playing that in 1984 when it was raining so hard they wouldn't let us out for recess, so the teacher got some games and toys out of the supply closet so 25 yard apes could amuse themselves for half an hour. However, lawn darts were surprisingly non-fun if you played the game the way you were supposed to.

Omahawg		2011-12-09 09:02:17 PM

LordSunder		2011-12-09 09:49:19 PM

Oh. My. Gosh.

As I was going through the pages, looking at the pictures, I see that I had a great deal of these toys. With the exception of the Star Wars and the GI Joe destroyer. I never realized just how rich we were.

Bucky Katt		2011-12-09 10:00:16 PM

I'm not looking at that or any of the pictures in the thread. It will just make me cry.

cgremlin		2011-12-09 10:23:24 PM

Stephen_Falken: I got one of these

[home.ca.inter.net image 588x470]

Holy cow! I still have my blue one around somewhere. This was my most treasured possession when I was 8:

space1999.tv-toys.co.uk

OddOne		2011-12-09 10:39:27 PM

Gordon Bennett:
Of course, the very best toys didn't appear until the 1980s...

[oldcomputers.net image 349x300]

I myself had a Commodore 64 with disc drive, and it was utterly fantastic. It completely revolutionised my childhood. Games upon games and of course Commodore User and Zzap. Now I have emulators and fragmented memories.

I still have two C64s, one of them a first-gen whose SID chip burned out, and a 1541 floppy drive. They all power up normally, and probably work fine although I've not connected them to a TV to see if I get the "READY." prompt.

I have far more powerful microcontrollers sitting in boxes on my desk than what ran the C64...

trappedspirit		2011-12-09 10:53:51 PM

Bathia_Mapes: No, my kid was born in 1980.

My wife just had our first kid in august. I'm only 41. You had to have had a different idea of Christmas expectations back in '57, '58 etc. What were you looking forward to getting?

Hobo Kicker		2011-12-09 11:24:21 PM

friedlinx:

Had it, loved it, melted it in mom's car the next summer. :(

Dave and the Mission		2011-12-10 12:00:26 AM

Jerkwater: (Run Yourself Ragged marble game)
While searching for this I found out they still manufacture it. The kids will never get a turn on Christmas.

I'm glad you said something, looks like my son will be getting one as well now.

Bathia_Mapes		2011-12-10 12:31:40 AM

trappedspirit: Bathia_Mapes: No, my kid was born in 1980.

My wife just had our first kid in august. I'm only 41. You had to have had a different idea of Christmas expectations back in '57, '58 etc. What were you looking forward to getting?

The usual stuff. Dolls, Hula Hoop, a puppy or a kitten,

Churchy LaFemme		2011-12-10 12:42:03 AM

Thanks for the memories, Farkers!

SageC		2011-12-10 12:56:18 AM

We were the only kids in the San Diego suburb of Bay Ho...
heavenlyhobbies.com

...the neighbors all hated us. It wasn't long before we learned all you really needed was a rocket engine, an ignition switch, and a few feet of narrow pipe.

concotelli		2011-12-10 02:25:16 AM

Omahawg: got this for christmas '75. now my 2 year likes playing with it. all complete 'cept big bird and his nest vanished a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away

As soon as I found out that my wife was pregnant, I bought that same set on EBay. I loved that set as a kid and I can't wait until my boy is old enough to play with it. I'll have to keep an eye on Big Bird's nest, though.

Gordon Bennett		2011-12-10 02:50:59 AM

OddOne: I still have two C64s, one of them a first-gen whose SID chip burned out, and a 1541 floppy drive. They all power up normally, and probably work fine although I've not connected them to a TV to see if I get the "READY." prompt.

I had one with a dead SID for a while. It was tragic to have my 64 silenced. It does have an interesting effect on some games, so if you do decide to use your actual hardware you may want to test a few. The SID is quite easy to use as a random number generator and is used as such in some games. With the dead chip, mine returned 0 every time creating a quite obvious effect sometimes. One game was very much like Astrosmash on the Intellivision when running normally, but as the falling objects X-coordinate was SID-random, every one fell down the left edge of the screen.

csb?

Hand Banana		2011-12-10 05:27:43 PM

I love this thread, I've been reading it for three days. I had many of the toys here, the Chutes Away was one I remember in particular. A Coleco Frogger tabletop was the first electronic toy I can remember having followed by a Master Merlin.

For me almost anything could be a toy though, old spark plugs made great rocket ships as did vacuum tubes. I must have smashed dozens of them pretending to crash them. Firecrackers were always good for blowing up toys; looking back it's a miracle I survived. I used to build elaborate towns out of cardboard boxes, Popsicle sticks, etc. I even made telephone poles and ran wire to the buildings to power little lights inside them...then I would set the town on fire and watch it burn down. Thankfully I didn't become a demented arsonist.

I remember getting a bow and arrow set one year and shooting it at a hornet's nest then running from them, or shooting it straight up into the air. One came down and stuck in the roof and the set was taken away from me. Probably a good thing. We had lawn darts too, no one died.

Scurvy Dog		2011-12-12 07:58:22 AM

Omahawg: [27.media.tumblr.com image 487x700]

THIS. Best Christmas present EVER when I was in fourth grade - Christmas 1979.

Resident Muslim		2011-12-12 08:20:00 AM

Ok Farkers, I also thank you for this thread.

Was waiting for 2xl to show up and was not disappointed.

Would like to add:
- Playdough barber set (I think I got that for my kids. Haven't seen it in ages. They still make that, right?!)
- kites that got so tangled up, Charlie Brown's tree would have been better
- big-wheels (surprised no one mentioned that!), especially if you were close to a slope
- don't remember the name, but the game with all the different shaped pieces and a timer which you had to fit in their respective slots before the time ran out and they all popped out
- last but not least, taking out the motor from any (broken?) toy and hooking up the batteries just to see the small gear spin

/hands up if you HAVEN'T stuck a nine volt battery to your tongue and/or urged someone else to do that
// double or nothing: hands up if you put a test tube over a Bunsen burner with the cork stopper in place
/// went through this thread over several days, not wanting to comment before reading all posts
/v roman slashies FTW!

Scurvy Dog		2011-12-12 04:45:06 PM

Resident Muslim: Ok Farkers, I also thank you for this thread.

Was waiting for 2xl to show up and was not disappointed.

Would like to add:
- Playdough barber set (I think I got that for my kids. Haven't seen it in ages. They still make that, right?!)
- kites that got so tangled up, Charlie Brown's tree would have been better
- big-wheels (surprised no one mentioned that!), especially if you were close to a slope
- don't remember the name, but the game with all the different shaped pieces and a timer which you had to fit in their respective slots before the time ran out and they all popped out
- last but not least, taking out the motor from any (broken?) toy and hooking up the batteries just to see the small gear spin

/hands up if you HAVEN'T stuck a nine volt battery to your tongue and/or urged someone else to do that
// double or nothing: hands up if you put a test tube over a Bunsen burner with the cork stopper in place
/// went through this thread over several days, not wanting to comment before reading all posts
/v roman slashies FTW!

Play-Doh Fuzzy Pumper Barber Shop - didn't have it but I do remember it

Don't recall the kites

Didn't have a Big Wheel, but DID have a Hot Cycle

That game was called Perfection. There was also a deluxe version called Superfection, where you had to fit two pieces together before putting them into their slot.

Remember doing that with little motors

/yes, this has been a great thread
//brings back much of my childhood (born 1970)

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