Toys of our Childhood.

[Jelly Bean]

Anyone remember these:

 

Clackers,made a great noise and annoying.

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ee/ClackersBLUE.jpg/51px-ClackersBLUE.jpg

 

The weebles that do not fall down:

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/29/Weebles_Diddy_Wishingwell.jpg

 

 

Stretch Armstrong:

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b5/1977_Stretch_Armstrong_Commercial.jpg/180px-1977_Stretch_Armstrong_Commercial.jpg

[Jelly Bean]

Atari 2600:

 

I still own one of these in full working order with games.Mint condition.

 

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Atari2600jr.jpg/225px-Atari2600jr.jpg

[Plastic Nev]

Being a bit older the toys and games I remember are things like Hornby Dublo train sets with pressed tin track and third rail in the middle.

 

Mechano and losing all the nuts and bolts in silly places.

 

Clockwork models, and taking them to bits to find out how they worked. I eventually learned how to put them back together and make them go faster.

 

Games, things like Ludo, Monopoly, draughts and later, chess. Plus lots of jigsaw puzzles.

 

Any one else got reminiscences?

[dan m]

I remember all the top 3. god i feel old now =( im only 18 still young and sweet. ish :rolleyes:

[wellies]

Huh ...you was lucky, you 'ad toys! :)

 

...Well, I did too really but also used to make some. We'd rig up a line of cotton running from an upstairs window to the bottom of the garden. On this ran the tray part of a matchbox. It had wires attached to it that hooked over the line. Many hours spent running up and down stairs to put different objects in the matchbox just to watch them travel down the line to the end of the garden.

 

Another toy we used to make was named a 'tank', even though it looked nothing like one. Below is one I made for our grandson about 15 years ago. It still survives. It's had a new elastic band though. :)

 

The matchstick is wound up and then the whole thing placed on a fairly flat surface. As it unwinds (slowly because of the friction between candle and cotton reel), the thing rolls along. Great joy if you could get it to go uphill or climb over a pencil or something:

 

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u78/Mart44/tank.jpg

[Plastic Nev]

I remember the old "tank" with a cotton reel too, another home made thing was a disk or large button spinner.

A length of string was tied into a loop so the loop would be about a foot and a half long.

 

The string was threaded through either two holes in a large button, or a cardboard disk so the disk or button was in the middle of the loop.

 

To start things you turned the disk so the string loop twisted by a few turns, then gripped, usually with a finger, through the two ends and pulled them apart.

 

The twist would unwind therefore spinning the disk, release the pull as the twist unwound so it wound up in the opposite direction, then pull again, the disk would go spinning round faster and faster.

If holes were cut in the right way in the disk it would whistle as it spun.

[I4n]

I remember the old "tank" with a cotton reel too, another home made thing was a disk or large button spinner.

A length of string was tied into a loop so the loop would be about a foot and a half long.

 

The string was threaded through either two holes in a large button, or a cardboard disk so the disk or button was in the middle of the loop.

 

To start things you turned the disk so the string loop twisted by a few turns, then gripped, usually with a finger, through the two ends and pulled them apart.

 

The twist would unwind therefore spinning the disk, release the pull as the twist unwound so it wound up in the opposite direction, then pull again, the disk would go spinning round faster and faster.

If holes were cut in the right way in the disk it would whistle as it spun.

 

Can enyone hear the "Hovis" tune playing in the background :)

[KenB]

Hi Nev,

.....I remember are things like Hornby Dublo train sets with pressed tin track and third rail in the middle.

 

Mechano.....

You must be really old :)

I actually worked at Meccano for 4 years.

Hornby trains were designed by Frank Hornby way back before my time.

Even Meccano had been phased out and was being produced in France at the time.

The company was still called Meccano and they were still producing Dinky Toys in the "Train Room" - a reminder of better times.

 

I bet nobody remembers Meccano Mogul Toys ?

They were similar to Tonka toys ( all steel ) you could jump on them and not damage them.

They were not marketed very well at all !

http://archive.liveauctioneers.com/archive3/vickyvectis/10984/5017_1_lg.jpg

 

The Meccano site does not exist now. It is a car park.

[wellies]

The Meccano site does not exist now. It is a car park.

Probably held together with nuts and bolts. :)

[Cobra]

Atari 2600:

 

I still own one of these in full working order with games.Mint condition.

 

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Atari2600jr.jpg/225px-Atari2600jr.jpg

 

JB,

 

I've got an Atari 5200, about 20 games, plus an adapter to play the 5 or so 2600 games I have. It's mint, and probably worth $2.00 to a collector. LOL. I used to call in sick to work just to play the thing.

[KenB]

Now here is a really old one .....Nev do you remember this ?

You could use it to build houses etc. with rods that were placed in holes and the bricks slid into place between the rods.

http://www.baykoman.com/Sets%20and%20Contents/Images/Page%201%20MECCANO%201962%20Small.jpg

[Plastic Nev]

Yes I do remember seeing that advertised Ken, but not actually seeing any one with the set or bricks.

Of course it soon went out of fashion when the Lego system first came out. That is a toy with stamina, as it is still going strong.

And a great shame the original Mecano and Hornby companies are now long since gone.

[dan m]

Here's one from my childhood. When technology started to become fun.:D

[RandyL]

I had a combination toy that served as a rifle, sword, spear, baton, fishing pole and much much more.

 

If it broke all I had to do was break off another branch from a tree.

 

:p:p:p:p:p:p

 

Seriously though I loved those clackers in high school Jelly Bean. Until they banned them from school because when they broke they went flying down the hallway at a high rate of speed knocking people in the head.

 

But seriously. It only hurt for a little while. Kill joys. :D:D

[Saffi]

I remember my brother having a few of these Meccano Erector sets...He'd build them and I'd rip them down hehe.If you have them hanging around an attic they're worth good money now..this one's worth 200 dollars American.

http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr181/Afterdarkstyle/erect.gif

[Mara]

Well, after reading all these posts I realize I'm incredibly jealous of all the great and imaginative toys that were had!

 

My parents were perhaps a tad slow on the uptake of 'uni-sex' gifts - my brother got all the good stuff (trains and building sets) and I got dollies. So the Christmas I remember the most as a child was when one of my parents friends gave me a huge, brightly wrapped gift - and it was a bow and arrow! (Parents were sure the labels must have been switched :)). Was in absolute bliss with that gift!