Baby Boomers and our Toys. Where have they gone ? What do they sell for on Ebay ?

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Posted by Steven_Kaplan on June 17, 2008 at 12:24 AM

Around 1963 the first real toy I had was made by "Ideal" toy company, and was called "Astrobase". Saw one on Ebay for a few hundred dollars in great shape in the box.. Almost bid on it for sentimental reasons, than decided I have enough stuff I've never parted with :)

Reply by Steven_Kaplan on June 17, 2008 at 12:26 AM

Remember the first "Mr Potato Heads" ? You used a real potato, and just got the plastic facial parts that stuck into the potato ? How about the game "Cooties", Pickup sticks, marbles, anyone saved their 60's comic books and baseball cards ? Lionel electric trains ?

How about the blue "Hardy Boys" volumes, Nancy drew books ? Rock'm Sock'm robots, Candyland, Chutes and Ladders

Edited on June 17, 2008 at 12:28 AM Quote

Reply by bipolarbettyNEWS-TEAM on July 20, 2008 at 12:32 AM

YESSSS! My husband told me about the original potato head, and that you got the face stuff and went in the cupboard and stuck them in a real potato. How hilarious!

I miss playing marbles too!

Also, I'm a girl of course, so we didn't get trains, but I'd go down the block to boys houses just to play with their trains.

Reply by Steven_Kaplan on July 21, 2008 at 3:05 AM

Sure, Girls liked electric trains too... They were cool.. I'm not sure back in those days if N and Z scale little trains existed, and I don't think many of the gorgeous landscapings a person can get now existed affordably.. My sister was into her Nancy Drew books during the time, I liked my hobbies... especially tropical fish, but yet, the original Mr Potato head was just plastic pieces with little barbs that stuck into the actual vegetable..makes sense too ! Why not use a real potato ?

Marbles were cool, we used to trade them Cats-eyes were a dime a dozen but the boulders and shooters were cool, especially the crystal marbles.. I liked the red crystal boulders and shooters :) Never really got into tiddly winks or jacks... found them boring games

Reply by bipolarbettyNEWS-TEAM on July 21, 2008 at 5:05 AM

I was terrible at jacks, and I'd get angry and throw them across the room, what a stupid set of toys. I always stepped on them too...useless tin crap they expected girls to play with.

But marbles were like super cool...I loved the big fat shooters...and sometimes you'd find rare ones with accidental blobs in the middle, and they looked like gems!

I liked the trains with the smoke coming out, and I liked to speed them around the track and derail them then set them back on track and speed them around again to derail them again. Oh and I liked the trains that went in reverse. Too cool.

It was like train derby.

Edited on July 21, 2008 at 5:05 AM Quote

Reply by Steven_Kaplan on July 22, 2008 at 3:07 AM

For some reason colored glass has always affected my mood, blues calming, reds somewhat invigorating, greens, not sure...

Yeah, there's a funs site that's existed for years, but they have soom pretty cool stuff at reasonable prices.. I need to see the size of the tornado making machine.. Robots are costly

http://scientificsonline.com/Default.asp?bhcd2=1216710311

Now to check out Viewmasters site

http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?t=page&a=go&s=viewmaster&p=landing_flash&site=us

(I would think View-Master would have a more sophisticated site that has some of the vintage style viewers. They used to. At one point they sold the 40's 50's bakelite viewers... Need to find the vintage site

Edited on July 22, 2008 at 3:15 AM Quote

Reply by bipolarbettyNEWS-TEAM on July 22, 2008 at 3:24 AM

Oh those old viewers were cool! They really made hand shot photographs look 3d...my friends grandpa had one...it was tooooooo cool!

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Reply by FleaCDPCONTRIBUTOR on July 22, 2008 at 11:11 AM

I'm enjoying this thread! I played marbles as a kid - i remember it was really popular in my elementary school and at one point they had to ban them altogether because kids were playing so much. We always played for keeps, which meant if you win, you keep the marbles. Which is, of course where the term "win all the marbles" comes from. Do people still say that? Anyway, I digress.

I really liked GI Joe - "with lifelike hair!" lol - I had a lot of the accessories which we would usually destroy pretty quickly. Also had the Rock Em Sock Em Robots and other toys mentioned so far. Hot Wheels were another favorite

Do kids still get Big Wheels? EVERYONE had one of those when I was a kid.

Another toy I had as a kid was something call "Bing Bang Bong" (I think) which involved setting up little ramps and drums and other assorted tricks which you would roll a metal ball along the path to complete all these stunts. Sort of like "Domino Rally" but with metal ball bearings instead of dominoes, if that makes sense. (I later played Domino Rally with MY kids, lol)

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Reply by grammatea4uGOLD on July 22, 2008 at 6:58 PM

Did any of you every play with clickclacks when you were growing up...They were so cool..but I think they banned them because people kept getting eye injuries..

Reply by Steven_Kaplan on July 23, 2008 at 3:04 AM

Flea, Did you have the Hardy Boys series ? Remember the Light blue volumes ? I had toys such as that Gilbert Chemistry set that was 13 dollars, Cap guns of course, and of course "The Swinger" Polaroid Camera. I had the swinger and the improved 29.95 version "The Big Swinger"..

"Meet the swinger
Polaroid Swinger, It's not just a Camera
It's almost alive, it's only nineteen dollars
and ninety five, swing it up, it says yes"
etc

Also "Boys Life" magazine, where you could by a minibike frame but of course that meant taking the 2 1/2 HP Briggs and Stratton engine off've dads lawnmower..HEHE, and the Honda 90's that were "street legal".. (supposedly)..Baseball cards were 5 cents a pack (with the gum).. and I shouldn't admit this, but I always thought the girls had it better, they had the actual cardboard large Suzie Home-maker kitchens with cabinets and everything... We didn't have anything like that.. we had to make our own forts and tents with blankets and stuff... GI Joe, and Ken Dolls weren't something I was allowed to have...LOL.. My dad wouldn't let his son play with a doll... I had cast iron soldiers and tanks though... (this goes way back).. I have the original Lionel trains still.. Kept those. Yet they are too large a scale to play with..hehehe

Yep, Click clacks were banned, The problem was that they calculated that the shatter-impact could cause ships to do harm after they were marketed, were click-clacks acylic ? or were they pre-acrylic era ?.. I liked my Gargoyle squirt guns too... Casey at the Bat cards, but click-clacks I guess did shatter in a few cases.. Low tech fun was just playing with a Superball, LOL.. Of course they got lost quite easily ! We had green and plaid stamps from our moms shopping at the A&P and got baseball goves and footballs with books of green stamps... Shell had the Mr President Coin game... and it goes on and on
My first etch-a-sketch had actual graphite in it.. leaked
all over the place... Pickup stix

Good question regarding the big-wheels.. I vaguely recall that there was some concern because they were well below the visibility of automobile rear-view mirrors but the concept still exists.. Perhaps different companies, and higher tech and design ? I do recall a few very serious problems during the actual day of "Big Wheels".. Not sure what came of that, (If my memory serves me correctly-which it likely doesn't)

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_05286000000P?mv=rr

Radio Flyer wagons are back though ! Sleds too I think ! Relatively costly, and I think remarketing the concept was a clever idea because they were HUGE in the collectible arena ! Unlike the Coleco Cabbage patch kids that never appreciated in value like anitcipated..LOL

Edited on July 23, 2008 at 3:29 AM Quote

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Reply by FleaCDPCONTRIBUTOR on July 23, 2008 at 2:53 PM

Yes - the click-clacks were a deadly weapon marketed as a toy. Fun times, lol!

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Reply by mousyGOLD on July 23, 2008 at 5:07 PM

mousy melts

oh gods Betty -- you make me feel old-- I remember the original potatoe head too- marbles and jacks.... and yes I remember the Swinger Polaroid camera too-- gosh I think we had one of those --lol-- let not forget hola hoops ... yes I know they still make them...

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Reply by deedlerockGOLD on July 23, 2008 at 5:44 PM

Yep everything you guys said...and guns n holsters, metal slinkies, paper dolls, Stingray bikes, batons, harmonicas, transistor radios. Dolls...we played with them for years. And baby dolls...not just fashion dolls. Doll buggies, baking sets, view master! Chatty Cathy and Beatles dolls. Slinky dog and Slinky train. BTW the original Mr. Potato Head kit included a PIPE!

Reply by LupiAppleTushy on July 23, 2008 at 5:54 PM

jax, pick up sticks, tiddly winks! my son has rockem sockem robots. they still make those. still as fun too.

Reply by LupiAppleTushy on July 23, 2008 at 5:55 PM

i loved click clacks.....had a set. never shattered. and that bell that you'd put on your ankle and jump over..

Reply by sawheadGOLD on July 23, 2008 at 6:13 PM

TONKA trucks !!! The first (and only ) Tonka bulldozer I got , I thought I had died and gone to heaven !!! built roads every where !!!

Reply by sawheadGOLD on July 23, 2008 at 6:16 PM

Oh an EZ bake ovens , my sister had one , nasty tasting cakes but we thought it was great at the time !!!!

Reply by LupiAppleTushy on July 23, 2008 at 6:28 PM

grrrrrrr my son had a tonka, snuck into the kitchen and dumped a big canister of ground coffee on the floor to use as SAND. omg was i mad! LOLOL

Reply by easty74GOLD on July 23, 2008 at 7:40 PM

FleaCDP wrote:
Another toy I had as a kid was something call "Bing Bang Bong"

Nothin like startin em off early with a Bong huh? lol j/k

Reply by Steven_Kaplan on July 24, 2008 at 8:17 PM

Anyone remember "Mr. Machine" ? I had one of these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2Ojx5RdJwU

Edited on July 24, 2008 at 8:19 PM Quote

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Reply by armeenGOLD on July 24, 2008 at 9:22 PM

armeen going to try to go back to sleep here for a while.

pogo sticks i think i spent most of my summer on the front step on that pogo stick and living on farm i always captured a crow that was in the field a skunk once, pigeons and any creature i thought needed me well i think i killed off most but the crow did live as did pigeon, but some of the rabbits never made it so always kept busy with the farm life to worry too much about toys i guess.

Reply by Steven_Kaplan on July 25, 2008 at 12:54 AM

Pogo sticks were never that easy... Sort've like stilts and unicycles... I could never catch on for too long... The tough thing about a pogostick was to jump in one location without shifting all over the place... Duncan yoyo's were fun too

Reply by conniegADMIN on July 25, 2008 at 12:58 AM

What were those things with two balls that you used to 'clonk' together.. on a piece of string.. I used to love knocking them together...(no puns please)!

Reply by CheekylilvixenGOLD on July 25, 2008 at 2:43 AM

Cheekylilvixen crap!forgot 2 turn off paypal & it did d automatic,im gold again

My favorite toy was the Dancerella. It was a ballerina doll that really danced from 1978... she would dance around. The doll was about 18 inches tall. She had dark brown hair and wore a white leotard with a pink tutu and pink slippers. She had a pink crystal-looking crown on top of her head that when you push it down she would twirl around and around. You could move her arms and legs for different ballerina poises. She came with a music record that played the "Nutcracker".

I loved that doll. I got one for christmas that year( 1978), I was 6yrs old lol. I hated dolls at that age but I was in ballet and just had to have that doll. It was the rage, I remember the commercial well too. My dad captured it on film with his 70's silent video camera, while I played with my doll LOL.

She looked like this but this doll is missing the stand that it came with lol. Circa 1978

Edited on July 25, 2008 at 2:49 AM Quote

Reply by Steven_Kaplan on July 25, 2008 at 2:44 AM

connieg wrote:What were those things with two balls that you used to 'clonk' together.. on a piece of string.. I used to love knocking them together...(no puns please)!

Those were called "click-clacks", but they were banned once the shatter point was determined to make them potentially dangerous due to pieces shooting into the eyes.

Edited on July 25, 2008 at 2:44 AM Quote

Reply by Steven_Kaplan on July 25, 2008 at 2:46 AM

Cheeky, you should get another one, you can be certain Ebay has them for sale..

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=Dancerella&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Edited on July 25, 2008 at 2:48 AM Quote

Reply by CheekylilvixenGOLD on July 25, 2008 at 2:51 AM

Cheekylilvixen crap!forgot 2 turn off paypal & it did d automatic,im gold again

Yup, I've seen them. I played with that doll, till it could dance no more LOL.

Reply by Steven_Kaplan on July 25, 2008 at 3:35 AM

That's what toys are for !!

Reply by CKay on July 25, 2008 at 6:30 AM

Cheekylilvixen wrote:My favorite toy was the Dancerella. It was a ballerina doll that really danced from 1978... she would dance around. The doll was about 18 inches tall. She had dark brown hair and wore a white leotard with a pink tutu and pink slippers. She had a pink crystal-looking crown on top of her head that when you push it down she would twirl around and around. You could move her arms and legs for different ballerina poises. She came with a music record that played the "Nutcracker".
I loved that doll. I got one for christmas that year( 1978), I was 6yrs old lol. I hated dolls at that age but I was in ballet and just had to have that doll. It was the rage, I remember the commercial well too. My dad captured it on film with his 70's silent video camera, while I played with my doll LOL.
She looked like this but this doll is missing the stand that it came with lol. Circa 1978

OMWord I haven't seen this doll in Years!!~ Amazing! ~
This was my favorite ~smile~
Mine had blonde hair tho ~ For hours and hours playing with her ~ unreal ~ I thought I would never see this again~ Thank you for sharing this : )

Reply by CKay on July 25, 2008 at 6:31 AM

Hello everyone ~ It's good to see this thread, Thank you, Steven for starting it ~ it has brought alot of good memories back ~smile~

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