The Toys That Made Us

[Admiral2]

This isn't about the Netflix series, though it is the inspiration as it's been on my mind lately.

The Netflix series was mainly about toy lines that have a broad effect on the culture as a whole. This thread is really about the toys that made you. What were your favorites to play with? Which ones occupied your imagination? Did you have any that might have inspired your current career?

When I was really young I liked building things, so I had a ridiculous number of model kits, mainly of warplanes and warships. There were also two building sets that I was obsessed with. The first, of course, was LEGO. This was back in the day when there weren't a whole bunch of specialty sets. I had a bare bones one, where you just got a pile of bricks and made whatever you pleased.

The other is probably less well known nowadays but I could spend hours with it. It was the Girder and Panel playset.

The idea was that you could take a box full of snap-together girders like this:

And some plastic panels with windows and doors drawn in them and make skyscrapers of all types, some beautifully designed:

or that make no kind of architectural sense:

While Girder and Panel does seem to have a nostalgic following I doubt it could compete in today's franchise-obsessed toy marketplace, which I think is too bad.

What toys do you remember fondly?

 

[Kor]

As far as building toys, there was one called Zaks... it had square and triangle pieces that snapped together and could swivel like hinges, as well as other little pieces that could be attached. One of the models they provided instructions for was a T-rex/Godzilla type creature. That was my favorite.

Here's a TV ad:

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Kor

 

[Timewalker]

This isn't about the Netflix series, though it is the inspiration as it's been on my mind lately.

The Netflix series was mainly about toy lines that have a broad effect on the culture as a whole. This thread is really about the toys that made you. What were your favorites to play with? Which ones occupied your imagination? Did you have any that might have inspired your current career?

When I was really young I liked building things, so I had a ridiculous number of model kits, mainly of warplanes and warships. There were also two building sets that I was obsessed with. The first, of course, was LEGO. This was back in the day when there weren't a whole bunch of specialty sets. I had a bare bones one, where you just got a pile of bricks and made whatever you pleased.

The other is probably less well known nowadays but I could spend hours with it. It was the Girder and Panel playset.

The idea was that you could take a box full of snap-together girders like this:

And some plastic panels with windows and doors drawn in them and make skyscrapers of all types, some beautifully designed:

or that make no kind of architectural sense:

While Girder and Panel does seem to have a nostalgic following I doubt it could compete in today's franchise-obsessed toy marketplace, which I think is too bad.

What toys do you remember fondly?

I've seen photos of real buildings similar to the fourth picture you posted. I guess nothing is too weird nowadays if you have the money to build it.

I had Tinkertoys when I was little, but never built anything memorable with them. I was more into the toy farm animals set I was given, and coloring books.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I played with Micronauts gear all the time when I was a kid.

I was also heavily into Legos.

 

[Admiral2]

I played with Micronauts gear all the time when I was a kid.

I was also heavily into Legos.

Did you ever read any of Marvel's Micronauts comics?

I just remember seeing the toy commercials and reading the comics and thinking the art looked almost nothing like the toy.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ No, never read the comics.

Another toy that made my childhood was, of course, the Atari 2600.

 

[Butters]

There was Lego, of course. My first set was a bus station and I remember playing with it quietly in my room, with a little torch, when I was supposed to be sleeping.

Gobots and Transformers. They were great, and I didn’t draw a distinction. I wasn’t really into play battles, they all got along.

00 scale (same track as H0 but slightly larger scale) model railways occupied all of my teen years.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

1970s:

Plastic models, especially AMT Star Trek models
G.I. Joe and accessories (the 12")
Tinkertoys
Fisher-Price toys
Lincoln Logs
Mego action figures (first wave superhero and Star Trek, the 8" kind)
Also Micronauts (first wave)

edit - Dinky Toys (Thunderbird 2 (and 4), UFO Interceptor, Captain Scarlet SPV, Space: 1999 Eagles, etc.)

 

[fireproof78]

While Girder and Panel does seem to have a nostalgic following I doubt it could compete in today's franchise-obsessed toy marketplace, which I think is too bad.

It is too bad. I miss Kenner now

For me, it was Lego, Playmobil, and Star Wars figures as they became more available in the mid-90s and Hasbro took over. I still have most of the things I grew up with, as well as 12" GI Joes from my dad and several of the new ones. I also had a ton of Playmates figures for STar Trek and Seaquest.

 

[Admiral2]

I also had the typical stable of Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, Hot Wheels for the cool factor and Matchbox for the realism. I used to use rubber bands to shoot them up makeshift tracks I built. Talk about taking an eye out...

One of the accessories i had was the Hot Wheels carrying case that looked like a wheel. I used to pretend it was a spaceship and the cars were actually alien visitors. Yes, that's always been how my mind works.

 

[scotpens]

My favorite toys were always construction sets. I loved the Kenner Girder and Panel sets and their companion piece, the Bridge and Turnpike sets. Also Tinkertoys and Lincoln Logs.

I think nowadays they make Lincoln Logs out of plastic. Somehow I just can't picture young Abe Lincoln firing up the old steam-powered injection molding machine to crank out a batch of logs for his log cabin.

 

[Kerock]

I remember the Christmas back in the 60's when I got the Tiger Joe Tank.....really cool. Wish I still had it, it's worth some money now.

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[Admiral2]

I remember the Christmas back in the 60's when I got the Tiger Joe Tank.....really cool. Wish I still had it, it's worth some money now.

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In this same vein, though i didn't own it myself, I remember seeing in a family photo album my older brother playing with this:

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I would have killed for that thing, even as a hand me down, but nobody knows where it ended up.

 

[StarCruiser]

This isn't about the Netflix series, though it is the inspiration as it's been on my mind lately.

The Netflix series was mainly about toy lines that have a broad effect on the culture as a whole. This thread is really about the toys that made you. What were your favorites to play with? Which ones occupied your imagination? Did you have any that might have inspired your current career?

When I was really young I liked building things, so I had a ridiculous number of model kits, mainly of warplanes and warships. There were also two building sets that I was obsessed with. The first, of course, was LEGO. This was back in the day when there weren't a whole bunch of specialty sets. I had a bare bones one, where you just got a pile of bricks and made whatever you pleased.

The other is probably less well known nowadays but I could spend hours with it. It was the Girder and Panel playset.

The idea was that you could take a box full of snap-together girders like this:

And some plastic panels with windows and doors drawn in them and make skyscrapers of all types, some beautifully designed:

or that make no kind of architectural sense:

While Girder and Panel does seem to have a nostalgic following I doubt it could compete in today's franchise-obsessed toy marketplace, which I think is too bad.

What toys do you remember fondly?

Yep - Girder and Panel sets, Lionel, Marx and Tyco Trains, LEGO (still have quite a pile - just sitting 'round), models of many types including Star Trek, books, games, puzzles, Tonka, Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars etc..etc...

 

[think]

First I didn’t remember this toy but when looking for the second image I saw these log cabin logs and knew from early childhood maybe while watching Star Trek original series first runs..back then.



Then later it was the metal box with nuts and screws



Finally I did the LEGO stuff and actually had this set the LEGO 770,.I might of combined the LEGO and erector things,.to what end idk ..



Of course then into the Estes rocket creation work I did

They were launched into the sky and parachuted back down,.. you had to follow instructions closely,.. it was a great game...oh I think I did the Saturn V. If I remember...

 

[Tosk]

The other is probably less well known nowadays but I could spend hours with it. It was the Girder and Panel playset.

Wow, that takes me back. I had honestly forgotten we had a bunch of that when I was a kid. Thank you for the nostalgic reminder!

My strongest memories of toys is Lego, He-Man, MASK, Transformers, Star Wars, Hot Wheels, Scalextric, and model trains. My dad was a big model train guy and so I have a lot of fond memories of being around HO scale train sets.

 

[Admiral2]

My brother in law was the big train guy. He managed to build elaborate track settings and knew about track gauges and stuff that flew completely over my head. Of course, he's an engineer, so...

 

[Unicron]

In this same vein, though i didn't own it myself, I remember seeing in a family photo album my older brother playing with this:

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I would have killed for that thing, even as a hand me down, but nobody knows where it ended up.

I was actually watching that on a collection of vintage commercials yesterday, and I thought it funny that the Battlewagon was available in "food stores only."

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

This isn't about the Netflix series, though it is the inspiration as it's been on my mind lately.

The Netflix series was mainly about toy lines that have a broad effect on the culture as a whole. This thread is really about the toys that made you. What were your favorites to play with? Which ones occupied your imagination? Did you have any that might have inspired your current career?

When I was really young I liked building things, so I had a ridiculous number of model kits, mainly of warplanes and warships. There were also two building sets that I was obsessed with. The first, of course, was LEGO. This was back in the day when there weren't a whole bunch of specialty sets. I had a bare bones one, where you just got a pile of bricks and made whatever you pleased.

The other is probably less well known nowadays but I could spend hours with it. It was the Girder and Panel playset.

The idea was that you could take a box full of snap-together girders like this:

And some plastic panels with windows and doors drawn in them and make skyscrapers of all types, some beautifully designed:

or that make no kind of architectural sense:

While Girder and Panel does seem to have a nostalgic following I doubt it could compete in today's franchise-obsessed toy marketplace, which I think is too bad.

What toys do you remember fondly?

We had these when there were only red & yellow girders. The gray ones came out later on, maybe the late 70's/early 80's?

I had Lincoln Logs™, Spirograph™, Soma Cubes™, Merlin™ (1970's hand-held electronic game), Coleco Telstar Combat!™ (one of the early "single" video games for your TV after Pong™).

We did a lot of model rocketry. I did plastic models, but was terrible at actually finishing them as a youth.

I've bought Spirograph sets, Soma cubes and a Merlin off ebay in recent years, mostly for the nostalgia.

Soma cubes (basically single colored Tetris pieces):

 

[Admiral2]

I was actually watching that on a collection of vintage commercials yesterday, and I thought it funny that the Battlewagon was available in "food stores only."

Right? It's the same thing for the tank! It's like they expected Mom to go in and get eggs, milk, butter and a death weapon for her son to play with.