Time Machine Toychest #004 – Easy Bake Oven
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In this episode, we go back in time to to 1963 and talk about the Easy Bake Oven and it’s place in history.
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Time Machine Toychest #003 – Toy Soldiers and Green Army Men
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In this episode, we take the Time Machine back to explore the history of toy soldiers and green army men.
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Time Machine Toychest #002 – Viewmaster
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In this episode, we take the Time Machine back to 1939 to learn about a toy that started out as a tourist photographic viewing device – the Viewmaster.
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Time Machine Toychest #001 – Slinky
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The inagural episode of the Time Machine Toychest. This week we travel back to the 1940′s to talk about “What Walks Down Stairs, Alone or in Pairs” – the Slinky.
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Coming soon – The Time Machine Toychest Podcast
A look back at the toys of yesteryear. I take you back in time to talk about the toys we all grew up with. Stay tuned to the website. The first episode is coming this weekend.
Top ten Xmas toys from my childhood #1
Atari 2600 Video Computer System (1980)
This is it. The big one. #1. I think many in my generation would agree that the Atari 2600 was the best thing to happen to toys and technology at the time. Long before the days of the Xbox360, Wii, and PS3, this granddaddy started it all as far as switchable video games went. The Atari came with 2 joysticks, 2 paddles, and a pack-in game of Combat. Nowadays you get one controller and no game with a brand new latest generation system. Oh yeah – don’t forget the awesome RF modulator switch you had to slide to “game” or “tv” depending on what you wanted to do. It had the 2 leads you had to screw down to the back of your television. That was tech. It’s hard to believe, but the Atari went for $199 retail. That’s nuts. There were also a couple of versions. First generation models had six switches on the console and were much heavier. Later they were streamlined to just 4 main switches and less RF shielding to make them lighter. Atari really hit it big when they started buying the licensing for arcade games. Space Invaders was a mega-hit for Atari even though it was inferior to the coin-operated machine.
Do you remember? – Pitfall, Combat, Pinball, Kaboom, Breakout, Adventure
When I got this for Christmas it turned into family fun time. Rarely do you see families hang out together in the same room and play a game together let alone a video game. My family was the same way. That’s what we did that Christmas. On a 13″ color tv (Dad didn’t want to screw up the big one.) Me, mom, dad, Jon, Pam, Jerry, Cindy, Jenny, Rob, & my nephew Nick. We played Space Invaders until 2am. I threw up in the middle of the night that night. Mom thinks it was from too many video games. I think it was just the flu. For the past few Christmases we had the Kirk family Christmas at my brothers or sisters house in Columbus or Sidney respectively. Our family is much bigger now. We played Wii bowling till all hours on an inflatable screen in the basement as a giant family. I believe this is why I picked the Atari as my number one. It brought my family together for a moment from our hustle and bustle lives. It’s really more about family and friends than all the super cool toys from my youth. This is very Clark Griswold, but it’s about the times and memories you have and those times and memories you will still make.
I hope everybody enjoyed my top ten list. I wanted to get back into the blog again, and saw this as a great motivator to write again. I’ll try and keep it updated with interesting anecdotes and adventures. Most of all, thanks for reading. Have a great Christmas Day today. Enjoy your family, watch your kids open presents, and curse the toys you have to assemble. Merry Christmas everybody!
Top ten Xmas toys from my childhood #2
Millennium Falcon Playset (1979)
You knew I couldn’t get through this list without having Star Wars toys on it didn’t you? The big question people had was how many Star Wars toys would make the list? Anyone that knows me knows that that is not very possible. It would be a top ten star Wars list instead. Hmmm…maybe another time.
When Star Wars first came out there were no such things as action figures. In fact you may recall that Kenner released a cardboard box for purchase with the promise of 4 action figures by mail. When I received those action figures I would imagine play scenarios around them since there were no playsets or ships yet. I used the narrow end of a mini ironing board as the Millennium Falcon. Kenner then started trickling out ships. First the landspeeder, the xwing, tie fighter, a death star playset. Then the holy grail of all ships and playsets came out – the Falcon. A working ramp, opening cockpit, retractable landing gear, rotating radar dish, swiveling gun turret, holo chess board, jedi remote training area, and a hidden storage compartment. THIS ROCKED!!!!
This toy was not necessarily a surprise on Xmas morning. At the time midwestern Ohio was not very prone to get Star Wars toys when they first came out. Even if they were manufactured in Cincinnati, so it was hard to find anything let alone a brand new MF that everybody wanted. Hence Davenport, Iowa enters the picture. My sister and brother-in-law lived there and we would visit every now and then. Every trip to Iowa meant a trip to the mall (Sidney, Ohio had no such thing.) That is where I saw my coveted Falcon – at Montgomery Ward. Later on we all split up to do our own thing in the mall. I happened to spy my dad walking down the opposite side of the mall with a large bag under his shoulder with my new Xmas toy in it. Score! Many, many hours were spent piloting the hunk of junk from a galaxy far, far away.
Top ten Xmas toys from my childhood (Honorable Mention)
Adventure People (1975)
Before Star Wars action figures there were the Fisher Price Adventure People. Kind of a post pre-school toy line to role play neat adventures. Recently you may have seen the concept of these toys transformed into the Rescue Heroes by fisher Price. There was a wide assortment to choose from. Check out the photos, you may see something you had as a kid. I had the kayak, the skydiver, a sea explorer boat, the rescue copter, and the blue news van.
Top ten Xmas toys from my childhood #3
Ford Pedal Tractor (1974)
Long before the days of Power Wheels, there was the era of the pedal tractor. Not the plastic ones mind you, but the cast iron, heavy duty models. Mine was a Ford 8000 in blue. To this day I still have memories of mom and dad taking me to a farm supply store. I got to ride one around the store, and threw the biggest tantrum because I didn’t get to keep one. Then on Christmas morning there it was. No pedal tractor is complete without a wagon. This one had that as well. I still remember the most frustrating thing about being a 4-year old, is not having the leg power to pedal the thing on shag carpet. Later on when the winter thaw came, I could ride it outside on our driveway. We had a circular driveway with a secondary lower driveway to a separate storage garage/shed. I remember coasting this iron missile down the hill full speed. In the early 80′s my nephew tried the same thing and ended up wrecking and breaking his finger.
I recently learned that mom and dad still have this same tractor in storage. I plan on getting it out and restoring it to the shape it was in when I first received it.
Top ten Xmas toys from my childhood (Honorable Mention)
TCR Racing Racetrack (1980)
TCR Total Control Racing was a slotless track system that gave you more control over your racing cars than ever before. Because there were no slots for the cars to fit into, the TCR cars could change lanes. This was done by flipping a switch on the Hand Controller. However when the cars came to a bend they would always default to the outside of the bend due to gravity and centrifugal force. This meant that you could not overtake on the inside of a bend. Most TCR sets that were sold came with the added bonus of a third vehicle, a Jam Car which travelled at a slightly slower speed than the two “racing” cars. This meant that in order to win a race you would have to negotiate this vehicle as well as your opponent.
I used to have this set up in the back of our basement in a creepy storage room on top of the meat freezer. We used to have races, but had to count the laps ourselves. That never worked out because you always lost count. Wrecks never really happened either. You just rode the rails the entire time. Still a great track that didn’t frustrate you by having the cars fly off the track at a simulated 500mph.
