What was your favorite childhood possession?

[Bryan316]

My favorite possession, was more an experience, than a single solitary item. Four pieces, to my happiness puzzle.

1. Cardboard box
2. Steak knife
3. Duck tape
4. Sharpie Marker


I would make unbelievable things out of simple cardboard and duck tape, man. I mean, anything. Castles, go-karts, Transformers costumes, halloween tombstones, to-scale aircraft carrier for my scale model airplanes, swords and armor, bazookas, rubber-band guitars, just about anything.

My ideal of childhood, was when I was thoroughly entrenched in making something. Anything. Didn't matter what, as long as I was making it. Never too thrilled with the end product, far more interested in the process of making it.

 

[J-Man]

My total metal Tonka trucks and bulldozers.

 

[edgeofthorns]

My favorite possession, was more an experience, than a single solitary item. Four pieces, to my happiness puzzle.

1. Cardboard box
2. Steak knife
3. Duck tape
4. Sharpie Marker


I would make unbelievable things out of simple cardboard and duck tape, man. I mean, anything. Castles, go-karts, Transformers costumes, halloween tombstones, to-scale aircraft carrier for my scale model airplanes, swords and armor, bazookas, rubber-band guitars, just about anything.

My ideal of childhood, was when I was thoroughly entrenched in making something. Anything. Didn't matter what, as long as I was making it. Never too thrilled with the end product, far more interested in the process of making it.

So, do you do some sort of hands on work now?

~Brian~

 

[Rakosh]

My favorite childhood possession was that one when I was 8 and Lord Belial took control of my powers of motion & speech for a weekend. My parents freaked! I mean, they didn't know if it was a demon or a devil who had control of my soul. Man, that was a blast...

But a priest came and ended the fun pretty quickly...

 

[TXHOSER]

My favorite childhood possession was that one when I was 8 and Lord Belial took control of my powers of motion & speech for a weekend. My parents freaked! I mean, they didn't know if it was a demon or a devil who had control of my soul. Man, that was a blast...

But a priest came and ended the fun pretty quickly...

dork

 

[TXHOSER]

I can't believe I forgot this. My all time childhood favorite...

the Big Wheel.


Even with a busted up tire full of rocks it was the best toy ever.

Oh, by the way...Green Machines suck.

 

[rushzil2112]

I had some transformers, that to this day, I have no idea what happened to them, and I remember looking everywhere for them and just had no clue where they went. Other than that, my first drumset, which is still what I play today, and probably always will, gotta love my old blue 70s ludwig vistalites.

 

[Pellaz]

+1

I had a plethora of Macross Valkyries from dinky plastic to die-cast. But that Go-Lion set was something special. I fell in love with big robot mecha instantly.

To this day, two SDF-1's, an Alpha fighter and a Zentraedi officer's battle-pod "hold court" on the top of my fridge, looking down at the kitchen with weaponry bared. All except the battle-pod, whose long-gun went missing a few years ago.

My, how we went crazy over Robotech (shown on Ch. 46 in Atlanta back in the old days) back when I was in college.

I can't believe I forgot this. My all time childhood favorite...

the Big Wheel.


Even with a busted up tire full of rocks it was the best toy ever.

That's gotta be one of the best-loved toys EVER.

Until recently they were available in the Sportsmans Guide catalog for about $40, but now all I see listed is the Big Wheel trainer bike. A nifty bit of nostalgia, since I had no idea they were still being made!

Side note: I love Sportsmans Guide -- one of my favorite online merchants' sites ever. I've gotten everything from leather dusters and leather jackets to weather-radios, tents and sleeping bags from there.

 

[Entrerie]

To this day, two SDF-1's, an Alpha fighter and a Zentraedi officer's battle-pod "hold court" on the top of my fridge, looking down at the kitchen with weaponry bared. All except the battle-pod, whose long-gun went missing a few years ago.

My, how we went crazy over Robotech (shown on Ch. 46 in Atlanta back in the old days) back when I was in college.


That's awesome. I never did get the Gakken Alpha fighter as a child, I settled for the Toynami version finally. I've seen them on ebay more frequently a few years ago though. I know there is a new one that just got released which is the combo of a beta and alpha in Japan.

I did have a Matchbox hover tank but it got lost with the rest of the toys. I have an Invid armored trooper though I got a while back.

Have you kept up with the Japanese Macross series? The new Macross Frontier show is not bad at all.

 

[Pellaz]

That's awesome. I never did get the Gakken Alpha fighter as a child, I settled for the Toynami version finally. I've seen them on ebay more frequently a few years ago though. I know there is a new one that just got released which is the combo of a beta and alpha in Japan.

Ooooooh! Me wants!

I did have a Matchbox hover tank but it got lost with the rest of the toys. I have an Invid armored trooper though I got a while back.

I reallly loved the design of the Invid mecha. It really -did- look somewhat alien and exotic, which made sense.

Have you kept up with the Japanese Macross series? The new Macross Frontier show is not bad at all.

Hmm, no, I haven't, lately! Any DVDs available? How many in the series?

 

[Entrerie]

Ooooooh! Me wants!



I reallly loved the design of the Invid mecha. It really -did- look somewhat alien and exotic, which made sense.



Hmm, no, I haven't, lately! Any DVDs available? How many in the series?

Now it's just started airing over there, mainly just fansubs right now. I know Macross Plus and Zero should be out here on DVD though. Macross II came out a while back but it's treated as non canon. There's a whole big deal about Legal rights issues with Macross and Robotech and speculation about what the upcoming live-action movie is going to entail.

Also if you haven't looked at Macross toys in a while, they have some sick valkyries available from Yamato toys that are huge, I forgot the scale but I think it's 1/40 and 1/60. They even made a transforming Monster toy, it was the Mecha with the 3 large long cannons on it that used to be on the deck of the promethius(iirc).

 

[FriendOfEntropy]

Frame of reference...I'm 38 so mid to late 70s toys and early 80s were my era.

I always thought we were pretty darn poor growing up...felt like we had nothing compared to all my friends, and we were pretty much very low middle class, but looking back at this toy list, it's amazing how much I had. Now, I was an only child, so the toy dollars went all to me. I got to be spoiled in that respect.

I did get tired of having to wear Toughskins jeans from Sears instead of name brand jeans like all my friends.
Toughskins

Sears Winner Shoes (the three stripes) instead of name brand shoes, lol.

Enough about unfashionable clothes...

Okay, so the topic was favorite, and I have to say my favorite was my Commodore Vic 20, and I still keep it in working condition..breaking it out occasionally for some retro fun.

It's the reason I'm a computer programmer today instead of an Accountant or something.


I had Lego sets too numerous to count, and I broke those out of the attic for my daughter when she was old enough that they weren't a choking hazard. She's 8 now and is not as interested in them as I was at her age. She'll play with them if I sit down with her and build things, but she'll go play with her dolls and such if she's on her own.


If only I had some of these things I list below still, they might be worth something. I was hard on toys, plus they seemed to turn into hand-me downs. I remember all these fondly, but didn't hang onto them like I did my Lego and my Computers.

Star Wars figures too numerous to remember
Big Jim
Matchbox and Hotwheels
Big Wheel
plain old Huffy Bike (I never got a BMX..I was so un-cool).

Lone Ranger

Weebles

Fisher Price(I had the airport, the garage, and the barn.)

Evil Knievel

Planet of The Apes Treehouse

Planet of The Apes Catapult And Wagon

I had TONS of Micronauts

Space 1999 Eagle

Tons more kinds of toys I can't remember, I'm sure.

Bought this book a few years back and it has been the greatest for wallowing in toy nostalgia. I had priced trying to buy real Sears wishbooks from say 1975 to 1985, and it was way too expensive. Shipping alone on the catalogs was a killer. This guy has gotten the rights to republish the wishbook pages, and boy is it nice to see all the stuff I drooled over as a kid waiting for Christmas.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Toys-70s-80s-Legendary/dp/1887790179"]Boys Toys of the 1970s and 1980s[/ame] Use Amazon's "Search Inside This Book" feature to get a preview of some of the pages.

 

[yardleybates]

I would have to say my vintage Barbies from my Mom when she was a girl - they didn't bend and weren't the "blonde barbie" that we all know and love now.

I had trunks and trunks of elaborate outfits for them.
Loved setting up a whole area to play with them

Then my baby sister cut off all their hair and colored them with pink crayons

 

[Rakosh]

Oh, by the way...Green Machines suck.

That was a personal attack, wasn't it?? You know my Green Machine could tear up your Big Wheel any day...besides, the stick steering system helped me years later on BattleZone!

Evil Knievel

Oh now THAT was the shit! I had my Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle break more bones on him than the real man ever could...and he was a good match for the Six Million Dollar Man and Maskatron. (Man, I wish I still had that toy--it's worth a fortune now).

 

[kellsco]

I keep coming back to this thread....and thinking, trying to think about something that I prized most of all. I kept coming up with nothing really special. Then it hit me. My music.

I got my first turntable for Christmas the year I turned 5. I had mostly 45's for a few years, until my parents thought me old enough for albums. It was a portable record player with a latch and carrying handle, and I took it with me whenever I could. A 1967's iPod if you will. I even took it with me when we went on vacations.

 

[rushzil2112]

If I gad to say what my most prized possesion was these days, it would be my ipod and my computer, I love being able to have shit tons of music in my pocket at all times, because I remember taking my huge cd book and cd player with me to high school, which took up my whole entire backpack up, so it didn't have room for books and other school shit.

 

[Pellaz]

Now it's just started airing over there, mainly just fansubs right now. I know Macross Plus and Zero should be out here on DVD though. Macross II came out a while back but it's treated as non canon. There's a whole big deal about Legal rights issues with Macross and Robotech and speculation about what the upcoming live-action movie is going to entail.

L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-Live action movie? Do tell!

I did get tired of having to wear Toughskins jeans from Sears instead of name brand jeans like all my friends.
Toughskins

LOL. I had those, too. My mom got me the "husky" kind.....because I resembled an Alaskan sled-dog or something.

Okay, so the topic was favorite, and I have to say my favorite was my Commodore Vic 20, and I still keep it in working condition..breaking it out occasionally for some retro fun.

It's the reason I'm a computer programmer today instead of an Accountant or something.

Meh. YOU only had a 22-character wide display.
MY Atari 800 displayed a full 40 characters!
And I spent $800 -- a princely sum when you're a poor college student working at Six Flags -- for a 300 baud acoustic coupler modem for it.

"The first step is to admit you had an addiction problem": I was involved in online communicating loooong before AOL, CompuServe, etc. I had to have a modem. For me, being online in the early days was the World of WarCrack of my day.

And yeah, that's why I ended up getting a degree in CS instead of physics, my planned major.

I had Lego sets too numerous to count, and I broke those out of the attic for my daughter when she was old enough that they weren't a choking hazard.

I was alllll oer Legos. I still have a few of my constructions to this day, lurking around the house. Typically spaceships and fighters I built.

Space 1999 Eagle

Oh, wow! Now I'm going to hassle my mom (25 years later) for not getting me one, since I loved the show.

Now, if I could just get a full-size gull-wing CAR, from UFO.......

That was a personal attack, wasn't it?? You know my Green Machine could tear up your Big Wheel any day...besides, the stick steering system helped me years later on BattleZone!

I never actually possessed a BattleZone game, but they sure did possess ME.
For hours.
On one quarter.
I was frighteningly good at that game.


After I win the Big Game jackpot, I'll set up an arcade in a strip-mall somewhere and get all of those old arcade games we oldtimers really miss.
$5 entry, and play all day. Or something.

 

[The Invisible Guest]

Frame of reference...I'm 38 so mid to late 70s toys and early 80s were my era.

Okay, so the topic was favorite, and I have to say my favorite was my Commodore Vic 20, and I still keep it in working condition..breaking it out occasionally for some retro fun.

It's the reason I'm a computer programmer today instead of an Accountant or something.


Evil Knievel

Planet of The Apes Treehouse

Planet of The Apes Catapult And Wagon

You know .. a very close #2 on my list was my Commodore 64. I played games on it til I couldn't see straight. I spent the better part of a year trying to defeat Exodus: Ultima III ... finally did it. I had thousands of games at one point.

I also had some of those other things you listed. I loved Planet Of The Apes.

My #3 was probably a little hand held battery operated Microelectronics baseball game. Hell, I even started a mini fire because of that game ... had a battery charger that malfunctioned, and caught the carpeting on fire. Luckily I walked back into my bedroom, or the whole house might have went up in flames. As it was it wound up being nothing more than a some melted carpeting.

I spent a lot of time with that game as well ... I made up my own teams and players ... kept track of stats and all. I still have some of those seasons ... I was an only child .. had to keep myself occupied.

Britt

 

[spag]

I nearly fell in love again .. this time with a new 2008 Kuwahara. What a beauty !! I'd buy it, but I'd feel like a screwball riding around on it at my advanced age.

Nothing says DUI more than an adult on a BMX bike...

 

[spag]

Only one constant since I was maybe four, Legos. I actually still have them all, my originals, plus about 100,000 pieces added since. I still think they are cool as hell, though I have a lot of disdain for the new sets with nothing but specialty pieces that can only be used for building one thing. Not big on the "models" either, since I don't think it encourages kids to be creative.

My nephew is actually getting huge into them, he's about the same age I was. I'm planning on boxing up a lot of the standard pieces up, and probably through some of the castle sets in there. I'll save the Pirates, AARRRRGGGGGG, for when he gets older. I have a lot of the Tecnic sets too, but that'll have to wait as well. They have mother fucking Vikings out now too, but I don't have any of those. Better he get use of them than sitting in a box in the garage.

We moved a lot, frequently overseas, so things like bikes, bigwheels, etc sometimes got shed for new ones on the other side. I used to be into these diecast metal toys that an English company called Dinky made. They were cool as hell, working parts, guns fired, etc. My favorite was my Space 1999 Eagle and Thunderbird 2. This is dating myself...but when the Atari 2600 came out, I was really into that as well, but I was in my teens, and starting to have other interests...