Do You Remember... Toys?
December 21st, 2008 by Rodney
Toyland, toyland,
little girl and boy land,
when you dwell within it,
you are ever happy there.
Childhood toyland,
mystical merry toyland,
once you pass it's borders,
you can never return again.
We all passed it's borders a long, long time ago, but I'm going to return you back to toyland.
Do you remember the toys you grew up with? Toys you received for Christmas? Or your birthday? Or maybe for no special reason? Come on, let's take a visit in the MLC Toyland:
Lincoln Logs - I remember getting this for Christmas
Tinkertoy - I got the Lincoln Logs, my brother got Tinkertoy
Mattel "Crackfire" Winchester rifle - Santa brought me this one
Hot Wheels - Remember the familiar orange track with the purple connectors?
Spirograph - I used to spend hours with this thing
Electric Football - This was about as high-tech as it got
View-Master - The scenery pictures were okay, but the cartoons were the best
Lite-Brite - I never had one, but did play with the neighbor's one once
Coon Cap - My 2 older brothers made my mom look all over town for this. Right, big bro?
Mr. Potato Head - You know this one is vintage - he still has his pipe
   
Do you remember the other Vegetable Heads? They kind of creep me out now
Gumby & Pokey - Played with them until the copper wire poked through
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots - Our day version of robotics
Easy-Bake Oven- I didn't forget about the girls
Trolls - Another one for the girls
Pick Up Sticks - Seeing these containers brings back memories
Whee-Lo - Hours and hours of mindless fun
Wizzzer - Man, I loved this toy
Barrel of Monkeys - Remember playing this game? Loved the storage container too
Time Bomb - This was another fun game. I imagine this game would be banned today
Monster Magnet - Remember this toy?
Rat Fink - For all you hot rodder's
Panasonic 8-Track Player - Not really a toy, but had to throw this one in
Okay, those pictures should've shaken up your toy memories. What toys do you recall from your small kid days. Not necessarily a toy that you owned, but maybe a neighbor's toy that you always played with. Or a favorite toy at your pre-school/sitter's house. Or that cool toy at your cousin's house. Why is it that the cousins always had better toys than us? I remember my small-kid-time friend (and his brother) both having their own Panasonic 8-Track player. I thought it was so cool. Share with us what are some of the toys you remember growing up with. We can add them to the MLC Toyland memories.
Special mahalo to Shoyu Burner for the topic idea.
Tags: Barrel of Monkeys, Easy-Bake Oven, Electric Football, Gumby, Hot Wheels, Lincoln Logs, Lite Brite, Mattel Crackfire Winchester rifle, Midlife Crisis, Monster Magnet, Mr. Potato Head, Panasonic 8-Track player, Pick Up Sticks, Pokey, Racoon Cap, Rat Fink, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Spirograph, Time Bomb, Tinkertoy, toys, Vegetable Heads, View-Master, vintage, Whee-Lo, Wizzzer
December 21st, 2008 at 2:26 am
1st.
December 21st, 2008 at 2:30 am
I remember the hot wheels tracks. I remember getting hit with them. Somebody call CPS!!!
December 21st, 2008 at 2:34 am
OMGosh!! I haven't thought about a lot of those toys above in yeeaaarrs! Barrel of monkeys!!! Tinkertoys.... I loved my spirograph! ohhh man... hehe.. memories...
December 21st, 2008 at 2:44 am
I had the same 8 track player. My favorite 8 tracks were EWF's All 'n' All and I am.
December 21st, 2008 at 4:00 am
Oh, can remember most of them if not all
What about slinky, erector set, the one with all the metal pcs. you screw together, and the batt. powered plane and helicopter which was connected with a cable to the handheld batt. pack control, get plenty more gatta think.
Time for go surf
back lata's 
December 21st, 2008 at 7:37 am
I remember those toys and had most of them too!
December 21st, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Me and my bros had buckets full of legos. How about those little green army men? Forgot what you call em.
December 21st, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I had the Hot Wheels - my dad played with it more than I did! I had the spirograph, the barrel of monkeys, the pick-up sticks. I had a Slinky but could never get it to work (nomo 'nuff stairs). I loved Lite Brite and Lego and Operation. I had Barbie, but played with her only occasionally. I despised Mystery Date - I always thought that was dumb.
December 21st, 2008 at 3:09 pm
You sank my battleship. How about connect four? But usually my family gives me clothes during Christmas. Gottla love them checkered pants from Sears.
December 21st, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Oooh, almost forgot about this one. We had a bunch of those Kikaida, Kamen Rider, and the like action figures. I wish I still had those. Worth some money I think, but I might still play with them. He he...
December 21st, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Slot cars!!!
Etch-a-sketch.
Operation
Schwinn 5 sp
Portable reel tape recorder
Portable transistor radios
December 21st, 2008 at 5:39 pm
most of those in the pics.. slinky, spirograph (wow)..
pom-pom gun, the frogmen that you had to order from Kellogg's..
that plastic stuff that we used to weave into key chains an' stuff..
wow, haven't thought about these things in years..
wasn't there usually one "must have" toy every year, even on the old days..
December 21st, 2008 at 5:42 pm
LOL Ukuhead, you must have been such a tough kid.
December 21st, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Army soldiers
Cabbage Patch dolls - more for when we were parents with children
Brownie cameras
December 21st, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Ducks: and now my boy is paying me back. Bigtime...
December 21st, 2008 at 7:26 pm
i remember asking Santa for a bike. my mom was the youngest child of Russian Jewish immigrants, and she didnt really believe in bikes. (God forbid, you might get killed).
we learned to ride on the neighbors' bikes, and then at Christmas my Dad's Dad came from Illinois, and there were bikes under the tree.
a lot younger, we got cowboy hats and six shooters. that was cool.
December 21st, 2008 at 7:27 pm
LOL true cosmic revenge.
December 21st, 2008 at 7:52 pm
The coon skin hat was the one everyone wanted, and then how about:
Bat Masterson Hat & Cane
The Rifleman's rifle
M-1 with sliding bolt and sling
Airplane with nylon tube and red handle with the batteries inside
Tons of plastice models (which were assemblied then blown up New Years Eve)
Electric Train
Gotta go eat dinner and will be back with more don't want the puter genie to time me out.
December 21st, 2008 at 8:58 pm
OMG gang, I had em all
Daisy BB gun
Had this one gun you could shoot around the corner.
Plastic Bowling set
What you call that pink stuff that comes in the egg? Youcould transfer color pics from the comics. It'll come to me later tonight. You watch.
Whoa, bring back da memories there Rodney. Woooo Hoooo!!
My grand-daughter loves Mr. Potato Head. I play with it as much as her.
Good One.
December 21st, 2008 at 9:02 pm
well how about a homemade shampoo bottle which I try to dress up and mud pie to feed my 2 brothers and a house made of banana leaves and I remember sitting on a big ants hill ... we play with many neighborhood children slipper hitting a can... then an aunt buys me a big huge doll taller than me I was around four maybe ..but what I remember the most is the imaginary toys I use peeble and sticks during rainy day I pretended they were little people swimming...! and sometimes my two brothers and I play we HIDE AND Seek on rainy day we cover our youngest brother's eyes with handkerchief and he bang his head on the pole we laugh..we hardly had any toys...poor. THEN when I got married my husband haul all his junk of toys to our house!
December 21st, 2008 at 9:25 pm
silly putty!
i still keep that in the house, still fascinates me.
Rosette: we loved going under the house in the dirt, and building roads and dams, reservoirs. then run the small hana wai through our stuff.
my kids were always out under the tree (in the dirt) or in their "mud kitchen". must run in the family.
December 22nd, 2008 at 12:36 am
Thanks for the replies. Keep them coming. I know you can remember your old toys. Think of what was in the "toy box".
One Christmas, I asked Santa for a pogo stick. And Santa delivered! Man, I loved that pogo stick. Had it for a long time too. My nieces used to play with it buy couldn't seem to get the hang of it.
@ducksinthewind - I remember seeing a picture of me as a small kid on Christmas day - still in my pajamas, but wearing an Indian costume that I must've gotten for Christmas. It had a headband with a couple of feathers sticking up in the back. I think I recall a vest with fringes and a "tomtom" drum. Wearing all this over my pajamas. ha, ha!
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:37 am
Kabonkers, those 2 balls connected to the string and you had to swing it and hit the balls together... boiyee.. that sucka hurt! I got hit alot with those dang things... but every few years I think about it and wanna play with one....
Lemon ring, I think it was called, where one side was "around" your ankle and you kinda skipped over da lemon on da other side as it went around your feet.
December 22nd, 2008 at 3:15 am
Bubbles - plastic bottle with the bubble maker inside
Pistols and rifles with the two piece bullets and the paper caps that you stuck on end of the bullets
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:11 am
anyone remember Big Jim? It was the action figure that could flex its muscles and if you press the button on his back he would do a karate chop.
Rock'em Sock'em robot was my favorite. I had one of those electric vibrating football setups and those were really lame.
December 22nd, 2008 at 7:34 am
@HNL2LAS - Kabonkers! I had those and it kept me busy for hours.
I was thinking about Spirograph the other day.....I should go though some of the boxes at my parents house and I might find some of those old time treasures. I had a Rubiks cube in high school and am happy to see that my son is into it now.
I used to enjoy playing in Manoa stream while growing up. Catching tadpoles, guppies and crayfish. To bad the streams are so poluted now. Mudpies used to be fun too.
December 22nd, 2008 at 8:01 am
"give a show" projector: which you could shoot the film on your bedroom walls.
Model cars and battleships. That glue used for those models was potent.Get dizzy thinking about it. Also, New year's eve , I use to blow up the battleships with da "Checkerbomb firecrackers". (Rod, another idea for one blog...)
Balsa wood airplanes.
"Lite Brite"
Lincoln Logs
Creepy Crawlers
GI Joe with da "kung fu Grip"
Those water propelled rockets with a pump attachment
Water Wiggle
ps. : can tell I had plenty toys or what.......................
December 22nd, 2008 at 8:02 am
That Panasonic 8-track player reminded my of a detonator. lol Hey, I used to bake brownies in the Easy Bake Oven and I not one girl (last time I checked). Pretty good cooking with a light bulb.
I still play lego with my grand-daughter. She came over to show us her new barn toy. Open it up and you can see the different stalls and stuff with animals and the farmer with his John Deere Tractor.
Hey Shizah, I used to call the plastic army guys Small Green Army Men
Reminds me of the Toy Story Movie.
Oh yeah
Walkie Talkie
Space Helmets
Pop Guns
Made our own Pea Shooters (Was I into guns that early in life?) The only gun I have now is a pellet pistol that barely have enough air to move the pellet out of the barrel.
Water Pistols (still with the gun theme)
Operation game
boy the list can go on forever.
Kid time we had to make our own toys. Flatten Bottle Caps with a string though it. Used to see how fast we could spin the cap. Almost like a table sawblade. We used to do dangerous stuff.
I know we talking about toys, but you bringing us back to small kid time. We used to build our own forts using scrap lumber and roof. We even had a toilet seat.
OK, I need to think about his more.
December 22nd, 2008 at 8:57 am
I had most of those toys, plus Legos and Ninja Turtles.
@Ukuhead: Those Hot Wheel tracks do hurt, don't they? I remember catching cracks from those a few times! The curved ones hurt the most for some reason.
Also, kids still do get Lincoln Logs for Christmas, I think. While I was shopping yesterday, I saw a guy buy a HUGE box of them.
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:15 am
wow.....all these toys you all mentioned brings back some good memories!
i was really into hot wheels small keed time. we even had a club that held races and stuff.
the sizzlers were good fun. i thought it was so neat how the charger was made into a gas pump.
i wish i had my hot wheels collection now. *sigh*
eh Mclovin......you was in the club too eh?
whee-lo.....bwahahaha!!
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:25 am
i vividly remember my older sister had this huge talking doll. da kine where you pull the string and it talks. you could insert small records inside it that makes it say different phrases.
man-oh-man did that doll creep da hell out of me! eeevil!.....pure eeevil!
"charming chatty" was it's name. see i even remember it's name! scarred for life i tell you.
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:44 am
I had a bunch of those toys too!
Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys were always fun, but hard to beat Lego. I hated when the split piece at the end of the Tinkertoys would break, and then you get off-length pieces.
Star Wars action figures were popular when I was a kid. I had fun making stuff for them with Lego.
@HNL2LAS - I remember the toy you're talking about - Lemon Twist. I remember getting burns on my ankle form that thing, cause I was just too danged fast whipping that lemon around my leg.
Good thing I never have hairy legs back then, or I would have burst into flame! 
Oh, I thought those things were call Ka-Bangers? Eh, close enough. I recall a lot of wrist trauma being inflicted by that evil device.
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:44 am
RESPOND FROM MY WHOLE FAMILY ( yes I try not to buy the most annoying toys for my kids to drive me crazy picking them off the floor..I tell them in my day we have no toys)
Husband toys: EVIL Knievel G I JOE action figures ...car lionel train set.board games books..silly putty he has them too..Mr. potato head (when he is not looking I give his junk away)
Oldest son's toys :Toy story Woody Buzz light year small soldeir..playstation .. lego..board games.
Pokemon Bioncle train twister lego Play station 2 ...cars..UNO game..THE WHOLE HOUSE full of toys !
OKAY when I move out of the house got married I BUY ME DOLLS just for me since I had no childhood toys..omg!
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:26 am
Schwinn Sting-Ray bike with the banana seat and "sissy bar". It was stolen a year after I got it for Christmas.
Tyco electric road race set. I used to get it for my brother for Christmas just so I could play it!
Roller Skates that you had to adjust with a special key to fit your shoe.
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:37 am
I'm with Ynaku. Those toys definitely remind me of Toy Story.
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
Creepy Crawler - The one where you make colorful rubber creatures by baking liquid goop in metal molds. I got burned really badly with that mini-stove. That thing got super hot.
Super ball - Bounce it and it goes super high
Rock'em Sock'em Robots - Lots of fun
Hot Wheels - I had that accelerator thing that kept them going round the track
Time Bomb - I remember using it to play like hot potato with my friends
Air blaster gun - This was odd. Pull the trigger and shoot at your friend across the room. A few seconds later you feel he feels the blast of air. http://www.timewarptoys.com/airblaster.jpg
December 22nd, 2008 at 11:16 am
yeah....hot wheel tracks hurt! more than the ni'au brooms!
December 22nd, 2008 at 11:41 am
Remember the pistols that used paper shot rolls?
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Bananafysh, you one young guy, if you had Star War stuff.
M, we used to take the paper shot rolls and pound the whole roll with a with a hammer, (destructive older brothers of Rodney).
Hey Rod, I know where your green and pink (I think) Pogo stick is, it's stashed in the tool shed, cmon over and play and I'll drive you to the hopital after j/k.
Guys, remember:
Prince Valient sword with the jewels and shield
The 150 army men (like about an inch or two in size) in different firing positions with tanks and stuff, got into big time trouble cause Kailua is sand and we used to dig under the foundation blocks to make bunker and pill boxes.
Radio wagon, Red tricycle with streamers coming out of the handle grips.
And we always had one aunty who gave us weird stuff, like chocolate truffles, cheese sampler sets, etc. Didn't realize till I grew up that this was expensive type gifts.
The lever winchester rifle that you had to load with metal bullets but had to stick round paper shot on it before loading, just made noise no projectiles shot out.
Our dad would never let us own a BB gun, but we could shoot the Marlin 22, and his .410 shot gun, go figure that one out. Back then all the parents kept telling stories about the boy whose eye got shot out. Guy was like Dennis the Menace, never aged.
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:21 pm
You guys covered all the toys I can remember.
New Years was the best when there was no restriction on aerials. Bottle rockets, Duck Brand (used to wipe out the little army men with the firecrackers), 4oz rockets that never went straight up cause they were so heavy. Roman Candle fights. Amazing neva lose a finger or eye.
Oh, I know one. Toss Across.
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Uhhh, you guys forgot the "Spud Gun", remember, you stuck the barrel in the potatoe and cocked it and shot potatoe cylinders out of them.
Ey, Ynaku, we used to use can covers and did the same thing, but got busted by my parents and had to put tape around it so we couldn't go around cutting things, leaves, stems, brothers, mu-wahaha.
Cocounut Willy, we used to build tanks and other plastic models, then spend hours stripping down our packs of duck bambucha's and camel mini's and then see who could blow up the models, spent many afternoons in the back yard doing that. And even got in trouble for shooting the penny rockets at tall cocount trees to see if we could knock down the cocount, not realizing we could burn the tree.
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:49 pm
@HNL2LAS - Lemon ring? I think you mean Lemon Twist. I googled it: http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk247/mlc24701/lemon.jpg
But the one I remember was this:
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk247/mlc24701/jjump.jpg
Lose money. Didn't work too good with barefeet. And we not about to put on shoes just to play. Besides, we'd get whacked with the Hot Wheels track (curve section) for wearing our one and only pair of shoes to play.
@RBB - my florescent pink/green pogo stick is still at mom's? Woo Hoo! Nah, better leave it there. I don't think Paula would let me bring it home....
@Shoyu Burner - I remember the water rockets that you pump up and fire them. Our parents never let us have one since we weren't allowed to play with water. But we talked our uncle into buying us one. Ho, good fun. Fill it up halfway with water. Pump 'em up. Fire away. Climb on the roof to get it down. Do all over again. btw, thanks for this topic idea, Shoyu Burner
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
@Ynaku, @RBB - I remember my dad flattening out the bottle caps, making the two holes in them for the string and letting us cut stuff. Had to pop out the cork from under the cap first. But we never had them made out of can tops like my big bro did.
Eh you guys, save your firecracker stories for next week
December 22nd, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Anybody remember they used to have a potato pop gun. You get one raw potato and shove the barrel in it, a peice would get stuck in the barrel and that would shot out.
What about that gun that was spring loaded and shot round silver clay pellets that when got wet would melt...think the brand name was "Sekiden" or something ladat.
BF, HNL2LAS; They had one also called "Jiggle Jump" I think
had small bells or somting it so would jiggle when you spin'um.
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Eh you guys really ole fut. Look whose talking yeah? Shoyu Burner, thanks for bringing up this topic. Good fun reminisce about our old days.
Hey Rod, gotta bring up the old games we used play kid time. One day, bring it up and we see what kind make up games we used to do when we don't have money to buy toys. You already brought up marbles. Now toys. Woo Hoo this going be good fun.
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:11 pm
@NKHEA - Like this:
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk247/mlc24701/jjump.jpg
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:13 pm
@Ynaku - Old time games - blog draft created. Watch for it.
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:14 pm
few other toys:
Estes? rockets ( you build and launch, a parachute came with it).
model Gas powered cars or planes
walkie talkies
clothes (nah!!, I think kids even nowadays don't want clothes as gifts!)Once in a while, we would get fireworks as gifts.....yeah!
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:33 pm
shoyu burner - yeah......i had one of those Estes rocket sets. ho....that was high tech back then. neva have big field so had to wait till cut cane season to fly dem buggahs. no like lose em.
later on i got an Estes Coldpower dragster. the engine was powered by this aerosol canned propellant that you could refill over and over. unlike the more common, one use, black powder engines.
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:36 pm
UR; yeah das da one
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:44 pm
How bout those gas powered airplanes that was connected to cables and you would just fly it going around in a circle. I remember seeing a lot of those at Ala Moana park. My dad didn't want me to have one because you could loose your finger starting it up. No such thing as remote control back then.
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I think they had Cox gas engines in the planes.
December 22nd, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Opso: even creepier that that! was named "Chatty Cathy"!! and i wanted one so bad.
where did they get the voice for that thing? i think my dad "accidentally" ran over it or "bumped into it" (to a pulp) one time when i was sleeping, anyway the record stopped working after that. LOL i dont blame him.
remember when you got barbie and her friend (the one that was never as cute, so like she wasnt really competition for barbie)... and then all the clothes were for sale? or your auntie made the dresses?
then mattel got smart and sold a whole new doll with every costume or concept. chee those guys got enough money off my 4 daughters to launch a yacht.
December 22nd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
oh Rodney! soooo cute, the little print jammies and all our new toys. i know there is a picture of me about 4 years old, same look. only mine was the cowboy hat with a plastic "leather lacing" all around the edge, and my lil six shooter and holster. i was so happy.
yeah guns were really part of it, i think cause we had to fight our siblings to survive! i mean, fight em for the last cookie (by licking it quick so they wouldnt want it.) of course then they would just pound us one, and leave all disgusted.
and when we couldnt find any other ammo toys, there were the small pointy pods from the african tulip tree... all over the ground, and they were full of stinky water. point, squeeze, shoot... and dodge!! cause they were pointing one at you!
sorry UR, i couldnt wait.
just a warning: us old futs should NOT get on a pogo stick. remember ... gravity is NOT our friend. not any more. seriously we had a tragedy with a 40 year old dad in our neighborhood, getting on his kid's skateboard.
physics has nothing in common with nostaligic, semi-senile memories. i mean, we were so flexible, and weighed 65 pounds, and we were made of pure energy.
December 22nd, 2008 at 3:23 pm
@Rod's Big Bro - I AM a young guy. Unless you ask Shauna, cause she always calls me old.
Dang punk kids nowadays! 
I had CHOKE Star Wars toys too. Not in mint condition, cause I actually played with them.
I remember this one toy - Stretch Armstrong, and pulling him until he ripped. Man, that dude was solid until then. If you whipped him at somebody's head, you would knock them out!
I recall him having a green monster nemesis too.
December 22nd, 2008 at 3:49 pm
@RBB - Yeah, BananaFysh is younger than us, but he has older sisters - which is how he relates to our era. BananaFysh - what kind toys did you sisters have?
I remember the Estes rockets. Used to buy them from Pete's Modelcraft in Kailua Shopping Center. Was supposed to use the rocket "ignitor" - the thin wire that you push into the rocket engine - then clip the 2 alligator clips to it and go far back, hook up the "lantern" battery and press the button to launch it.
Only thing - we didn't have lantern battery. So it was "firecracker fuse" to light it. Put the fuse inside and pack some of that fireproof paper to keep the fuse from falling out. Then light the buggah and run - only to have the fuse fizzle out or get smothered from packing in too much paper. So we slowly sneak up to it and notice some smoke - meaning the fuse still burning. Then whoosh! The rocket takes off right in front of us! Abunai! So we go do it again.
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:08 pm
I use to have Estes rockets too. I lost everyone I had because I just would launch it in my front yard and the wind would carry it away on the way down with the chute open. Then I would make homemade skyrockets with the Estes rocket engine. I would get the booster engines for the first stage rockets. Put a homemade bomb on the top of the engine, put a long stick on the engine and lunch it from a pipe.
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:17 pm
@M - you should have some good New Year (firecrackers) stories for us next week, eh?
@ducksinthewind - Oh, I know all about gravity. Learned the hard way with a "grassboard" and a power kite maybe 5 years ago. Long story short - black/blue on my left side from my ribs to my knee. Plus, I broke the kite...
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Joining in late... But I remember getting Tonka trucks. I had the fire trucks (pumper and hook & ladder), also the construction machines.
How about those "remote control" cars that had a wire connected to the controller. And those airplanes made of thin metal and the wings separated from the fuselage...and they were friction powered.
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:26 pm
heh, heh, heh. Yeah, Rod, I remember that. Was kind of funny, but you looked so dejected and all bus' up. Kawaisoona ne?
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I remember the Electric Football game. My cousin had it but it was broken. So, we pounded on it, to get the players to move.
I think I had about half of the toys pictured (or my cousins did - they lived next door). I spent many hours with Spirograph and LiteBrite. We played Barbie and GI Joe (no Ken).
I think the Wheel-O was a prominent prop in one of my elementary or intermediate school plays. I think it was Flush Gordon, yes Flush, not Flash.
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:51 pm
i had a tonka grader, Visitor, and my sister had the dump truck. back then, they weighed a ton and were realllll sturdy. we played under the house or the banyan tree... see above about my family and playing in dirt!
December 22nd, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Ynaku: Pssst. Your barn door is open.
December 22nd, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Other toys I remember playing with:
cap guns with the roll of paper caps.
the plastic balloons that you put on the end of the small straw and the fumes smell like glue.
Duncan yoyos
I wonder how many of these toys would get recalled now days due to lead paint, small parts or just too dangerous?
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:32 am
Eh Ukuhead, you made me look.
Balsa wood planes with the rubberband. Wind em up till you get double knots and let em loose.
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:26 am
Remember those CO2 powered home made rockets for science class? We had a wire strung out from one bldg to another at school and had a contest to see which one would actually make it over to the other end.
I remember those Estes rockets, but I was older then
I remember putting a B52 roach into one and launching it. Never found the rocket or the roach.
What about that scuba diver...you put a pellet in it and it would swim underwater?
Candyland board game.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:11 am
i love the little balloons you make with that stuff in the tube. still get em, and only cheep still. and that toxic smell is just the same. did you used to chew that when the balloon popped?
hmm... could be an explanation for why my brain doesnt work so good at my age.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:39 am
Hi,
Greetings from northeast Iowa, where it was about 10 degrees below zero last night--ugh! As a local MLC transplant, I check out the Advertiser every day to keep up on local news, and I really enjoy reading your blog. Brings back lots of fun memories!
Anyway, when I was small, one of my favorite toys was this doll named "Shopping Sheryl." I found a website that has pictures of her and explains what she could do, especially with the magnet in her right hand:
http://www.angelfire.com/art/dollmemories/shoppingsheryl.html
I remember the groceries in her store were so cheap, like 19 cents for a can of soup.
The website doesn't show the checkout stand, which had a button that you could press to move the groceries. It even had magazines for Shopping Sheryl to read while waiting in line. 
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:01 am
Did anyone mention those plastic rockets that you filled with water and attached to the hand pump launcher. Put to much water no-go, put to little no-go, put just right
such simple toy of years gone by...sigh...
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:36 am
Let's not forget the Pez dispensers
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:14 am
Penny racers
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:16 am
Coming from Maui, can't forget milk covers (NOT pogs, right Banana?)
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:16 am
@jm2375 - Welcome to MidLife Crisis and thank you for posting. I apologize for the post taking so long to appear - since it's your first post, I had to approve it. But now you're good to go! "Flush Gordon" was the name of the play?
@Iowa girl - Welcome too! Thank you for reading and posting to MLC - where old memories never die. I had to approve your first post also, but now you too should have your posts appear immediately. Oh, if you post more than 1 link, it'll have to be approved too, so if you have multiple links, use multiple posts (helps my post count too
). btw, that was a nice site you found for Shopping Sheryl. The cashier stand had a button that moved the groceries? That was about as high-tech as we got back then, eh?
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:23 am
@Shizah - Penny Racers? What's that? I know pogs, er... milk caps. Ok, I don't. As long as I remember - milk came in cartons. But I've a few vintage ones I paid too much money for.
Tonka Toys! I remember them being heavy and sturdy as ditw (ducksinthewind) mentioned, made with metal and real rubber tires. The new ones now say they're made with real metal too, but thin and dinky. And the wheels made of plastic.
How come no one mentioned the Hula Hoop!?
Oh it's a shoop-shoop,
Of all a hoop-hoop,
It'll roll,
It'll toss,
The Hula Hoop,
Is really boss!
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:43 am
I remember getting bow and arrow set, then we went into the pasture and shot it straight up and then dodge them as they came down, no one ever got hit but I think that's why UR never got one.
Also remember the propeller you put with a chopstick, rub your hands really fast and let the buggah fly. And the submarine & frog man that you put baking soda into then it would go down and then come back to the surface.
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:45 am
It's amazing what us MLCers remember from our childhood. Or is it we never left.
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:50 am
What about the wooden clothes pins that you'd take apart and reassemble in a way to shoot projectiles?
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:00 am
Captain Action!! That was my favorite. Better than GI Joe. You bought accessories to turn him into other characters like Superman and The Phantom.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Action
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:36 am
The child in us never left.
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Rodney, that's why I really enjoy your blog, talk about "hanabuttah days".
I can vividly remember so many of these toys, kids now days will not have the same memories with all the advanced high tech stuff.
Davy Crockett was my childhood hero. I not only had the coonskin cap, but also had the flintlock rifle and complete cardboard log cabin!
Don't forget the Duncan yoyo, both the wooden one & the "Imperial"! and the Erector set!
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:50 pm
@Willie - Thanks! I remember the "Imperial" Duncan yo-yo. It was transparent and came in various colors, right?
You know, we never had Legos or the Erector set. However I did play with Legos at friends houses.
Here's one:
http://www.oaktreeent.com/misc/web_photos/Eldon_9545_Power-Pack-8_Slot-Car-Set_1967_web.jpg
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Rodney: You and Lance were such a nice surprise. The HA management should be proud to have such great ambassadors of good will working for them. Now that we stay related I might have to post more. Thanks for the green tea and tell aunty Paula that I'm mentioning her name on Christmas.
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:22 pm
UR & AP; good to see you again
thanks for da tea 
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Eh, Iowa girl! My sweetie is a Hawkeye native - spent small kid time in Des Moines, then finished growing up in Cedar Rapids (he'd dispute that part about his being grown up). His daughter is still there. We're in Seattle now, but you couldn't tell that from the weather recently. You guys are still colder, but we've had snow on the ground since December 13.
On the plus side, because we're supposed to get EVEN MORE SNOW tonight, my office will be closed tomorrow! Woohoo! Get to start New Year's cleaning early!
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Ey, anklebiters, remember taking a 1x2 about 6" long, staple a big rubber band and couple "u" nails with the clothes pin and wire hanger spear and having your own spear gun to shoot sand crabs?
MLCr's remember we started life with diapers and eventually will return to diapers and strained food, so how could "da small kid time" ever leave.
December 24th, 2008 at 12:19 am
Ohh BF and Uncle Rod, Yah you guys are right! I just remembered lemon "something" bahaha.. thought it was ring or something, but when you guys said twist, it was like *BING* ya! das it!!
BF: hmm could have been kabangers too.... at least on da windward side of O'ahu, we called 'um kabonkers.... (my best friend from Kailua, called 'um dat too) , so I know itz not just a Kaneohe ting...... hehe...
December 24th, 2008 at 1:35 am
Whoa, I missed a bunch here!
@Shizah - That's right, dude! MILK COVERS, not pogs.
Penny racers... IIRC, those were little toy cars that you pulled back and released, and they would go. They were pretty fast, but the gimmick of it was, you put a penny in a slot at the back of the car, and it would pop wheelies, and do all kinds of crazy spins.
I liked that giant "punch ball" balloon. You could rat-a-tat that thing off someone's head pretty good.
hee hee hee
December 24th, 2008 at 3:27 am
Remember the Brownie cameras from back then, you had to roll the film onto the take up reel and the flash bulbs that you had to replace after each use? I also had a camera that looked like one that a spy would use....a slender rectangular camera where you pushed one end to activate the shutter. I wish I could remember the brand name
December 24th, 2008 at 6:53 am
Banana Fysh: the penny ballast reminds me of my cheep-sale vw, had to put rocks in the trunk or the front end was out of control~
anklebiters: our brownie was so basic, hard to believe it took pictures! just a box with a puka. i think my folks had it just after the war... no flash or anything.
Bro: you know you have a mean streak. had to laugh at pampers and strained food. at least im still laughing, not there yet~
December 24th, 2008 at 10:22 am
anybody remember having one of these SSP Racers?
i think i had the Skorpion.......with "sonic sound!" woo hoo!
December 24th, 2008 at 11:41 am
@opso - I was thinking of those cars but could remember the name. I always wanted one, but you know... deprived childhood...
December 24th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Rodney--thank you for the nice welcome. Yeah, that was high-tech stuff back then--heh heh. I pressed that button so much, it eventually broke and I had to move the groceries by hand.
KAN--Yay Hawkeyes! I hope your sweetie's daughter was OK after the summer floods--I heard Cedar Rapids and that area was hard hit. I'm in a small town called Decorah, about 15 miles south of the Iowa/Minnesota border. So small, gotta drive 70 miles to do real Christmas shopping. Stay warm in Seattle...you folks sure are getting plenty snow out there.
December 25th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Rodney,
Wow, what memories. I had the Lite Brite, slinky, Mr. Potato Head, and the Creepy Crawlers. Is that what you called them- the Vegetable heads? I never knew the name of that family. My brother and I used to take those caps and pound them with the hammer, forget about putting them in the gun. The winchester rifle? Do they make any of those kinds of toys today? How about the Barbie with the 3 wigs and the good ol Etch a Sketch that exists today? What about the magnetic shavings that can be moved with the pencil and you put it around the face? (forgot the name) Anyone had the Beanie and Cecil cap? You put the cap on your head and pull a string and the copter part of it flies off.
Someone mentioned about the chatty cathy doll and the voice? Maureen McCormick (Brady Bunch) is the voice for that doll.
December 25th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I had a tudor electric football,(bought a full scale size one last year with Raiders log custom made)
Johnny Lightning race tracks
Vac U Form
Bullworker
on different xmas's of course.i feel old....
December 25th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
My friends granddaughters received the Trolldolls as a present. They had a monkey doll that if you threw on the ground, it would start screaming like a monkey.....how would you like to listen to that all day long? I noticed that everything was Made in China...Fisher Price toys, Disney stuff, crayons, plastic slinky, dolls, shoes...everything
December 26th, 2008 at 2:10 am
Okay, so I had to ask my sistahs about their toys. Aside for the "Oh, we were too poor to have toys" schpeil, I got that they had the Chatty Cathy doll as well. And some creepy doll that walked, and you could help it along by holding it's hands.
She had kabangers / kabonkers too. Apparently, they were a lot more hazardous before, and would shatter.
Barbie was big for them, and they got the Dream House!! They were so worried when there was a tsunami warning, it was placed high up on a counter so it wouldn't get washed away!
Cannot have Homeless Barbie, I guess, yeah? 
They had hours of fun
with that button and string. I guess like the hammer-flattened bottle cap? I remember the button too. 
December 26th, 2008 at 2:28 am
OMG, SSP Racers!
Those were awesome! I got that as a hand me down from my cousin! He had a bunch too. I remember there were demolition derby ones that would have parts fly off on impact! So cool!
Any one have Battling Tops? That was crazy fun. It sucked when you pulled too hard and broke the string.
Or you pulled the string too hard, and the top would go flying out of the arena.
Oh, my sis also mentioned another game they had fun with: Ker-PLUNK. It was that tall, clear tube, and you stuck those plastic sticks (like pick up sticks) through holes in the center of the tube, then dumped a bunch of marbles in. You had to pull the sticks out, and not drop the marbles.
Nerve wracking!