Tim's advertisement for Goldieblocks in the Youtube thread made me thing of an exhibit at the Detroit Science Center. They had scientist and engineers list their favorite toy; invariably it was an erector set or a crystal radio or something which demonstrated that science toys develop scientists and engineers. So what was your favorite toy as a child and do you think it had an impact on your career?
My favorite was Legos. That might have had some impact on my interest in science as I liked the space sets the best. :)
The Navarone mountain play set.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisbaer.net%2Fmp%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F01%2Fplayset_detail.jpg&hash=f630d42c71753404229c6364a1efa690497640ed)
The grey one however.
NES.
Quote from: Ed Anger on November 22, 2013, 07:21:52 PM
The Navarone mountain play set.
You are saying that to piss off Seedy
Lego.
Mine:
The Navarone mountain play set.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisbaer.net%2Fmp%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F01%2Fplayset_detail.jpg&hash=f630d42c71753404229c6364a1efa690497640ed)
The grey one however.
:lol:
Airfix model kits and stacks of their HO/OO soldiers. :bowler:
Quote from: Savonarola on November 22, 2013, 07:16:34 PM
Tim's advertisement for Goldieblocks in the Youtube thread made me thing of an exhibit at the Detroit Science Center. They had scientist and engineers list their favorite toy; invariably it was an erector set or a crystal radio or something which demonstrated that science toys develop scientists and engineers. So what was your favorite toy as a child and do you think it had an impact on your career?
My favorite was Legos. That might have had some impact on my interest in science as I liked the space sets the best. :)
My favorite were Legos, a castle given by my godfather and a Goldorak replica wich threw its fist. God, I had so much fun with that throwing it at my older cousin :P
I had a Fisher Price record player. i remember playing with that a lot.
I had a cannister of Lincoln Logs with about 3/4 of the pieces missing that I managed to extract some fun from.
We also had a construction type of toy, sorta like an Erector Set, except it had wooden dowels with holes in them and these plastic spokes you stuck into them. Anyone know what i'm talking about?
Also got some good mileage out of the Etch 'n' Sketch. Invented by a Frenchman!
But probably the single "toy" I got the most pleasure from was Risk.
#1 - Playmobil
#2 - Lego
#3 - Airfix 1/72 scale plastic soldiers
1) Etch-a-Sketch
2) Legos
3) Tinkertoys
EDIT: 4) Those green plastic soldiers you could order from the back of comic books.
Building construction sets, as well as a chess kit. I used parts from two construction sets to make a gun that fired bricks at the chess pieces, hard enough to knock them over at a range of up to 2 meters. My most advanced design had a gravity-fed magazine that held 7 bricks, counting the chambered one.
Quote from: Jacob on November 22, 2013, 07:54:54 PM
#1 - Playmobil
#2 - Lego
#3 - Airfix 1/72 scale plastic soldiers
This. And #4 - 1/18 car models.
Quote from: Liep on November 22, 2013, 08:00:03 PM
Quote from: Jacob on November 22, 2013, 07:54:54 PM
#1 - Playmobil
#2 - Lego
#3 - Airfix 1/72 scale plastic soldiers
This. And #4 - 1/18 car models.
1/18 for cars? I was mostly into Matchbox cars which I believe are 1/64 or thereabouts. I did have one or two 1/18 scale, but they always struck me as being too fancy to actually play with.
G.I. Joe's by a huge margin. And Matchbox cars earlier in my childhood.
Construction toys of any stripe, I was hopeless with.
Other honourable mentions:
- Star Wars figures
- Meccano sets
- Markers and paper; there was something special about getting a new pad of paper and a new set of markers with a whole range of colours.
Quote from: PDH on November 22, 2013, 07:29:10 PM
Mine:
The Navarone mountain play set.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisbaer.net%2Fmp%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F01%2Fplayset_detail.jpg&hash=f630d42c71753404229c6364a1efa690497640ed)
The grey one however.
But did your parents let you draw in the swastika on the flag with a Magic Marker?
Quote from: Jacob on November 22, 2013, 08:08:25 PM
1/18 for cars? I was mostly into Matchbox cars which I believe are 1/64 or thereabouts. I did have one or two 1/18 scale, but they always struck me as being too fancy to actually play with.
I had the smaller ones too, mostly them actually. But I just remember the bigger ones more fondly I guess.
Quote from: Capetan Mihali on November 22, 2013, 08:14:01 PM
Quote from: PDH on November 22, 2013, 07:29:10 PM
Mine:
The Navarone mountain play set.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisbaer.net%2Fmp%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F01%2Fplayset_detail.jpg&hash=f630d42c71753404229c6364a1efa690497640ed)
The grey one however.
But did your parents let you draw in the swastika on the flag with a Magic Marker?
Yes.
Tamas: BEET
marti: POTATO
Quote from: Jacob on November 22, 2013, 08:13:15 PM
Other honourable mentions:
- Star Wars figures
- Meccano sets
- Markers and paper; there was something special about getting a new pad of paper and a new set of markers with a whole range of colours.
Exactly same feeling, I remember the large sets of felt-tips/makers all arrange by ascending colours. :)
Ain't no way I can pick out one above the rest. Star Trek and Star Wars toys and vehicles (god, I miss the Star Trek Micro Machines), LEGO, Erector sets, and Lincoln Logs were what kept me busy most of the time.
Quote from: mongers on November 22, 2013, 08:19:43 PM
Quote from: Jacob on November 22, 2013, 08:13:15 PM
Other honourable mentions:
- Star Wars figures
- Meccano sets
- Markers and paper; there was something special about getting a new pad of paper and a new set of markers with a whole range of colours.
Exactly same feeling, I remember the large sets of felt-tips/makers all arrange by ascending colours. :)
The big box of Crayolas was a pretty amazing sight, too.
Legos, or the Apple //c. :wub:
Transformers. Star Wars figures. He-Man figures.
HO SLOT CARS.
LEGO, Star Wars figures, RoCo Minitanks, toy soldiers.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.haertle.de%2Fout%2Fpictures%2Fmaster%2Fproduct%2F1%2F027_00475_schuetzenpanzer_marder_roco.jpg&hash=8034caab9667dc013e178c72a6cd7f0b58460cbd)
When I was very little we had cowboy figures ... no idea the brand. They were mix/match kind of figures - torsos, heads, guns, belts etc. could be mixed and matched and they were somewhat realistic looking. From the same line we also had some Roman Legionnaires and a few figures of the French Foreign Legion. But since they had a lot of little parts (hands, heads, guns ...) a lot of the bits were lost quickly until we chucked them all out).
I had a set of plastic army men that came with a mat map of Anzio. I brought it to my grandpa's house and had him explain the battle to me and where he was. He got a silver star at that battle. Of all the soldiers in my pack that I had available, he said he was the one crawling on his stomach---up the beach to throw a grenade in the German position. WTF.
Yeah, at first I thought it would be cooler if grandpa was the guy with the bazooka, but that was when things kind of clicked for me about what those guys did.
Cool story Mimsy.
Quote from: Syt on November 23, 2013, 12:36:06 AM
LEGO, Star Wars figures, RoCo Minitanks, toy soldiers.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.haertle.de%2Fout%2Fpictures%2Fmaster%2Fproduct%2F1%2F027_00475_schuetzenpanzer_marder_roco.jpg&hash=8034caab9667dc013e178c72a6cd7f0b58460cbd)
When I was very little we had cowboy figures ... no idea the brand. They were mix/match kind of figures - torsos, heads, guns, belts etc. could be mixed and matched and they were somewhat realistic looking. From the same line we also had some Roman Legionnaires and a few figures of the French Foreign Legion. But since they had a lot of little parts (hands, heads, guns ...) a lot of the bits were lost quickly until we chucked them all out).
Marder IFV
If I have to pick one probably Playmobil.
Probably Lego but later on it was Anna. Still have the Lego in my basement for my kids to enjoy, Anna skipped town.
GI Joe and LEGO were probably my top two and the top two in my neighborhood. We all pooled our collections to create massive campaigns and towns.
Lego.
So much so that I still occasionally buy some (I won an auction for a small set that I hadn't had as a kid from E-Bay last week - finally completed my collection of wall sections from the Eighties Castle Range! :D)
I also had a really cool yellow Tonka truck that carried a bulldozer on its trailer. I loved that indestructible machine.
1. Lego
2. toy cars
3. my dad's H0 trains and my 1/700 waterline ships.
Probably lego, but we didn't have any sets, just blocks, however my favorite things to play with weren't toys.
Not that either, you pervs
Quote from: CountDeMoney on November 23, 2013, 09:53:19 AM
You're both assholes.
My ex-wife has your back on this one.
Quote from: Maladict on November 23, 2013, 12:53:42 PM
1. Lego
2. toy cars
3. my dad's H0 trains and my 1/700 waterline ships.
:cool:
Quote from: Agelastus on November 23, 2013, 07:09:55 AM
Lego.
So much so that I still occasionally buy some (I won an auction for a small set that I hadn't had as a kid from E-Bay last week - finally completed my collection of wall sections from the Eighties Castle Range! :D)
I have a friend who is in a group that builds massive Lego structures. They've done models of some of Detroit's buildings. Here is the mid-town area:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Funmitigated.typepad.com%2F.a%2F6a00e5538e15d888340147e0c73c04970b-pi&hash=2b6326dc5030fa3a1ff251f64e0f6b0346a2446a)
The large building in the back is the Fisher Center; which has a number of shops and a theater. The group put so much attention into the details you can even read the marquee of the theater if you move in:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Funmitigated.typepad.com%2F.a%2F6a00e5538e15d888340147e0c74ac7970b-pi&hash=e22ed496cc2aa54555303dfd6b2398ac02cd66c7)
Where are the fires and bombed out buildings?
Quote from: sbr on November 23, 2013, 04:00:24 PM
Where are the fires and bombed out buildings?
They have special bricks for dead bums frozen in puddles you can put inside the abandoned buildings.
Navarone playset was easily our favorite. But it was technically my brother's. For something I actually owned, probably this:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mania.com%2Fcontent_pics%2F000005%2F19%2F52%2F6dab2540f86e67e5_large.jpg&hash=758b3606d5ad2fbb832137ba669ecc6d8de42ea8)
But that's not me.
Quote from: sbr on November 23, 2013, 04:00:24 PM
Where are the fires and bombed out buildings?
Not in the New Center; that's fairly well off. It would have been funny if they had done either the train station or the Packard Plant.
That's really impressive Sav. Kudos to your friend and his colleagues.
Playmobil (world is split in playmobil kids and lego kids, I rediscovered Lego (esp. techinc) as an adult, having my kids around home)
Matchbox cars
Micronauts :wub:
my bicycle
L.
Quote from: Pedrito on November 24, 2013, 01:26:22 PM
Playmobil (world is split in playmobil kids and lego kids, I rediscovered Lego (esp. techinc) as an adult, having my kids around home)
Matchbox cars
Micronauts :wub:
my bicycle
L.
I'm somewhat surprised by the number of mentions matchbox has gotten, I didn't know they were internationally popular or is it being used as a generic name for all small metal toy cars ?
Quote from: mongers on November 24, 2013, 01:31:12 PM
I'm somewhat surprised by the number of mentions matchbox has gotten, I didn't know they were internationally popular or is it being used as a generic name for all small metal toy cars ?
I thought it just was a term for cars the size of a matchbox.
Quote from: mongers on November 24, 2013, 01:31:12 PM
I'm somewhat surprised by the number of mentions matchbox has gotten, I didn't know they were internationally popular or is it being used as a generic name for all small metal toy cars ?
In Germany: both. We had "genuine" Matchbox cars, but other die cast cars, e.g. by Siku, Corgi, Majorette or Hot Wheels, were also called Matchbox cars.
Doing some research, I think most of mine were probably Hot Wheels after all.
Quote from: Syt on November 24, 2013, 01:52:29 PM
Quote from: mongers on November 24, 2013, 01:31:12 PM
I'm somewhat surprised by the number of mentions matchbox has gotten, I didn't know they were internationally popular or is it being used as a generic name for all small metal toy cars ?
In Germany: both. We had "genuine" Matchbox cars, but other die cast cars, e.g. by Siku, Corgi, Majorette or Hot Wheels, were also called Matchbox cars.
Thanks for that.
Quote from: Syt on November 24, 2013, 01:52:29 PM
Quote from: mongers on November 24, 2013, 01:31:12 PM
I'm somewhat surprised by the number of mentions matchbox has gotten, I didn't know they were internationally popular or is it being used as a generic name for all small metal toy cars ?
In Germany: both. We had "genuine" Matchbox cars, but other die cast cars, e.g. by Siku, Corgi, Majorette or Hot Wheels, were also called Matchbox cars.
Same here. I had Matchbox, Majorette and Hot Wheels cars
L.
Lego and my bike.
I'm not touching your bike.
Playmobiles and my Apple IIe
A big moment of my young life was when my father got me this for my birthday 1987:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2F3%2F3f%2FBards_Tale_2_mac_box_art.jpg&hash=627735c7062210bd597a483ff0b97bd947506e16)
Ah yeah.
Quote from: Valmy on November 25, 2013, 12:19:33 AM
Playmobiles and my Apple IIe
A big moment of my young life was when my father got me this for my birthday 1987:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2F3%2F3f%2FBards_Tale_2_mac_box_art.jpg&hash=627735c7062210bd597a483ff0b97bd947506e16)
Ah yeah.
Was never a big Bards Tale guy, though I had a copy (sadly pirated). :Embarrass:
The big moment for me was I had spent the whole summer umpiring little league games, and got my paycheque. The guy who gave it to me laughed and said "Just don't spent it all in one place". I looked around, guiltily, because I was going to do exactly that - spend it on Ultima V.
Seems like the kids who went for the "realistic" cars use Matchbox as a catchall, while the kids who went for the "cool-looking" (cartoony, IMO) cars use Hot Wheels as a catchall.
Most of mine were actually Matchbox, but being a fireman's kid, I also had pretty much the entire line of Majorette Sonic Flashers (much to my parents' chagrin).
Yeah, DSB's kinda right on that: Matchbox was the kind of manufacturer that you'd be able to score a station wagon or my grandfather's Ford LTD from, and Hot Wheels made stupid weirdo shit like street racers you'd never see on the streets of your Matchbox City Suitcase play set.
Gimme Matchbox anytime. Hated Hot Wheels. What kind of police car has a jacked up rear suspension and an exposed carburetor? Stupid.
Corgi was for the rich kids who could afford British imports with impunity. :( I only had a few Corgis, and I kept them separate. Nobody was ever allowed to play with them. Be goddamned if I let some snot-bubbled kid scratch Kojak's Buick.
I had some awesome metal airplanes. A corsair, me-109 and a p-51. Kept them in fairly good condition, until I let my nephew play with them outside. He took a hammer to them.
In fact, he destroyed about every toy he touched. So people, preserve your old toys.
Quote from: Ed Anger on November 25, 2013, 03:54:59 PM
I had some awesome metal airplanes. A corsair, me-109 and a p-51. Kept them in fairly good condition, until I let my nephew play with them outside. He took a hammer to them.
Somewhere in time, 12-year old Ide is crying.
Teddy Ruxpin :wub:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on November 25, 2013, 10:05:08 AM
Yeah, DSB's kinda right on that: Matchbox was the kind of manufacturer that you'd be able to score a station wagon or my grandfather's Ford LTD from, and Hot Wheels made stupid weirdo shit like street racers you'd never see on the streets of your Matchbox City Suitcase play set.
Gimme Matchbox anytime. Hated Hot Wheels. What kind of police car has a jacked up rear suspension and an exposed carburetor? Stupid.
Corgi was for the rich kids who could afford British imports with impunity. :( I only had a few Corgis, and I kept them separate. Nobody was ever allowed to play with them. Be goddamned if I let some snot-bubbled kid scratch Kojak's Buick.
They were expensive over here as well.
Though I recall the few modern dinky vehicles I had were damn expensive.
edit:
Grrr, I had this set, the guy on ebay wants over $500 for hit:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DINKY-297-POLICE-SET-ALL-ORIGINAL-AND-BOXED-/200993156949?pt=UK_ToysGames_DiecastVehicles_DiecastVehicles_JN&hash=item2ecc202f55 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DINKY-297-POLICE-SET-ALL-ORIGINAL-AND-BOXED-/200993156949?pt=UK_ToysGames_DiecastVehicles_DiecastVehicles_JN&hash=item2ecc202f55)
<_<
Chemistry set. Junior Breaking Brazen.
As an only child and the youngest of dozen of cousins, I inherited as many cars as dolls.
One of the Matchbox families lived locally in North London and friends of mine used to go to the kids' parties. Bearing in mind this was in the local "Millionaires Row", they bought the house next door, knocked it down and turned it into an indoor swimming pool with a walkway from the main house. Classy.
Another (cheap) toy I really liked were Styrofoam planes. Those came in little paper bags and were about 6 inch or so long. Most of them consisted of four parts: main hull (one flat, color printed bit of thin Styrofoam), one wing, the horizontal stabilizer, and the plastic propeller.
The models were all WW2: Spitfire, Me-109, P-38 etc. What made them cool was that you could actually let them fly, and you could adjust small cut outs on the wings to (attempt) giving the plane direction for maneuvers.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2Ft%2FStyrofoam-World-War-II-Flying-Glider-Plane-Toy-With-Propeller-Party-Bag-Gift-%2F00%2Fs%2FNDAwWDY0Mw%3D%3D%2F%24%2528KGrHqJHJDoE7zGSB8%21QBO-N6Nylig%7E%7E60_35.JPG&hash=9ff33881d3b3bb83e108209de37697ec0588a30d)
My favourite stocking filler was Magic Plastic which my cousins and I used to get from Hamleys, the giant toy store in London, every Christmas. You'd put a blob of liquid plastic on the end of a tube and blow it into a balloon. When you got more adept, you could make complex shapes and get a grown up (!) to blow smoke into them.
Quote from: Brazen on November 26, 2013, 05:52:50 AM
My favourite stocking filler was Magic Plastic which my cousins and I used to get from Hamleys, the giant toy store in London, every Christmas. You'd put a blob of liquid plastic on the end of a tube and blow it into a balloon. When you got more adept, you could make complex shapes and get a grown up (!) to blow smoke into them.
Oh yeah I loved them too! They were called Crystal Ball in Italy. I forgot about them until some time ago when I found a couple tubes in a toy shop, brought them home and my kids went crazy about them :)
L.
Quote from: Syt on November 26, 2013, 05:36:47 AM
Another (cheap) toy I really liked were Styrofoam planes. Those came in little paper bags and were about 6 inch or so long. Most of them consisted of four parts: main hull (one flat, color printed bit of thin Styrofoam), one wing, the horizontal stabilizer, and the plastic propeller.
The models were all WW2: Spitfire, Me-109, P-38 etc. What made them cool was that you could actually let them fly, and you could adjust small cut outs on the wings to (attempt) giving the plane direction for maneuvers.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2Ft%2FStyrofoam-World-War-II-Flying-Glider-Plane-Toy-With-Propeller-Party-Bag-Gift-%2F00%2Fs%2FNDAwWDY0Mw%3D%3D%2F%24%2528KGrHqJHJDoE7zGSB8%21QBO-N6Nylig%7E%7E60_35.JPG&hash=9ff33881d3b3bb83e108209de37697ec0588a30d)
:yes: