After seven days of great toys, I suppose it is my turn to wrap things up in my Toy of Your Life topic. Before I begin, I want to extend my gratitude to those seven writers who said, “Yeah, Keith. I’ll write up something for your silly feature.” Nancy, Colin, Christian, Randy, Max, Dave, and Stewart – I thank you for each contributing and making this trial run successful. I really enjoyed reading your pieces and so did my readers.
When I was approached to host this topic based feature, I was really unsure if it would work. First, I didn’t think anyone would be interested enough to write for it. I knew it had to be a topic that would be relatable to the writers as well as the readers. I think that this was accomplished. What I loved about this was that despite the diverseness of the choices, I could relate to all of them.
Right from the start, I had a turntable that was much like the one Nancy wrote about. I played my Beatles albums and my 45’s on my red one.
Colin’s Subbuteo table soccer game was completely unknown to me. However, it jogged my memory as to the electric football game I used to have.
When Christian picked Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars, I connected immediately. I had hundreds of them. As I mentioned in a comment, we spent hours outside building cities and roads for ours.
Max chose a couple. First, the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle. I was reminded my a school buddy that they not only had the cycle, but some other Evel vehicles.
He also picked Pong. We had it, too! It was the Atari 2600 that took things to a whole new level for us.
Who doesn’t love Legos (when they are not being stepped on)? Dave’s choice was another universal love for me and the readers of this blog. I have fond memories of putting things together myself, and watching my kids build things.
Randy spoke of his Roy Rogers action figures and Stewart’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures needed their very own van. I had my own action figures … more on that in a moment.
I thought long and hard about what toy to choose. At first, I thought about how everyone in my neighborhood had a Big Wheel. However, in 1978, when I saw the ad for The Green Machine, I had to have it. It was a blast and a lot of the kids were envious of mine. But, I couldn’t pick this one, because it wasn’t THE toy of my life.
The other toy I begged for was called the Sound Gizmo. I loved this thing. It made all kinds of sounds and you could change the speed and pitch to make them sound different. I used this when my buddy and I would be playing outside. We’d be spies, or treasure hunters, or something. If we needed a “tool” to cut through a padlock, I’d use this thing with a laser sound and an explosion. It enhanced the imagination.
I truly believe this was one of those toys that my folks regretted getting for me as soon as I opened it!
No, when I had to chose THE toy (toys, in this case) of my life, it would have to be Star Wars action figures. My brother and I bugged my grandparents for them as soon as we knew they were available. There were plenty of commercials on TV for the figures and the various vehicles and sets.
My brother and I each had a complete set of figures, thanks to my grandparents. Grandma made sure we knew how hard she looked for those things, too. She told us how difficult it was to find Yoda or the Jawa figures. She went to great lengths not to disappoint (and spoil) us!
I don’t even know how she did it, but she got them all! I mean there were like 100 of those things! That means 200 figures at whatever they cost back in the 70’s. It was insane.
Star Wars toys were on our list from 1977 through the early 80’s! You couldn’t go wrong with Star Wars stuff. Some years it was vehicles, other years we got 12 inch Star Wars dolls.
My brother and I used to play with those figures constantly. I think he had this small three shelf thing that he turned into a three floor apartment house for his figures. We used all kinds of things with our figures. The one thing I remember most is taking those old McDonald’s Styrofoam containers and making cars or spaceships out of them.
We’d cut holes in the top of them and bingo, it was a spaceship. Need a bed for them to sleep in? Cut off the top! We used those things for everything.
There were times our front lawn was full of Star Wars ships, animals, and parts of a space station. Not to mention 200+ figures. We spent summer days playing out front. It was such a blast.
Whenever we’d spend the night at my grandparent’s house, we’d lug over boxes and bags with figures and vehicles. They went with us everywhere! They were truly the Toy of our Lives.
As we got older, characters became other people. Ben Kenobi was an old drunk guy, one of the Tuscan Raiders was always annoying people, and a Princess Leia figure became “Aunt Carol.” We don’t even have an Aunt Carol, so don’t ask me how that came about.
I could kick myself for what ended up happening to most of those figures. We cut horns off some of them. Others we put over a candle to see if they would melt. Some would get tied to a firecracker to see if we could blow them up. The lucky ones got tied to bottle rockets and took a ride down our street.
Today, when I walk into a store with vintage toys, I see how much some of those figures are selling for and I shake my head. I suppose I wish I had taken better care of them so I could pass them down to my kids. Other times I wish I still had them in the package they came in, because those are worth more money. But then I think about it. What kind of memories would I have today if they never came out of the package?!
Hours and hours my brother and I played with those figures. We had so much fun with them. It was an amazing time where we could create our own scenarios and fire up the imagination. There was an empty script and we got to write it. Darth Vader didn’t have to be a bad guy if we didn’t want him to be. Chewbacca could have bad gas if we wanted him to. Jabba the Hut could join Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers. Han Solo could be a door to door Amway salesman!
Those days were so special. Those figures led to thousands of stories, hundreds of laughs, and a memory strong enough to cause me to seek out other folks to share their favorite toy memories with you and me.
I hope you enjoyed the posts from the last week. Thank you again to those bloggers who participated. If you haven’t visited their blogs, please do. Maybe I can find another topic and we can do this again? Suggestions? Let me know.
Thanks for reading!
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 
That was a fun series, Keith, which brought back many childhood memories – thanks again for having me!
I don’t recall the Green Machine, which surely does look like fun, though it reminded me of another somewhat similar toy I had before learning how to ride the bike: a kettcar pedal car.
At the time, we lived in a small apartment building, together with a bunch of other families with kids. That’s where I met my first good friend. We both had kettcars and probably slightly drove our parents nuts with it, wanting to ride them all the time. A neighbor on the opposite side of the street had a garage with two doors that were open most of the time. Our kettcar course led right through it. He must have been a nice guy since I don’t recall he ever complained!
The Sound Gizmo is something else I don’t remember. I imagine it also must have significantly tested the patience of many parents!
Last but not least, for some reason, I was never into action figures and, come to think of it, neither were my friends. However, my cousin had some, which they were also available in Germany.
Instead, I was playing with cowboy and Indian figurines that not only were smaller but also less sophisticated. Usually, you couldn’t move their heads or any of their limbs. Despite their “immobility”, I liked playing with them.
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It was a good series Keith, hope you run it again. Lots of possibilities…TV shows, books, things you collected…you can probably add lots more. Thanks for inviting me.
I don’t remember the Green Machine but it looks kinda like a Big Wheel which I remember and looked like fun. I did have a metal peddle car which was kind of like that ,I loved racing around the house or driveway when I was three or four. Total shame a out the Star Wars set though. You could probably sell them & retire in style if you had the whole collection in good shape now.
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I really enjoyed this series and reading what folks across the globe played with in their youth.
And you make a great point about keeping the toys pristine and in their boxes just as ‘investments.’ That would be criminal!
Toys are meant for playing as records are and books to be read. As evidenced in this series, they have presented us all with so many memories … even if I’d rather forget how bad I was at Subbuteo! 😂😂😂
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Thank you Keith…this was really cool! So glad that you did this and thanks for inviting me!
Big Wheel! I was always jealous of people who had them. We lived on a dirt road so there was no pavement…it would have got torn up with me. Big Wheels should be the official toy of the 70s lol.
Oh Keith…my heart sank when you said what happened to all of those Star Wars toys but you know what? That is what toys are for…not keeping them mint but to play with them…but still whew…thousands of dollars melted and shot away lol. You will never forge tthem and that is what counts.
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Really enjoyed this series Keith and I think the others have said it all. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
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