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Here's a question for everyone, so put on your thinking caps. If, from this point on, you could re-acquire only one toy from childhood (assuming you wanted to, that is, and not counting any you may already have), which one would it be - and why? Reveal all.
I really want two but if I have to choose, it's the transparent Cyborg from Strawberry Fayre. First bought for me about 1975 despite my parents considering dolls a hugely inappropriate present for a 11-year-old.
ReplyDeleteMy uncle Jimmy replaced one of the doll's plastic joints with a screw but that gave his weaponry a comical and ineffectual droop. A year or so later, my brother acquired a Cyborg of his own.
In early 1990, I gave that Cyborg and his accessories to a small boy because I was working with his mother on a theatre project in Maryhill. He'll be nearly 30 now! Maybe his own kid/s play with the doll.
(My other choice was Cyborg's purple foe, Muton. I could take or leave the spindly, black Android, mid-70s Xmas gifts).
'Action figure', Dougie - it's 'action figure'. (Dolls? What on earth are you talking about, man? Boys don't play with dolls. Cough!)
ReplyDeleteStrawberry Fayre? You've lost me there. What was that?
For me, I'd want my Action Man back - even if Lesley Judd did always refer to him as a, "Soldier doll."
ReplyDeleteI knew there was a reason I always preferred Jenny Hanley.
Ah, Jenny Hanley. Now there was a doll.
ReplyDeleteI got a Johnny West action figure for Christmas one year,circa,1966 or thereabouts.He was your typical cowboy drifter type,at home on the western plains and totally self sufficient.Comfortable being on his own,save for his trusty steed,Thunderbolt.I remember he also came acccessorised with a number of items,such as,rifle,waistcoat,strap on leggings,coffee pot,frying pan,etc.In fact just about anything Johnny would need out there on the lonesome plains.
ReplyDeleteI hung around with that rugged little fella for years,or so it seems.He was my perfect companion as i always seemed to enjoy playing on my own,despite having two older brothers,who did`nt want me around them much,presumably because i wet the bed up to a late age and possibly stank of pish.Hey ho,...the joys of childhood.
Back then of course,we were drawn more to the cowboy scene by shows such as Casey Jones,Bonanza,The High Chaparal and Champion the Wonderhorse,to name just a few.
I often wonder what happened to my old riding pardner,as he kinda just drifted off without me even being aware he was gone.Kinda like my childhood,in a a way!
Johnny West, along with Chief Cherokee, are currently on top of my filing cabinet, each sitting on their own Palomino horse called Thunderbolt, funnily enough.
ReplyDeleteThey thought they recognised you, and wondered why you hadn't said hello.
(The medication must be wearing off.)
I've still got MOST of my toys from childhood, but there's a few that were given away due to their large, hard-to-hide size...
ReplyDeleteThe Ghostbusters firehouse, and the Ghostbusters ECTO-1 that went with it, certainly.
The 1992 Matchbox Tracy Island, which for some reason lasted less than a year in the house before going elsewhere.
The Other World castle playset.
And of course, the enormous amounts of LEGO! Also, wouldn't mind getting my Brio trainsets back as well.
Action Figures is such a modern construction like "collectable". I'm afraid they're still dolls though. Lesley Judd was right.
ReplyDeleteStrawberry Fayre was a division of Denys Fisher Toys, as I understand. The following link is mistaken about Cyborg's comic book origins, actually referring to the artwork on the box.
http://jeffbots.com/cyborg.html
My "Major Matt Mason" setup. I didn't pick up every accessory to that group of toys, but I think I came close. I just wish I hadn't repositioned the appendages of the figures so often, since their wiring eventually wore out to the point that they just hung there. :)
ReplyDeleteI just remembered having the lone ranger and tonto figures,also the horse (or horses,my brain just went fzzzzzt!)
ReplyDeleteI think there was a comic book advertising campaign drawn by ?
Or there was a small comic book with the sets.
Dont remember losing or getting rid of them.
Ha!
I dont have a toy I would like to own again though.
THB, I've got two Tracy Island playsets - the Matchbox one and the Vivid Imaginations one, which is really rather sad as I was an adult when I bought them.
ReplyDelete******
Comicsfan, I seem to remember that the wiring snapped and the paint peeled off within about an hour of playing with Major Matt Mason and his buddies, so the fate you describe was kind of inevitable, sadly.
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Baab, of course you do. You just haven't remembered what it is yet.
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Dougie, ACTION FIGURE, ACTION FIGURE, ACTION FIGURE!!! Lesley Judd was just trying to give boys a complex because she resented us prefering Valerie Singleton to her. Dolls have limited points of articulation, and look soppy. Action figures are tough as nails and only REAL men (er, I mean boys) play with them. Barbie and Ken are dolls - Joe and Tommy are action figures with numerous points of articulation. (So there.)
How'd you get on with your CDs?
Keeping them for the midweek journey down to the Central Belt!
ReplyDeletehttp://computermuseum.50megs.com/brands/vectrex.htm
ReplyDeleteThe mighty VECTREX. The console that should have taken on the world!
I always wanted a Johnny Seven gun as a kid - it was way out of my parents price range but looked sooooooo cool - my favourite kids toys though were matchbox and Corgi cars and Action Man - McScotty
ReplyDeleteThat Johnny Seven gun did look amazing, it has to be said. You're keeping a low profile these days, McScotty. Keeping busy?
ReplyDeleteLouis Marx clockwork gorilla
ReplyDeleteWas that the tin one whose hands climbed one over the other along a rope? If so, I had one as well.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's got to be the Chad Valley projector ( especially if I could have a full set of Dr. Who & Bat-Man slides as well! ). Give me a dark room, a blank wall & you can keep the telly! I'd like to see if if would be just as magical as it used to be! I'd even ( attempt to ) do all the voices if the missus is out!!
ReplyDeleteDon't think I had the Chad Valley projector, even 'though it seems extremely familiar to me. Perhaps that's just from seeing the ads for it everywhere - or maybe a friend had one.
ReplyDelete