Anyone who has ever acquired a replacement for a much-missed toy or comic from their childhood knows the sense of satisfaction that comes from doing so. I've been lucky enough to obtain quite a number of doppelgangers of items I owned when young, but sometimes I've had to settle for the same type of item, rather than an exact 'duplicate' - simply because some things are so rare, it's almost impossible to easily locate them.
Before I managed to find (or afford) a JR21 TB2 toy, I purchased other (new) plastic TB2s in a quest to replace my original with something very similar. First there was an Imai model kit, then there was a Matchbox TB2 playset, followed a few years later by a Vivid Imaginations version. All three had one thing in common - they were actually larger than the JR21 incarnation, and were probably better-made toys.
Same goes for my Dinky TB2. Before I acquired a replacement for my original, I bought the Matchbox diecast toy from the early '90s to fill that TB2-shaped space in my life. Had I never been able to replace the Dinky one, the newer version would have sufficed (I suppose), because it was replacing one diecast toy with a very similar one, even if not exactly the same.
I sometimes have to admit defeat though (while hoping it's only temporary), three examples being a Yogi Bear Hallowe'en mask ('shaped', not flat), Yogi Bear slippers which I had when I was about 3 or 4 years old, and an inflatable Yogi 'Punch' Bear. I think the mask was Papier-Mache (but felt like a cardboard eggbox), and I'd be surprised (though delighted) if many (even any) survived today, as they were very fragile. (Update: now got one.) The slippers looked like normal slippers, but had Yogi's head on top of each one. I don't mean a picture of Yogi, I mean actual 3D-shaped heads sitting on the front top of each slipper, as if Yogi was poking his head through from underneath (times two).
I've been searching on eBay for years, but never been fortunate enough to locate them. Similar ones, yes, but not the same as my originals. So I've had to settle for a plastic Hallowe'en mask of Yogi from the '90s, and a pair of relatively modern-day slippers which are definitely and unmistakably Yogi, though nothing like the ones I had as a kid. I've also managed to obtain a later inflatable 'Bop Bag' Yogi, though, again, not exactly the same as my first one. However, at least I can say I had a Yogi mask, slippers, and inflatable toy as a bairn, and have a Yogi mask, slippers, and inflatable toy as an adult (allegedly).
I've shown the mask before, so you'll have to settle for a couple of the seller's pics of the slippers, which are winging their way to me. I don't know if they'll even fit (update: they do), but as long as I can hang them on the wall just to look at from time-to-time, I'll be happy. Also included is a photo of the inflatable 'Bop Bag'.
Has there ever been an item from your childhood that you've been unable to replace and had to settle for a 'stand-in', or would you rather do without if you couldn't have an exact example of the original you once owned? If so, let's hear all about it.
4 comments:
You've brought back some happy memories. I had those yogi bear slippers with the rubbery heads on. I'd forgotten all about them and can't remember whether the heads came off before they were thrown out. I currently wear Oor Wullie slippers which I got from the dc Thompson shop
I had (and may still have somewhere) a pair of Pink Panther slippers, like the Yogi ones in the main couple of pics, which I bought as an adult. I used to wear them with a 'smoking jacket' style dressing gown, and you should've seen the startled looks I got from visiting friends when I opened the door to them.
Kid, I discovered something rather amazing yesterday. My primary school, which I attended up to the age of 11, has re-located to a newly-built, state-of-the-art school...which is on the SAME SITE as my former SECONDARY school which was demolished. Isn't that just bizarre?? It feels like my primary and secondary schools have sort of merged together! Apparently the new primary school (which retains the same name as the old one) opened in September which means this is the first Christmas in my lifetime where both my former schools have now passed into history.
Amazing, isn't it. On the day I photographed one of my old primary schools being demolished, there was a rainbow in the sky - which appeared to emanate from the old school and join up and bridge the gap between it and the new one (already built within the grounds), as if all the 'ghosts' from the old building were using a rainbow 'bridge' to migrate to the new one. (Fanciful I know, but I can't help myself.) I still lament the demolition of the three schools I attended. In fact, there isn't an original school left standing in my town.
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