What was your favorite toy as a kid?

[travelover]

Reading this article makes me think back on my favorite toys. Hands down, my favorite was my erector set.

Which toy will make the hall of fame? Battle heats up

Quote:

The other 2014 nominees are, My Little Pony, Rubik's Cube, Slip 'N Slide, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Toys and the toy trucks sold each holiday shopping season at Hess gas stations. The two winners will join last year's honorees, the rubber duck and chess, along with the 51 other toys inducted since the hall was established in 1998. Previous winners include Etch A Sketch, Play-Doh, Barbie, Mr. Potato Head and the Frisbee. But items such as the cardboard box and stick have also made the hall for inspiring kids to transform them into play things on their own.

[Walt34]

It depends on what age. One I remember I think was called a "Tic Tock Clock" that did actually keep time, had an adjustable pendulum, but the neatest thing was that I could take it apart and put it back together. And it still worked afterward!

Like travelover and probably many others here I'd have to say my overall favorite was the Erector set. What a shame they stopped making those.

I can see why though, since with the electric motor I made some contraptions that would have amputated fingers had someone been foolish enough to stick their hand in it. No doubt that somewhere several someones were that foolish.

[check6]

Lionel electric train

[David1961]

There was a game called "Skittle Bowl" that I loved. I played it so much I broke the plastic piece that help the pole in place.

1970 Skittle Bowl game Aurora | Don's Game Closet

[jcretire77]

A Mattel Beany Boy

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 ...........Like travelover and probably many others here I'd have to say my overall favorite was the Erector set. What a shame they stopped making those................

A few years ago I bought the nicest Erector set they made for my grandson. Wow, what a disappointment. Not only was it way overpriced, but it lacked all the cool stuff (like good DC motors, transmissions and winches) that I loved as a kid. I still have my original set, plus a few antique versions that I scored at Goodwill.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover A few years ago I bought the nicest Erector set they made for my grandson. Wow, what a disappointment.

That made me go look and they're still made! I hadn't seen any in stores for decades so assumed they had gone under. Not so: Official website Erector ® United States

Too bad they've been castrated though.

[easysurfer]

Walkie Talkie from Radio Shack.

[cbo111]

Without question, Daisy BB gun.

[Walt34]

Lucky you, I wanted a BB gun, parents would never allow it.

[RHLnFLA]

They were afraid you'd put your eye out.

[Sea Kayaker]

Transformers.

[Tadpole]

Bicycle, skates, hoola hoop, pickup sticks.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by check6 Lionel electric train

+1, though when we were young kids we couldn't really 'play' with it too much, it was very nice set.

Erector Set, Slinky, and Silly-Putty. Though the Slinky would get a kink pretty quickly, and the Silly-Putty would just get gross. But fun while they lasted.

Skateboard and bike.

-ERD50

[gcgang]

Table top hockey.


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[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by check6 Lionel electric train

OMG, what an incredible thing.
My father was kind enough to buy a sheet of plywood, 4x8 feet, and mount my tracks on it. All the peripherals, buildings and such, were placed appropriately and the layout just kept getting better every year. Incredible fun.

Alas, the layout was stored in the garage from January to November each year, and when I was about 13 years old, we came home from a trip one year to find that the garage had burned nearly to the ground. Some neighborhood kids had played with matches and it got out of hand.

Everything was lost. That train set would probably be worth a lot today.

[athena53]

Building stuff- Tinkertoys, Lincoln Logs. They were wood back then. Bless my parents, they were pretty non-sexist for that time. My sister and I both had dolls and made clothes for them, but my sister was able to transfer her stitching skills into a career as a doctor!

We had Dad's old Erector set- metal, with an engine. Dad became a metallurgical engineer and had a big part in building our first house. I played with it some, and it was great for developing my abilities with small hand tools, but taking the things apart so you could build something else took a long time!

[LOL!]

Aurora slot cars. Taught me all about electric motors, rewinding armatures, electricity, gearing, and other cool stuff.

[Ronstar]

Lionel train here as well. I'm still somewhat of a train nut. I had my 58 year old Lionel passenger train running on a circle of track in my basement a couple of years ago. It's not running now - I need to work on track electrical connections and elevate it to table height.

[Htown Harry]

Legos, if measured by hours spent, from before they came in fancy kits. I remember a few windows, some roof panels, simple "men", single axle wheels and a big bucket of bricks.

If nostalgia is the criteria, my two brothers and I would probably vote for the maple truck toy from FAO Schwartz. It was big and sturdy, with an articulated cab and a box trailer that measured about 12 x 12 x 16. I think the makers thought of it as a small toy box. What they didn't realize was it was big enough for a toddler or grade-schooler to lay down on his stomach and steer it, toboggan style. We wore out the vinyl floor in the converted garage that served as out playroom, pushing each other in timed races, demolition derbies, obstacles courses and any other high-energy activity we could think of. Mr. Clean had no chance against the marks left by the hard rubber wheels.