What was you favorite toy as a kid?

We didnt have much dosh when I was a kid but my mother saved for ages to get me an Action man when I was about seven and I had that toy for ages and played with it constantly.
By the time I was nine he had a lower leg missing, his uniform was in rags and the paint had all been worn off his hair.
By the time I was eleven his arm was missing and there was a crack in his chest and I still loved that toy to pieces!
When I was twelve he fell to bits completely- I bet toys today wouldnt last that long, or hold a kids interest for so many years.

did'nt need a toy just a football if not it was kick-can played for hours

Sindy dolls!!
I had loads of em! one christmas my mum and dad bought a home made sindy house with a huge suitcase full of furniture for it, I loved it, used to spend hours in my bedroom playing!

I myself didn't have toys, like Jabbers we were poor, I didn't mind because art was my thing. I loved drawing, when I could get the paper that is, I even drew on the inner white wrapper around soap! My own kids who are Jabbers generation got Lego for Birthdays and Christmas's, they spent countless hours building or making daleks etc, best invention ever :D:thumbsup:

God yeah LEGO! I had some of that too and that kept me occupied for a long time.

Making tanks out of cig packs... I used to do that too, we had to play with what was at hand when we were chabbies!

There were five of us so we too didn't have many toys, would watch the other children with their scooters and their bykes and if we were lucky they would "give us a go". Upon saying that my favourite toy was whip and top and I can remember once getting some 2nd hand metal roller skates and practicing up at the the skating rink at High Hazels park - many moons go!!!

Although I hate to admit it now my favourite was definately Barbie Dolls I had a different one every xmas and birthday for about 4 or 5 years I loved them. I spent hours in Redgates looking at all the different outfits and accessories.:love:

Although I hate to admit it now my favourite was definately Barbie Dolls I had a different one every xmas and birthday for about 4 or 5 years I loved them. I spent hours in Redgates looking at all the different outfits and accessories.:love:

If I was born when Barbie Dolls were around, I think I would have loved them too. I was never really interested in regular dolls ( I think me and my sisters shared one) all I did was dress them in different clothes anyway, I never played 'Mother':D

Me and my brother used to sit for hours playing Knex, we had a big plastic orange briefcase to keep it all in.

When I was about 6 or 7 I got a BabyBorn which I adored, oh and a Furby too!

Toys as a kid I'm sure you jest

I used to have a wind up wheel with pictures of Red Indians the size of playing cards going round and round. You shot at them with a gun firing a sucker thing like a bow and arrow.

I had a really nice dumper truck when I was little and we played a lot with some Bayko that was originally my mum's when she was small.

I used t have 3 best toys. One was a bottle with a piece of strin tied to it. This was the dog that i never had, i used to drag it all over the place.
My second was a monkey called charlie and my third was a bald doll called mergatroid :loopy:

My dad bought me a brand spanking new bmx when I was a kid in the 80's, it wasn't even my birthday or owt, it was one of my most prized possesions.
A few years before that a great aunt bought me a "keeper", I wouldn't have got one if she hadn't as my parents weren't very well off but my great aunt was loaded. I still have the keeper to this day and my kids think i'm mean because I wont let them play with it.

I've just remembered when we were kids we had a kaleidoscope, I thought they were magic. Who remembers those things?

Before I got subbuteo. we created a game called cardboard football it consisted goals made of meccano with string threaded through thr hole. then the football cards you use to collect with chewing gum.

All out street lads use to plat it about 10 lads

Subbuteo,Lego,Action Man and Magic Robot-how on earth did that work ?

I was always fascinated with my friends toy cash register , i had visions of working in a shop when I grew up, probably a sweet shop :)

Cricket Subbuteo, Test Match edition.
Wish I'd got one now.......

Cricket Subbuteo, Test Match edition.
Wish I'd got one now.......

I've still got that.Never liked it that much.It was virtualy imposible to hit the ball and when you did it ended up lost under the sideboard.The best was Subbuteo Swimming Gala.

I used to spend hours making Airfix kits of battleships and world war 2 aircraft. Then my mother made me give them all to my younger brother and he wrecked the lot.

I used to spend hours making Airfix kits of battleships and world war 2 aircraft. Then my mother made me give them all to my younger brother and he wrecked the lot.

We used to put bangers in them and blow them up.

There were five of us so we too didn't have many toys, would watch the other children with their scooters and their bykes and if we were lucky they would "give us a go". Upon saying that my favourite toy was whip and top and I can remember once getting some 2nd hand metal roller skates and practicing up at the the skating rink at High Hazels park - many moons go!!!

i could never manage to do the whipp and top,i would try for ages every now and again and then just give up out of pure frustration

i remember wanting the game mousetrap for a number of years eventually i did get it,loved my chopper the most though

I've just remembered when we were kids we had a kaleidoscope, I thought they were magic. Who remembers those things?

yes i remember having one of these,think there still around today

I've still got that.Never liked it that much.It was virtualy imposible to hit the ball and when you did it ended up lost under the sideboard.

That was some swipe!
I did get a "copy" called Wicketz a few years ago, but somehow it's not the same....probably one of those memory things, like every day being sunny.
I'm very envious that you've still got it, though...good on you for keeping it.

The best was Subbuteo Swimming Gala.

Swimming Gala? That's a new one on me. Apparently they even tried a rugby version, but I don't remember ever seeing one.... The same manufacturers even tried a Beatles game in the early 60's, but just how you played that is beyond me!

There certainly was a rugby version, but it wasn't as good as the football. Spent many a happy hour playing that!

Do you remember that cricket game you got free with corn flakes (I think it was). It had two dices one for the runs scored anthe other for the decision, out caught,Bowled,lbw, not out etc

Do you remember that cricket game you got free with corn flakes (I think it was). It had two dices one for the runs scored anthe other for the decision, out caught,Bowled,lbw, not out etc

You can make yourself one by getting two pencils, getting the paint off all sides and then writing the runs and Howzat etc on one, and Bowled, LBW, not out, caught etc on the other. Not that I am going to do that at lunchtime you understand.

In fact wasn't the game called '' Howzat '' ?

In fact wasn't the game called '' Howzat '' ?

I've got one of the tin versions, like this one :
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OWZTHAT-VINTAGE-CRICKET-DICE-GAME-IN-ENAMEL-TIN_W0QQitemZ230296683741QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item2 30296683741&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C 240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
The story goes that the original manufacturer repainted gramophone needle tins for the early ones - early 50's? - and the true experts (!) can tell the difference between those and the later issues.
Suffice to say, the originals command quite a high price these days....

Mine was a Major Morgan from the early 80s, it was a little hand held device you could put different cards in the back & play simple games & music, i had it for years & would love to get my hands on one now!!! Memories Ehh

Mine was a Major Morgan from the early 80s, it was a little hand held device you could put different cards in the back & play simple games & music, i had it for years & would love to get my hands on one now!!! Memories Ehh

Here ya go....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Playskool-Major-Morgan-The-Electronic-Organ-Boxed-1979_W0QQitemZ300263671784QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item 300263671784&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C 240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

God yeah LEGO! I had some of that too and that kept me occupied for a long time.

Making tanks out of cig packs... I used to do that too, we had to play with what was at hand when we were chabbies!

I was a kid long before lego, though lego served both my kids admirably. We still have the lego pieces for our grandkids to use when they get old enough. Mecanno was the forerunner of lego. All those metal pieces with holes in them, small nuts and bolts, the tiny spanner for tightening them. Then, of course, there was the old game of shove ha'penny on the kitchen table. Played that for hours on end. You didn't have to be wealthy to play that game. My brother and I would each pretend to represent a different football team. Of course, Sheffield Wednesday always won. We made sure of that. Pity real life doesn't imitate fiction!

My favourtite toy was a Johnny Seven
For those who never saw one, it was basically an assault rifle with seven functions (Shoots bullets, Grenade launcher, Rocket launcher, Crosshead screwdriver, that kind of thing)
Me and Wobble both had one and we played for hours on the field, fighting imaginary jungle warfare and leading attacks on enemy troops

Aaah, them were the days!

Another good one I remember, although as an adult with my kids rather than as a kid myself, was "Pass the Pigs".
Still knocking about here somewhere, come to think.....

Bloody hell i must have been poor, i used to play for hours with the football collect cards and a jar of odd buttons. Oh and plastic soilders, i had green american ones and i think the germans were blue and japanese were yellow. Ha

Can't pick just one...

Knight Rider Scaletrix
Castle Greyskull complete with he-man and some guy with a twisty body
The Millenium Falcon with chewbacca and a couple of stormtroopers

oh and Team Tactics....awesome board game which was pretty much monopoly but with football players....i played it so much i had memorised every player, number, team and value...not really useful stuff to learn haha.

Another good one I remember, although as an adult with my kids rather than as a kid myself, was "Pass the Pigs".
Still knocking about here somewhere, come to think.....

First time I played pass the pigs I was about 20....and loved it, but then again my work was very boring so anything to fill the time helped

First time I played pass the pigs I was about 20....and loved it, but then again my work was very boring so anything to fill the time helped

Apparently you can get a real posh set these days....metal case, the works!

A pal of mine actually cast a set of pigs in brass for his kids - they looked brilliant!!

My Mobo scooter and, oh yes, my favourite toy was Susie, the girl next door :love:

My favourtite toy was a Johnny Seven
For those who never saw one, it was basically an assault rifle with seven functions (Shoots bullets, Grenade launcher, Rocket launcher, Crosshead screwdriver, that kind of thing)
Me and Wobble both had one and we played for hours on the field, fighting imaginary jungle warfare and leading attacks on enemy troops

Aaah, them were the days!

have you seen how much these get now on Ebay (when you can find one)?

Several hundred pounds will only get you a half decent one with bits missing. Someone told me that Jonathon Ross bought one and paid a fortune for it

Chopper,Subbuteo football & cricket.Before that,Glow Monsters & Weebles...

Does anyone remember gyroscopes ? They never seemed to last very long and broke fairly easily, especially if you dropped them. I must have had about half a dozen of them.

I spent hours playing with a Spirograph about 1965 or 1966 when they were very popular.
I preferred a scooter to a bike for some reason when I was about nine or ten and didn't have a bike till I was about twelve.

A Rosedale chord organ was another favourite. I'm not religious but I used to love to play hymns on it.
Here's a link to a picture of one I've found http://squeezyboy.blogs.com/squeezytunes/images/rosedale_chord_organ.JPG It only had about 25 keys but made quite a sound or so I thought at the time.

I also liked playing around with an electronics kit with all the different components such as resistors, capacitors and transistors.

In the late 60s I had a Trik Trak .... 2 cars & bits of plastic bends that directed the cars all around the house........ spent hours playing with it, until the batteries died.

raleigh grifter or evel knieval wind up motorbike toy

Cricket Subbuteo, Test Match edition.
Wish I'd got one now.......

I had totally forgot about this game but must now admit I spent many very happy hours playing Subbuteo Cricket.
Thanks for bringing this back to my memory. Only wish I could have a game now!!.

I had totally forgot about this game but must now admit I spent many very happy hours playing Subbuteo Cricket.
Thanks for bringing this back to my memory. Only wish I could have a game now!!.

Yup, me too.
I can remember getting rid of various board games as I "grew up" - open to debate, according to Mrs.Riffraff - but what happened to this particular game is a mystery. I'm wondering if it was left in an attic on one of our house moves.
A real pity.
From a previous post I know that Shanes Teeth is lucky enough to still have one....wonder if he'd be interested in selling?
Mind you, I shudder to think what comment my beloved would come out with - the financial world in turmoil, fuel and food prices going through the roof, job insecurity and the worry about paying the next mortgage installment, and what do you buy?!
A second-hand cricket boardgame.....
Hmmmm....maybe not!

(That said, Shanes Teeth, what sort of £....?!)

Yup, me too.
I can remember getting rid of various board games as I "grew up" - open to debate, according to Mrs.Riffraff - but what happened to this particular game is a mystery. I'm wondering if it was left in an attic on one of our house moves.
A real pity.
From a previous post I know that Shanes Teeth is lucky enough to still have one....wonder if he'd be interested in selling?
Mind you, I shudder to think what comment my beloved would come out with - the financial world in turmoil, fuel and food prices going through the roof, job insecurity and the worry about paying the next mortgage installment, and what do you buy?!
A second-hand cricket boardgame.....
Hmmmm....maybe not!

(That said, Shanes Teeth, what sort of £....?!)

Just found this site http://www.boardgamecompany.co.uk/SubbuteoCricketClub(VG147).htm
Looks good but could never justify the price.

Just found this site http://www.boardgamecompany.co.uk/SubbuteoCricketClub(VG147).htm
Looks good but could never justify the price.

Notice the box is in good condition.
Mind you, I'd need a good box to avoid the pain in the testicular region after Mrs.RR found out....

First it had to be free so konkers springs to mind those rock hard 2nd or third yr could do a lot of damage to an soft 1st yr, and the old winter warmer a little clay box you could carry a little fire around and blow down the hole and get a real burn(does that sound right in print) anyway lots of fun for a budding arsonist .:cool::cool:

Liked playing with scalextric, and train set

My purple Raleigh Chopper (wish i still had it now ):)

I played constantly with my Alla Carte Kitchen xmas 1990 I think, it was worth the money my mum and dad did not waste it buying me that. When I had finished it with it I gave it my niecve and she got lots of play out of it also. :)

We didnt have much dosh when I was a kid but my mother saved for ages to get me an Action man when I was about seven and I had that toy for ages and played with it constantly.
By the time I was nine he had a lower leg missing, his uniform was in rags and the paint had all been worn off his hair.
By the time I was eleven his arm was missing and there was a crack in his chest and I still loved that toy to pieces!
When I was twelve he fell to bits completely- I bet toys today wouldnt last that long, or hold a kids interest for so many years.

You were lucky!

I always wanted an Action Man. One year, on Christmas day, I unwrapped a present and held my breath in anticipation that this was going to be the Action Man I had hoped for. When I opened the box it was empty! :o

My dad said - "it's Action Man deserter son".

I had a lot of toys handed down to me from my brothers. I used to love Dinky toys - cast metal cars and vans and trucks - similar to the Corgi toys that came later - but generally more robust as there wasn't plastic used in the manufacture.

One of my favourites was Meccano - again, handed down to me. I wasn't particularly handy at making anything complicated but I recall having a clockwork motor in there and making cranes and windmills that worked. The problem was I'd usually leave some screws and nuts lying around - they'd get lodged in the peg-rug and dad would find them with his bare feet - which used to be a problem for me!

A lot of toys were clockwork and made of metal back in the early '60's. Monkey's that played drums, a bear on a bike, that sort of thing. I didn't have a teddy bear, so one day I took the scissors and cut that bear off his bike and slept with him for years afterwards!

I remember a favourite of mine, pre-Subbuteo, was a football game where the footballers were stood on a metal base and you had these magnets on sticks. You would set the game up on a table and move the footballers by sliding the magnets under the table.

A friend of mine had "Escalado" which was a horse-racing game. A set of horses and jockeys were put onto the turf - which was a long strip of green baize material, connected to a sort of roller with a handle at one end. When you turned the handle the baize used to vibrate and make the horses race up to the finish line.

I always wanted a Johny Seven but never got one. I did have a "Secret Sam" though. This was mid-to late '60's I'd guess and it was inspired, I think, by TV programmes like "The man from UNCLE". It was a plastic brief case with a gun inside it - and also a real camera. You could press a button on the outside of the case, whilst it was closed, and take a photo or fire a bullet!

If any of you like to reminisce about this kind of stuff I'd highly recommend a visit to the National Museum of Childhood, near Sudbury in Derbyshire. It's really excellent and will bring back loads of lovely memories for people of all ages. Even my own children now (aged 10 and 12) found things from their younger years that brought back lovely memories for them.

hi i think my favourite toy was the whip and top would play hours with that what fun j