Guest Toy Page
Now, here's a toy from the early 70's that was a real thrill for me as a
child: the Playskool Take Apart Car! At the age of five, I saw it in a store and
kept expressing such a strong desire for "auto with no top" that it was
eventually mine.
A "non-living" toy like the Viewmaster may seem out of place on this website
of faces and figues. However, this battery operated Viewmaster and reels are some of the few toys in my collection that came directly from my childhood and did
not have to be "recollected" on eBay or at thrift stores. I had this Viewmaster
collection since I was 5 years old and it has somehow survived to this day!
A super cool model company called Aurora, produced a whole line of
prehistoric models during the 70's! Some models could be snapped together, but
others had to be glued. All of them could be painted, but they looked pretty
cool in their natural color. Above is a picture of Aurora's ankylosaurus snap
together model.
Plastic dinosaur figures have also been the rage for many years, sold in numerous shapes, sizes, and styles. The ones pictured above are particular favorites of mine. These dinos are part of a set sold widely in the 70's and may still be around today. Some of the figures look like realistic dinosaurs, but others seem to have been created with some artistic license. These creatures played a big part in my childhood and were an endless source of made up stories and adventures!
And now, back to basics. In 1971, not long since Sesame Street's debut, a
marvelous colorforms set was created that featured Ernie, Bert, and the Cookie
Monster in a stand up apartment scene. It was hours of fun for me as a child and
I'm glad to own this set once again today!
Click Here For More Colorform Fun!
And speaking of favorite Sesame Street toys, some very special ones of mine were the early hand
muppets by Topper. Above we see two of them: The Ernie and Bert muppets pictured
here came out in 1971 and were two of the first Sesame Street muppets on the
market. We also see some Sesame Street finger puppets that were also popular in the early seventies. Magical toys from a magical show!
If you love the Fisher Price Little People, you have to love this Green Giant set by Child Guidance from the seventies. This Green Giant Farm and Factory included Green Sprout and Farmer finger puppets with mini crops and cans. The mechanical gadgets in this toy make for delightful play and activity. A great way to have fun and learn healthy eating habits at the same time!
Now here are some awesome toys made by Marx! These bright, florescent, single colored Disney characters were created around the early seventies, and were a great source of joy for both children and adults. Great vintage figures showing the magic of Disney and Marx toys!
What can be said about such a classic children's game as Candy Land? It's been a family favorite since its inception in 1949. Today, in the 21st century, it is still going strong, and has clearly stood the test of time! The look of the game has changed throughout the years, but the scene shown above is from a 2003 Collector's Series of Candy Land, based on its vintage 1955 look and style! A very sweet game that needs no sugar coating!
Mego is one of the most popular lines of action figures ever created! From the 70's through the 80's, Mego has created awesome super heroes, television stars, movie characters, and numerous other well known characters and heroes! Above is one of my favorite Mego action figures, The Thing from the Fantastic Four! The Thing has a heart of gold, but make him angry, and he just might yell, "It's Clobberin' Time!"
And here we have the Mego pioneer that started it all! Action Jackson! In 1971, Mego's Action Jackson was produced with different looks and numerous adventure or sports outfits for him to wear! While the concept of Action Jackson seemed to be inspired by G.I. Joe, it is often incorrectly described as a "non-military alternative during the anti-war era." This is clearly not the case since Action Jackson had a number of military uniforms (not pictured here) to accompany his adventure and sports outfits. Sadly, Action Jackson did not last long on the market, but he left us with great childhood memories, is a favorite among collectors, and has sparked the classic line of Mego super heroes, TV and movie characters, celebrities, etc. Action Jackson is truly a hero!
And speaking of action, let's take a look at Wind Up Bumble Boxing!
In the 80's, A great line of wind-up toys by the Tomy toy company were created. Luckily, these lines were reissued around 2005 and were brought back new in stores! Wind-up Bumble Boxing has always been one of my favorites! Crank the mechanical boxers up, watch them go at one another, and try to guess which one falls first!
Once upon a time in the early 70's, a new kids' cereal came out by Ralston called "The Freakies"! The cereal mascots were seven "freakies", little creatures , each with their own personalities. Several different Freakies toys came inside the boxes or through ads. The toys we see above are the "Freakmobiles", cars for each of the 7 Freakies, Boss Moss, Hamhose, Snorkeldorf, Goody-Goody, Grumble, Cowmumble, and Gargle, all cruising in their very own cars. A little known fact is that The Freakies were early environmentalists; their cars ran not on gasoline or even electricity, but air! The black pouches seen by their cars were their "starter pumps" that hooked up to their cars and with one squeeze, they went zooming forward, probably off to the grocery store to buy more Freakies cereal. Sadly, the Freakies cereal has been discontinued, but their toys and great memories live on!
Have a great day!
Hope you enjoyed this change of pace. More toys may be
added to this Guest Page later!
(This website is not associated in any way with Hasbro, Playskool,
Viewmaster, Aurora, Clorforms, Child Guidance, Sesame Workshop, Mego, Tomy, Marx, Disney, Ralston, Milton Bradley or any of their affiliates. The toys shown are
trademarks of these companies and their affiliates. The statements expressed on
this site are strictly the opinions of the site owner).