show your age with a picture of a toy from your childhood

[DonT]

How did I miss this thread until now?
My early fascination with cars started with these... I had a bunch of them, but I gave them away in my teens...

 

[bwible]

Super Soakers weren’t invented yet

 

[day_trippr]

No trigger guards

 

[Ki-ri-n]

And not very lethal when filled with water. More so if filled with something else, not that I would do that........

 

[bwible]

Can’t believe nobody said

 

[bwible]

And I had one of these. Played with it for a long time until I pumped it too many times and broke it. I guess war was a big thing when I was a kid.

Kurt Russell was in the commercial for it in 1964.

 

[bwible]

Another war toy I had. This one was on the list at one point of the most dangerous toys of all time.

 

[bwible]

And yet one more war toy

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I think I was 8 when I got this for Christmas and it was my favorite toy for a few years. The fan-powered "space ship" was balanced against a counterweight at the other end of the metal rod and pivoted atop the central mast. You controlled engine speed and thrust angle to "lift off", "orbit", "de-orbit" and "land", and it came with fold-up "planetary" matt with landing sites, etc. Coolest toy ever for me back then

View attachment 813816


Cheers!

My older brother (now age 55) always used to talk about the Verti-Bird which was his FAVORITE toy as a kid. Basically a helicopter that looks pretty close to what you're showing.

He ended up joining the Marines and was a helicopter pilot for a while, before becoming a flight instructor and now flying commercial in retirement. So a few years ago I bought him a toy called "Chopper Command" which I think was the 1+ decade newer version of the Verti-Bird. Not sure if he ever even took it out of the box, but I think he still appreciated it lol.

There was a company making and selling those for homebrewers years back. In the 90’s? I think the company was called Medicine Rock or something like that. No longer in business.

[edit] I found an old ad in a BYO magazine from 2000

View attachment 813819

Oooh a HAND PUMP! For when you plan to drink 2.5 gallons of beer so fast that you don't need to worry about oxidation ;-)

 

[bwible]

I had the Verti-Bird. My little brother was afraid of it. One day while I was playing with it he snuck up and threw a phone book on top of it and smashed it flat. It never worked again after that.

 

[day_trippr]

My older brother (now age 55) always used to talk about the Verti-Bird which was his FAVORITE toy as a kid. Basically a helicopter that looks pretty close to what you're showing.

Yes, very similar concept, roughly 12 years later. I would have been 20-something by then

 

[Beekeeper]

Another war toy I had. This one was on the list at one point of the most dangerous toys of all time.

I don't remember that one. Perhaps they didn't market it to us Yanks up in New England.

 

[Beekeeper]

And I had one of these. Played with it for a long time until I pumped it too many times and broke it. I guess war was a big thing when I was a kid.

Kurt Russell was in the commercial for it in 1964.

View attachment 813837

And William Conrad for voice over. Reminds me of Bullwinkle and Rocky.

 

[Deadalus]

I had a vertibird, the cat was always trying to get it!

 

[Deadalus]

I had one of these.

And one of these

 

[BongoYodeler]

Just stumbled on this thread, it's like a walk down memory lane. Tonka trucks, balsa gliders, Mousetrap, Creepy Crawlers, Jarts, Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs, (I preferred tinker toys, they tasted better). Matchbox, Hot Wheels, and HO slot cars, electric football, cap guns, tops....etc. etc.

Here's a few more that I enjoyed...

Johnny West

Major Matt Mason

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

 

[day_trippr]

ahahahahaha!

 

[Brewsmith]

Loved this in the 80’s

 

[pvtpublic]

Ah, the nostalgia

 

[Jayjay1976]

One of the first toys I can remember...

View attachment 725130View attachment 725130

We had that toy. Until recently when someone would mention weeble-wobbles I thought about these guys. Never had a weeble or a wobble, idk.

Side note, this parking garage configuration kinda reminds me of my office in the city. I'd park in one of the spots on the top deck and always felt like I was a thief stealing the free sunshine!

 

[Jayjay1976]

I think I was 8 when I got this for Christmas and it was my favorite toy for a few years. The fan-powered "space ship" was balanced against a counterweight at the other end of the metal rod and pivoted atop the central mast. You controlled engine speed and thrust angle to "lift off", "orbit", "de-orbit" and "land", and it came with fold-up "planetary" matt with landing sites, etc. Coolest toy ever for me back then

View attachment 813816


Cheers!

My cousin had a toy like this but it was two airplanes. Never got my hands on one but I dreamt about that toy. Heck I'd still love to play with the damn thing.

Edit: aw ****, it was a Vertibird!

 

[Jayjay1976]

Another war toy I had. This one was on the list at one point of the most dangerous toys of all time.

Well, you see, the tree of blood has to be reminded of the patriot act,, I mean, wait.. the. Um, tree? Well, Nevermind.

 

[Jayjay1976]

View attachment 813870

That has to be smallest piñata I've ever seen. How much candy could possibly be in there?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

That has to be smallest piñata I've ever seen. How much candy could possibly be in there?

has nobody ever played stick ball, that was my favorite game when I was young

 

[Deadalus]

has nobody ever played stick ball, that was my favorite game when I was young

Not the same but I was going to put Wiffle ball up.

 

[beermanpete]

Sizzlers! We had lots of fun with these and Hot Wheels.

 

[day_trippr]

Heck, I have two of those Wiffle Ball bats bought since my kids started having kids 13 years ago, bats look exactly the same as they did a bazillion years ago

 

[Sailingeric]

Stompers and US-1 trucking...funny thing is I grew up not far from the real US-1 in Georgia.

 

[lumpher]

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Anyone else have a Monster Magnet?

 

[Closet Fermenter]

On the list of dangerous dumb toys.View attachment 689908

Grandma made me a set out of empty coffee cans and bailing twine!

 

[GrogNerd]

it seems whiffle ball technology reached its apex a bazillion years ago.

Heck, I have two of those Wiffle Ball bats bought since my kids started having kids 13 years ago, bats look exactly the same as they did a bazillion years ago

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

View attachment 814199
Anyone else have a Monster Magnet?

Didn’t have one, but remember them.

 

[day_trippr]

it seems whiffle ball technology reached its apex a bazillion years ago.

And the bat is handy cuz it extends a parent's reach...

Cheers! ("Don't let me catch you ya li'l bastid!" )

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

TV private “eye full” giving this this was my mother‘s idea for giving balance to my interest in GI Joes.

 

[scrap iron]

My childhood, late 50s thru 60s.

 

[Deadalus]

And the bat is handy cuz it extends a parent's reach...

Cheers! ("Don't let me catch you ya li'l bastid!" )

Reminds of two other toys and their dangers...
I had one these

which I thought was fun to throw around in the yard and got caught up high in an oak tree. So I thought I would try to get it down by throwing the wiffle ball bat at it. It of course didn't work and it got dark but I was determined...Lost sight of the angle and while looking up it came down vertically straight and hit me right on the bridge of my nose! Lucky it didn't break!

When my older brothers were acting up, my Mom would tell me to go get my Matchbox tracks. My brothers would tell me to hide them of course but she knew I knew where they were so sorry bros.

 

[Broken Crow]

The first "Best Gift" I ever recieved..I think it was 1977;

...and in the ruins of it's natural habitat...[all toys/tools...since childhood, and even with brewing, the two are synonomous]:

(I say 'ruins' because since spine/CNS/brain injury in 2014, I can no longer make use of this bench, at least on the daily basis I used to )

 

[day_trippr]

I compromised between making messes and cleaning them up: I built a huge monolithic work space for a "desk" a couple decades ago so there's actually some space to work in the middle of the surrounding chaos

Cheers!