30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 30 - LEGO!

Day 30:
LEGO!

(Sears catalog, 1964)

:-D

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 29 - Happy Rainbow Stacking Toys

Day 29:
Happy Rainbow Stacking Toys

(Sears catalog, 1964)

God bless Fisher-Price, but I can make a definite case for their toys getting worse over the years. Little People are one example. These stacky things are another. Look how tall they used to be. ^^

Look how short they are now.

And do they have something against purple? BRING BACK THE PURPLE RING. 

BE THE COMPANY YOU ONCE WERE, FISHER-PRICE!

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 28 - Fisher-Price Toy Circus

Day 28:
Fisher-Price Toy Circus

(Sears catalog, 1964)

I like how the camel and the tiger (lower right) look like they're having a personal, semi-snarky conversation while the circus rages behind them.

Tiger: "Ughhh. This is such crap. I am so much better than this."

Camel: "I know. I feel like a fool standing here on a 2-foot-high block while that show-off elephant gets to be on the top of the tower. And I'm sure we'll have to hear about how great she is later. Oh brother. Listen to those people clapping."

Tiger: "Fools. Sheep. Imbeciles. ENOUGH! I say we blow this joint. Tonight!"

Camel: "But our cages! How!?"

Tiger: "THINK, Camel! Look how far-spaced the bars are! Look how practically two-dimensional WE are! Have you ever even ATTEMPTED an escape?"

Camel: "It never occurred to me. If I did escape tonight... would you go with me?"

Tiger: *licks lips* "Oh yeah. Totally with you!"

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 27 - Fisher-Price Kitchen Set

Day 27:
Fisher-Price Kitchen Set

(Magazine ad, 1981)

Okay, this thing was freaking cool. It really did look like the burners were lit up when you turned the knobs. Combine this with those baby bottles whose milk "disappeared" when you tilted them, and you had a truly magical kitchen experience indeed.

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 26 - Stix Stax

Day 26:
Stix Stax

(Magazine ad, 1986)

Because every kid wants a toy that lets them imagine they are picking daisies. That's alllmost as fun as pretending to go to the moon....

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 25 - Safety School Bus & Bright-Eyed Cackling Hen

Day 25:
Safety School Bus & Bright-Eyed Cackling Hen

(Sears catalog, 1964)

Farmyard Realism... one of the more obscure art movements of the 20th Century.

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 24 - Tin Doll Houses

Day 24:
Tin Doll Houses

(Sears catalog, 1964)

Before Little People, before Barbie's Dream House... but significantly after the invention of the quaint Victorian Doll House... came tin doll houses! There were many varieties, but one of the neat things about them was that the walls were often decorated, and they really were quite pretty. I had one as a wee lass, and my grandma had one, too. I see them every so often at antique markets for $50-100, depending on the model.

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 23 - Playskool Play Pup

Day 23:
Playskool Play Pup

(Magazine ad, early 1980s)

I had this! In fact, I think Mr. Play Pup is still in a box somewhere. I loved his pockets, his keys, his watch, and his glasses. Infinite fun.

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 22 - Johnson & Johnson Unforgettable Toys

Day 22:
Johnson & Johnson Unforgettable Toys

(Magazine ad, 1981)

Unforgettable? Of course! Who doesn't remember Balls-In-A-Bowl and Soft Triplets? 

Why, that would be me. I was a baby in 1981, and none of these toys ring a bell!

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 21 - All-In-One-Kitchen

Day 21:
All-In-One-Kitchen

(Sears catalog, 1964)

Remember when corrugated fiberboard was a selling point?

Me neither.

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 20 - Fort Apache

Day 20:
Fort Apache

(Sears catalog, 1964)

Easy to assemble, mildly offensive.

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 19 - My Child & Etch-a-Sketch Animator

Day 19:
My Child & Etch-a-Sketch Animator

(Magazine ad, 1986)

I never had either of these, but I imagine I'd have been intrigued by the animator, as I liked both drawing and computery things.

I remember seeing commercials for My Child back then, but I never had one. Apparently they're pretty collectible now.

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 18 - Chatter Telephone

Day 18:
Chatter Telephone

(Sears catalog, 1964)

One of the goofier-looking mobile phones, but still a mobile phone.

I'm on the fence about its face, though... what do you think?

Creepy?
Charming?
Mildly Unsettling?

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 17 - Fluppy Dogs (& Puppies)

Day 17:
Fluppy Dogs (& Puppies)

(Magazine ad, 1986)

The Fluppies bred? Mind blown!

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30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 16 - Far Out 70's Toys

Day 16:
Far Out 70's Toys

(Magazine page, 1972)

Little People House! Little People School! Caterpillar bike! Ride-on van! 

...Chucky Doll?

*shrug* Okay!

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30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 15 - Aurora HO Scale Road Race

Day 15:
Aurora HO Scale Road Race

(Sears catalog, 1964)

I had an electric race car set once. The cars flew off the tracks. Something tells me these did, too.

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 14 - Tuff Stuff Toys

Day 14:
Tuff Stuff Toys

(Magazine ad, 1981)

Get tough, America! Buy your kids these toys, and by all means, don't forget to get your $3 rebate!!

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30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 13 - Dolls In Need Of Serious Help

Day 13:
Dolls In Need Of Serious Help

(Sears catalog, 1964)

These poor dolls have been in major accidents and have broken nearly every bone in their wee bodies. They also have chicken pox and measles, for goodness' sake. But that's okay, because that dreamy Ben Casey is on the job, and so are you! Plaster on some bandaids, give them a couple of shots, feed them pills, wash off those measles, and send those dollies home just as good as new!

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30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 12 - Krautkids

Day 12:
Krautkids

(Magazine ad, 1986)

In the early 80s, Cabbage Patch Kids were huge. So of course there were a few clone brands that surfaced. One, Flower Kids, was actually a brand I was given, and I enjoyed those dolls.

But I'd never heard of these. Kraut is pickled cabbage, isn't it? Points for trying, Germany.

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 11 - Entex Giant Pre-School Loc Blocs

Day 11:
Entex Giant Pre-School Loc Blocs

(Magazine ad, 1981)

Okay, so we have another LEGO clone... whose main selling point is that the blocks can be cleaned up easily... because they come in a convenient bucket? 

First of all, when did the existence of "a bucket" ever increase a child's tendency to want to clean up her toys, and secondly... didn't LEGO bricks come in buckets?

According to The Lego Book by Daniel Lipkowitz...

...LEGO brick buckets didn't become a thing until 1987! 

Also, I'm pretty sure that kid is trying to wring that chicken's neck.

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 10 - Busy Box

Day 10:
Busy Box

(Sears catalog, 1964)

Busy Boxes were awesome. My kid self played with the Fisher-Price nursery rhyme version, my niece enjoys the Disney Busy Box from the 70s (that I bought at an antique sale a few years ago), and yes, these do provide hours of entertainment. Just don't leave your kid unattended in the crib for hours and expect this thing to babysit!

Modern not-quite-equivalent: 

30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 9 - TYCO Super Blocks

Day 9:
TYCO Super Blocks

(Magazine ad, 1986)

TYCO blocks look and feel like LEGO blocks. And they work together too. But they are not LEGO blocks. They, like their kin Mega Bloks, are inferior clones that will invade your LEGO collection like weeds among flowers. You have been warned.

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30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 8 - Fisher-Price Musical Toys

Day 8:
Fisher-Price Musical Toys 

(Magazine ad, 1981)

Nostalgia overload! I had the xylophone, the TV, and the record player as a wee lass. My grandma had the clock radio at her house. I can only wonder at why my parents never bought me the percussion instruments? :(

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30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 7 - Penny & Little Miss Echo Dolls

Day 7:
Penny & Little Miss Echo Dolls

(Sears catalog, 1964)

You know Penny's wise because she has eyeglasses and a diploma. I have eyeglasses and a diploma, too! Penny and I could be sisters!

Little Miss Echo's kind of a sham, though. Of course she repeats all you say. She records you. Creep. Yet, so much potential....

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30 Days Of Retro Toys - Day 6 - Safe 'N Sound

Day 6:
Safe 'N Sound

(Magazine ad, 1986)

I really want to know what the dialogue was for one at 11 o'clock, there. I'm guessing it's: "Got leftover food? Well, never, ever share your food with strangers. Only share your food with friendly-looking waterfowl and, if none are available, pigeons. That's being safe."

Those were the 80s, my friends. The modern See 'N Say is just like, "Safety? That's nice and all, but HEY YOU GUYS A COW SAYS MOOOO!!"



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