The toys that made a difference to you...

. I also was very fond of the game of "Life", it had cars...

I just threw that away when cleaning up the attic. The cars were pretty plain as were the chicks to stick into them. ;)
 
Folks submitting so far...really COOL stuff. generations change, stuff changes too, but wow. thanks to all of you for starting the thread in the spirit intended...we'll see how long it stays on track :yaayy:

as the sixties progressed, here is the bike i HAD to have. "Santa" Daddy/Mommy had revealed their true identities by then and in 1969 my wish came true: i got my Orange Krate "drag" bike"!

1970 saw the addition of a "sissy" bar...(second photo.. it not my bike actual bike though. i couldn't find the one photo in existence of it with me as a pre-teen wanna-be racer)


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Had an Orange Crate with shifter.... it was Awesome! That was one heavy-assed bike though!
 
The Toys

I work @ auctions & we often get vintage toys. I have bought some toys that I had as a kid for only a couple of bucks, like the Marx Shooting Gallery. One I am looking for was my favorite, Johnny Astro

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I credit the Daisy Red Rider I received for Christmas in 1965 for my hitting 95 of 100 in USAF boot camp with a POS M16. That BB gun taught me to use the front sight and manage a crappy trigger.
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I had this guy. Major Matt Mason and all the stuff pictured. Christmas 1967.

I KNOW what became of it...a younger relative HAD to have it and within TWO weeks everything was broken. He played with the Space Crawler in the sand..NEVER worked again.

That was summer of 1970. Yeah, I had outgrown it but luckily I had my Orange Krate to speed around on so i didnt strangle my cousin ;)

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I just threw that away when cleaning up the attic. The cars were pretty plain as were the chicks to stick into them. ;)

the "sticks" were worth some "lettuce" at the end of the game. I always cashed them in at "Millionaire Acres". :yes:

when the stick chick and I went "childless" somehow I amassed more dough at the end...that's counter to real life, or my memory is faulty (more likely this).

i also cant recall if photo below was from the 60's version when the cars "verts" - I do recall the people had "oval" heads as shown but don't remember the cars at all. I know the 80's version the "sticks" looked a little more like people (second photo) and the cars were updated to "mini-vans".

Plus LIFE game I played as a child had the "Revenge" square as noted in the vintage video...somewhere along the way that square went away. the LIFE game I played with my kids in 1990's did not have that square.

all makes sense..times change so the long-lasting games evolved as well.

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a few more.

Trouble "scared" my littlest sister (that popper thing was too loud) - I had outgrown it before she played it.

My Dad and I (and the male cousins) endlessly played Battleship. Operation was mostly with the kids (girls and boys)...adults rarely joined in.

Played "Twister" even in college too...it had a MUCH different objective by then though when combined with alcohol and co-eds :love_eyes:


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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxnbqazv-q0
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I had a kick *** mongoose BMX much like this one....my 'goose I used to call it. Everybody had mag wheels and pads. Jumped every and anything. Started building them from scratch with some tools my dad gave me one christmas. After that I graduated to cars.

Heh. Mine was a DB F-1. Their first real lightweight bike. Would have been about '83...

Ah Oakley BMX grips.. Who would have thought they'd turn in to the brand they are today?

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Good thread, Hot wheels, still have some of them, Little green army men, tinker toys (still have), Lincoln logs were some favorites. Model cars and planes. Never got a krate bike until 10 years ago (still have) The DG BMX was the last bike I purchased as a kid thru lawnmowing and was stolen about a year after I bought it. Still have a couple of frames and nos wheels around to build one day. Then came the ruttman minbike and BB guns along with pool acid / tinfoil bombs. Ahh good memories.

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20" bikes with ape hangers and banana seats were the thing to have in the sixties for my group. Besides my RR BB gun, clamp-on roller skates, a baseball sized rubber ball for (strike out) and a basketball, summer was covered. A football that held air for the winter. Football in the winter snow is actually a lot of fun.
 
I have been a motor-head my whole life !!! As a toddler I wouldn't go to sleep until I had all my cars in bed with me
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My first collection that I can remember, was a fleet of police and fire chief Mustangs... i snagged this one on ebay several years ago = I haven't been able to locate a Fire Chief yet38792_1368830820207_763214_n.jpg
My first set of cool wheels was this chopper trike = My "Cheetah" was quicker than all my buddies Big wheels !!
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I had a lot of toys that I loved, I guess I remember my Dad showing me his very pricey Franklin Mints that I use to play with when he was not around and destroyed them......I kick myself for that one. I was only a kid 10 years ago so my toys are a lot different then your Guy's lol.
 
I had a lot of toys that I loved, I guess I remember my Dad showing me his very pricey Franklin Mints that I use to play with when he was not around and destroyed them......I kick myself for that one. I was only a kid 10 years ago so my toys are a lot different then your Guy's lol.

post a few "modern" toys if you can? some of us "graybeards" might still recognize them. :icon_pirat:

enjoy these years of youth brother...time flies!
 
Always wanted a krate so later in life I got one (done as a grey ghost). I built a springer balloon 26 inch as well, so I can actually ride it. Tinker toy set, and hot wheels box. All of them are thrashed out as my oldest son had my set growing up. Had some orange and black track too but its gone. The kid 2 blocks away with the apple krate started me on these bikes, the coolest bicycle I had ever laid eyes on.

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Always wanted a krate so later in life I got one. I built a springer balloon 26 inch as well, so I can actually ride it. Tinker toy set, and hot wheels box. All of them are thrashed out as my oldest son had my set growing up. Had some orange and black track too but its gone.

:wtg: nice stuff! and a real-live Apple Krate!

i had 2 out of 4 but i know ALL these things...except third pic down. what is that again?

i have been debating (i loved that bike!!) getting another Krate bike..but I am a foot taller and 100+ lbs heavier than I was at 12 yrs old. those factors and an AARP card with my name on it likely puts the kibosh on that deal for me.

just having one back though...might be cool. it was my first taste of "freedom" ... a thrill i never forgot.
 
I love the nostalgia of the krates, riding one was a different story, and they didnt do well on jumps. The shifter, appropriately known as "the nut crusher" had its name for a reason. Its why I went to a BMX style bike as he who could do the baddest jump in my neighborhood was king! I had a huffy mono shock bike but it weighed alot. The 3rd pic down are NOS gold anodized rims for the DG build. One is going like my old bike and one will be a period correct custom. Digging out some other toys too. Fun stuff!


:wtg: nice stuff! and a real-live Apple Krate!

i had 2 out of 4 but i know ALL these things...except third pic down. what is that again?

i have been debating (i loved that bike!!) getting another Krate bike..but I am a foot taller and 100+ lbs heavier than I was at 12 yrs old. those factors and an AARP card with my name on it likely puts the kibosh on that deal for me.

plus i am saving up for that Scenicruiser :toothy10:
 
ah yes.... the shifter that made "sopranos out of tenors". never got gored by the shifter...did fall over backwards trying to do "wheelies" though.

wheelies were what all the cool kids could do in my neck of the woods in 1970. I knocked the wind outta myself ... THAT was a spooky feeling .. on concrete. after that debacle, i still learned to ride a whole city block "fork up".

oh, popping wheelies WITHOUT that training wheel "thing" too.. designed to stop you from flipping over backwards. yes, a GOOD thing as a parent in the "no helmet days" gone by, but definitely UN-cool as a sixth-grader trying to 'man up' with his friends.

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