Classic and vintage toys bring out the nostalgic kid in all of us! Whether you were a kid growing up in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s or - like us - the 1980’s, there were many toys that became iconic staples in our collective childhood experiences. If you’re ever talking to an old friend of a similar age and the subject of toys come up, the conversation can veer off into the deep treasure chests of our memories, probably accompanied by laughter and the familiar, “oh yeah’s” of nostalgic remembrance.
This is one of my favorite sections of this site as it celebrates kids toys that I truly loved as a child. Coming from a home that didn’t have much money, I never became a big collector like some of my friends. Many of my childhood friends still have their collection of Star Wars figures and even He-Man characters, while the best I can come up with is a tiny duffel bag filled with those tiny obscure pink M.U.S.C.L.E.S. action figures.
One of my favorite line of characters were the Transformer toys. I loved them because, unlike the G.I. Joe cartoons or other hero animations of its time, Autobots faced very real and oftentimes damaging opposition from the Decepticons. They didn’t always win, and when they lost they were severely hurt, making the conflict between the two outfits more real and believable. And my favorite character of the line was Soundwave. Soundwave was an esoteric character with a true robotic voice, a monotone disposition, powerful strength and super reconnaissance intelligence - not to mention his amazing legion of cassette troops including Buzzsaw and LaserBeak! As Megatron’s right hand man, he was the most dependable and effective Decepticon of all time!
I never had Soundwave, but my mother did get me the bootleg knockoff - CassetteMan! I played with that toy robot for months. And in celebration of our love for classic and vintage toys, we begin our ever growing list:
Voltron was one of the coolest toys of the 1980's!. It took only two seasons to spawn a generation of die hard fans and the search for the 5 Lioned Classic Robot!
M.U.S.C.L.E. figures had a short life here in the United States, reigning in popularity from 1985 through 1988. Along with my friends, I collected dozens of these original figures between 1985 and late 1986 and my friend even had the video game for the original Nintendo Entertainment System!
Lite Brite has remained one of my wife's favorite classic toys from her childhood. Not only did she love it as a child, she got one as an adult and created several lit masterpieces for parties as well as for ambiance in my studio. After recently finding the original box in our messy garage, we look forward to making a family creation!
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