Tyco also released a glow-in-the-dark slot car set for the Transformers, shown below. There was also a slot car set for the GoBots (Space Chase, by LJN) and Voltron (Spinout in Space, by LJN). Such was the transforming robot craze of ’84 to ’86.
Archive for December, 2015
Christmas Morning, 1985: Tyco’s Transformers Electric Train and Battle Set
Published December 7, 2015 Christmas , Christmas Morning , Slot Car Racing , Transformers 1 CommentChristmas Morning, 1984: GoBots Command Center
Published December 7, 2015 Christmas , Christmas Morning , G.I. Joe , GoBots , Robots Leave a Comment
You can also see a Cobra Rattler in the background. There’s another G.I. Joe box on the left. Can’t make it out.
All I wanted for Christmas in 1984 were Transformers, and I got GoBots instead. My bitterness has faded with time. The truth is, both Hasbro and Tonka made imaginative toys based on superior Japanese productions.
The Command Center commercial is great (“Your parents put it together”), and the toy is actually pretty neat.
(Photo via Miles Smith)
‘Space Toys’ Ads (1978)
Published December 4, 2015 Ads , Battlestar Galactica , Christmas , Kenner Toys , Mattel Toys , Micronauts , Shogun Warriors , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 1 Comment
The ads are via Roboplastic Apocalypse, the most comprehensive robot toy site on the internet. Notice that Santa is riding the Viper in the first ad, followed by his other outer space reindeer. Very clever.
The last ad features Combatra, the priciest item on the Shogun Warriors menu, selling mostly at high end department stores for $49.99 or more. There’s a great entry on the toy at CollectionDX, where I got the pictures below. Click on the link to see all five vehicles combine into a giant robot, long before Matchbox’s Voltron entered the fray.
Heather Toupin says she dictated the list to her grandfather. The “Kitten????” is priceless. I was stoked to see the Star Rider, a cool toy that was made only for a couple of years. Glow in the dark Shrinky Dinks were a thing.
Mattel’s Unproduced Battlestar Galactica Toys (1979)
Published December 3, 2015 Battlestar Galactica , Mattel Toys 1 Comment
I did not know about either of these. Per the Starlog #27 blurb below, Mattel “scrapped” the Command Ship because production cost was too high, specifically the chip required to emulate the Star Bird-like acceleration and laser sounds.
The helmet was supposed to transform a kid’s voice into the voice of a Cylon! Just think: we could have all been talking like Cylons.
Top images are courtesy of By Your Command.
Christmas Morning, 1978: Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Adventure People
Published December 3, 2015 Adventure People , Battlestar Galactica , Christmas , Christmas Morning , Fisher-Price , Kenner Toys , Mattel Toys , Spider-Man , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 7 Comments
Another shot starring the Death Star and the Daredevil Sports Van, not to mention all the major Battlestar Galactica vehicles, via Darrick Bachman. I also see a Tie Fighter, a die-cast X-Wing Fighter package, a Spider-Man Mobile Crime Lab (below, via Jon Knutson), and a Nylint Trail Blazer (below, via eBay).
Christmas Morning, 1978: Star Wars and Adventure People
Published December 3, 2015 Adventure People , Christmas , Christmas Morning , Fisher-Price , Kenner Toys , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 7 Comments
The kid fondling the Death Star, as his brothers look on a little enviously, is Stephen Fry. That’s Kenner’s Stretch Octopus in the pink and orange box, and you can also see the Adventure People Daredevil Sports Van, first released in 1978. Fisher-Price’s Adventure People may be the greatest action figure line of all time. There, I said it.
Christmas Morning, 1984 and 1985: G.I. Joe Headquarters Command Center and M.A.S.K. Boulder Hill Playset
Published December 2, 2015 '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , Christmas , Christmas Morning , G.I. Joe , M.A.S.K. 1 Comment
The happy kid is Bo Nash. Competition among toy lines, particularly lines geared to boys, was never fiercer than in the ’80s. Despite the shrinking middle class, parents continued to save up and shell out to make their kids happy. My mom would often put toys and other Christmas gifts on layaway in the middle of the year, or even earlier, so that they would be paid off by Christmas. M.A.S.K. is after my time, and clearly derivative of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, but Kenner didn’t disappoint: the toys and package design are excellent.
Christmas Morning, 1985: Sectaurs Hyve Action Play Set and M.A.S.K. Boulder Hill Playset
Published December 2, 2015 '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , Christmas , Christmas Morning , Kenner Toys , Sectaurs 1 Comment
Nice loot, Kris Klinge. I dig those sofas, too.
P.S. The art on the Hyve box is incredible. I’m not sure who painted it, but I’ll look into it.
Video Game Demonstration Center, Circa 1980
Published December 1, 2015 Atari , Demonstration Centers/Stations , Home Consoles , Intellivision , Video Games 2 Comments
According to Vintage Richmond, the shot is from a Circuit City store circa 1981. I think the year is likely 1980, because I don’t see Asteroids, Missile Command, or Yar’s Revenge, all of which were released for the 2600 in 1981. I do see Space Invaders and Warlords, both released in 1980.
There are two 2600 consoles in the photo, as well as a Magnavox Odyssey² and an Intellivision. I keep thinking two things: first, who was the poor bastard who had to get those TVs onto that shelf? And second, those TVs look very precariously perched on that shelf.
Note that customers had to “limit video game play to 5 minutes only”. I’m sure the kids minded the warning.
2 Warps to Neptune 