Surveying the Gen X landscape and the origins of geek
One of the more epic “big ticket” combos, via EyeSPIVE. That’s the U.K. version of the game, as seen here. There’s another Dark Tower Christmas, including some AD&D toys, here.
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That’s it for me until next year, kids. Thanks to everyone who follows the blog, and special thanks to all of you who have left comments (here and on Facebook) and sent me appreciative messages. Merry Christmas to all!
A little known playset for a well-done line that was gunned down when Mego went bankrupt. I remember the 2″ high, die-cast metal figures circulating on the playground before G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. There’s also a Remco Warlord figure in the shot.
The Eagle Island commercial is here, and I’m adding some better pictures of the set below.
Christine K and her Ewok friend (also made by Kenner) among the Imperial Shuttle, the B-Wing Fighter, the Dewback reissue, the Y-Wing Fighter, the Tie Interceptor, and a slew of figures. I also see a couple of 1985 calendars: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Duran Duran.
I forgot how big the cart boxes were for the 400/800. The console wars of the late ’70s and early ’80s were fought largely through package art and package design. Demo centers were few and far between, but we all saw the boxes faced out under glass counters or behind the registers. The 400/800 packages were bigger, Atari would have us believe, because the contents were more sophisticated. Pac-Man wasn’t just a game when played on the Atari 400 and 800. It was a “computer program.”
When I got my 800 in ’82 or ’83, it came bundled with Pac-Man and Donkey Kong.
(Photo via vigorito; box scan via Atari Mania)
Michael Paulus landed the greatest console of all time.
Via the Now Playing Podcast. More Christmas AT-ATs here.
Via Once Upon a Product. Lori got a loom!
The caption, via the Birmingham Mail:
Edgbaston twins Antony and Richard Joseph, both aged six, are seen here enjoying the toy department at Lewis’s in Birmingham on December 15, 1980.
Lewis’s was a department store chain in the UK that was in business from 1856 to 1991.
Lovely photo from a time when man-children weren’t snatching up all the Star Wars toys before the kids could get to them.
Membros and Repto! There’s also a torn open The Black Hole action figure above the Micronauts. Maximillian is standing on Monopoly.
(Photo via the Rebelscum Forums)
Barbie has plenty of access to the kitchen, but not the pilot’s seat. Really colorful 1972 set that mirrors the decor of the real deal. It looks like Mattel toned it down in 1974, according to that year’s JCPenney Christmas catalog.
(Images via The Stumbling Christian, Etsy, and Wishbook)
2 Warps to Neptune 