Surveying the Gen X landscape and the origins of geek
Toys “R” Us, Miami, 1983. I don’t have any background, but the young lady is obviously the winner of a shopping spree, and she is damn well making the most of it. If you look on the right side of the top box, you’ll see that it’s an Atari 800 home computer system. I think the bottom box is an Atari 400. The look on her face tells all: this is the dream of every kid who has ever been in a toy store.
(Photo via the Seattle Washington Archive/eBay)
Toys “R” Us, Sunnyvale, CA, 1983. The 5200 is listed at $160.00. The Atari 800 (back shelf, far right) is $500 (it was $1000 in 1980). A snapshot of the crash.
(Images via Computer History Museum)
Circa 1984, when Voltron and the Transformers first appeared in the States. This shit was expensive, man. I had a couple of Gobots, the poor man’s Transformer, but by ’85 I’d moved on to the much more sophisticated Robotech.
The space opera format and those gnarly Veritech fighters had me at hello, and all the guys had mad crushes on Lisa or Minmei, or both. I vaguely recall Matchbox’s Robotech toy line, but I was moving away from action figures at this point.
I still remember the episode where Ben dies and Max, eyes closed in his darkened cockpit, makes the sign of the cross. Nobody had ever seen anything like that in a cartoon before.
Here’s the clip.
(Image via the NTFA Forums)
(Video via Malrenolds)
Target, December 19, 1981. (Bonnie McCune/Denver Post)
The only thing better than perusing classic toys on toy aisles during Christmastime is perusing stacks upon stacks of classic toys on toy aisles during Christmastime. Our toy department manager is stocking the Alpha-1 Rocket Base.
Behind the bundle she’s holding you can see stacks of Millenium Falcons.
(First image via Big Ole Photos)
December 23, 1979. (Steve Barnett/The Seattle Times)
The Micronauts stuff is on the left. Start on the bottom shelf. See the Rocket Tubes?
Go up one and you’ll see a much smaller box. That’s the Warp Racer.
Go up one more and you’ll see part of the Battle Cruiser box. Right next to that is the Star Searcher.
(First image source: Seattle Washington Archive)
December 19, 1980. (John J. Sunderland/Denver Post)
She’s checking out the Mickey Mouse Loop the Loop and Fun Castle Roller Coaster. The video below shows the Loop the Loop in action, and you can check out the Roller Coaster at The Retroist. Do toy companies even make stuff like this anymore?
(Image via Big Ole Photos/eBay)
(Video via phoenexus777/YouTube)
Target, December 20, 1983. (Lyn Alweis/Denver Post)
(Image sources: Big Ole Photos and Frankensmith’s Castle)
Okay, those Big Bird and Yoda costumes are seriously creepy, and I don’t think they’re supposed to be.
The Wonder Woman mask with horse teeth and drug addict eyes is not very flattering, kids. And the “popular characters from Star Wars” are all the bad guys, naturally.
(Video sources: William Presley and tk421maul)
December 19, 1980. (John J. Sunderland/Denver Post)
The lads are ogling Tomy’s Atomic Arcade Pinball. See a demo below via Classic Game Room.
(Image source: Big Ole Photos)
Toys R Us, 1987. (Jim Mahoney/The Boston Herald)
Living the dream. And please note Geoffrey the Giraffe among the onlookers.
(Photo via The Boston Archive)
2 Warps to Neptune 