Archive for the 'What Our Rooms Looked Like' Category

Next Entries »

Kids Playing Portable Pac-Man, 1982

Published June 7, 2013 Electronic Handhelds , Knockoff Toys , Video Games , What Our Rooms Looked Like Leave a Comment

Pac-Man 1982-2

Pac-Man 1982

1982 - Jim, David, and Pac Man

The first two photos are from Melissa Wilkins. That’s her in the first photo, and a neighborhood friend in the second. She describes the scenes here and here.

That’s Bandai’s Packri Monster in the last shot, a Pac-Man clone (duh). The photo is from jlkwak, who talks about the game and the kids who had it:

EVERYONE in the school wanted a shot at playing it. Students would literally line up in front of their table for a chance to play a round. These two fellows were the coolest kids in the middle school wing for a week.

I got my chance to play the game, once. Like the real Pac-Man, I was terrible. My turn was up very quickly.

Truth. The kids who owned these games were superstars, and turns were scarce and short.

Toys in the Wild: Masters of the Universe (1984 – 1985)

Published May 30, 2013 '70s Decor/Design/Fashion , '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , Masters of the Universe , Toys in the Wild , What Our Rooms Looked Like 3 Comments

MOTU 1984

MOTU 1984-2

MOTU 1985

Hey, Michael Hyland, the Eastern seaboard called: they’re running out of MOTU.

Actually, let’s make a deal. You keep the toys and your studly A-Team pajamas. I’ll take that righteous carpet, the matching tablecloth, and the boss wood paneling.

You’ll see Stinkor in the last photo (top left), and that red spider thing is—yet another winner from Mattel’s Clever Name Department—Spydor.

Toys in the Wild: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1982)

Published May 6, 2013 '70s Decor/Design/Fashion , Board Games/Tabletop Games , G.I. Joe , Toys in the Wild , What Our Rooms Looked Like 3 Comments

G.I. Joe 1982

Hasbro’s 1982 G.I. Joe relaunch marked the beginning of probably the greatest action toy line ever produced. Series one consisted of 16 figures (including four vehicle drivers and the mail-in Cobra Commander), seven vehicles, the (flimsy as hell) Sears exclusive Missile Command Headquarters, and a Collector Display Case.

Here we see the Mobile Missile System (MMS) and Heavy Artillery Laser (HAL) in their natural habitat, a cluttered, wood-paneled living room (or den) centered by a TV whose four channels came in relatively clearly only when the cranky rabbit ear antenna was coaxed into the perfect position. (Can anyone make out who’s/what’s on the screen? My first thought was Barney Miller.)

G.I. Joe MMS 1982

G.I. Joe HAL 1982

In the bookcase behind the happy kid, more evidence of the flora and fauna of early ’80s America: 8 tracks and board games, Mastermind among them.

Mastermind

Mastermind-2

(Original photo via Brotherwolfe (Kary Nieuwenhuis)/Flickr; G.I. Joe images via Yo Joe!)

A Portrait of Young Geeks Playing D&D

Published November 3, 2012 Board Games/Tabletop Games , D&D , D&D Portraits , What Our Rooms Looked Like 1 Comment

D&D Portrait 1981-2

Via J.R. Jenks/Flickr, circa 1981. On the top left of the bookshelves I see two board games, Snoopy Come Home and Space Hop. I remember the first one, but not the second. Here’s a shot of the back of Space Hop.

I’m intrigued, but apparently the game was designed for very young kids, and the data is very much out of date.

Boy’s Room, Circa 1982

Published October 30, 2012 Atari , Lego , Lego Space , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) , What Our Rooms Looked Like 5 Comments

Sam's Room 1982

Via Sam Howzit/Flickr. There’s an awful lot of awesome here. Let’s make a list.

1. Donkey Kong on the Atari 2600

2. Righteous Empire Strikes Back wallpaper

3. Snowspeeder and Slave I under the bookshelf

4. Lego Space on the table, and Lego Space (one box and a bowl of loose bricks) under the TV

5. I think that’s a picture of Catherine Bach (Daisy Duke) next to the Legos under the TV

5. Hand embroidered Pittsburgh Steelers pillow on the bed

Do yourself a favor and click pic to enlarge.

Kids Playing Atari in Living Room, Circa 1981

Published October 17, 2012 Atari , ON-TV , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) , What Our Rooms Looked Like 5 Comments

Fascinating. The year is my best guess. Defender came out for the 2600 in 1981, and the 2600 here looks like the four-switch “woody” model, first produced in 1980. We had ON TV for a short time, a subscription service that would unscramble participating UHF channels. In September of 1982, ON TV aired Star Wars for the first time ever on national TV on a pay-per-views basis, despite very few households being wired for the service.

Boy’s Room, 1977

Published October 12, 2012 Six Million Dollar Man, The , Space: 1999 , What Our Rooms Looked Like 2 Comments

October 11, 1977. (Glen Martin/Denver Post)

First of all, that’s the Eagle 1 on the shelf behind the bed.

Second, what’s up with the bowling game? I’ve never seen one quite like it, and it looks pretty lame. Trade it in for an air hockey table, kid.

Third, scan far left, click image to enlarge, and you can make out the Mission Control Center from The Six Million Dollar Man toy line, seen below via Toys You Had. I can’t tell what the boxes to the right of the Command Center are.

(First image source: Big Ole Photos)

Boy’s Room, Circa 1980

Published September 10, 2012 Electronic Handhelds , Found Photos , Godzilla , Shogun Warriors , What Our Rooms Looked Like 10 Comments

I don’t know the exact year, but the Dukes of Hazzard poster puts us between 1979 and 1985. In the first photo (click to enlarge), there’s not too much I can make out. The Bela Lugosi head, obviously, a weird koala bear pillow, some Matchbox cars. There’s a signed black and white photo on the wall, but I can’t identify the figures.

The second photo is a gold mine. Godzilla, Shogun Warriors, one of those safes with the combination lock that most of us had, a Boba Fett doll. That’s Tomy’s Digital Derby in one of the yellow cubes, and a better shot of the black and white photo. Is it the Three Stooges?

And is that the back of Galaxian 2 on the top shelf of the bookcases?

A Portrait of Young Geeks Playing Dungeons & Dragons, 1981

Published July 24, 2012 D&D , D&D Portraits , What Our Rooms Looked Like 5 Comments

d&d portrait 1981

Via Joey Hack/Flickr. Location not given. I spy with my little eye not one but two briefcases (one of them doubling as a DM screen), a Champion vest jacket, a reel-to-reel tape machine, a turntable, a black cowboy hat (DM’s prerogative), carpet wall art, and I do believe that’s an open carton of cigarettes on the ashtray on top of the TV. Kid in blue is holding Milton Bradley’s MicroVision, the first handheld video game console.

Pages

Archives

Categories

Donate Button

Join 1,103 other subscribers
%d bloggers like this: