spirograph and viewmaster i think just about everyone i went to school with, including myself, had one or the other or both at some point in time already in their lives, like by the time we were in the fourth of fifth grade, and the spirograph was something was lovingly kept and continued to be used well into high school and for some, possibly even beyond. those balsawood glider kits were kind of almost universal too. by universal i mean commonly available and affordable every place i had lived when i was k-12. plastic things with wheels for toddlers were after my time. when i was that age we had buddy-L and tonka, where were all steel and other metals. plastics for toys just haddn't been that well developed yet until very late 50s and even well into the early 60s before they started to become common.
I cut my wargaming teeth with these Wonderful Airfix 1/32nd scale soldiers . I think they still make them
When I was young I had a kit to make my own soldiers about 2” high from lead!, Had a small electric container to melt the lead in and about 4 molds. Can’t imagine such a dangerous toy being allowed today.
yup, had the water rocket and the lead foundry kit too. wasn't interested in the soldiers though, i guess my dad bought it because he was. made my own mold for ingots though to make weights for model train cars. well i remember hula hoops, but who doesn't? never any good at them either. i remember mini-tanks though. 1/87th or 1/80th or there abouts, or maybe 18th to the foot. always brought a couple to school in my pockets. as did a friend or two. we actually played marbles during recess too sometimes.
tonka, where were all steel Good news is they went back to Real Tonka trucks, bought one at Target 2 years ago when my Grandson turned one. Think he's pushing 10,000 miles on it by now.
i had tickle-bee because in my mind it was kind of like a train, because it followed a track, but i got tired of it because it had no switch tracks, it was only just the one fixed course, which however convoluted had no real variation or opportunity for it. some people see life that way and demand and harass others to do so as well. i don't and i believe them wrong to do so, morally and logically both. cootie parts were best combined with mr potato head, and of course a real potato, to create truly alien life forms.
The fun part of Tickle-Bee was learning to lead it around the course without getting "stung". Once I became good at it I lost interest in the game.
really my fun and interest began and ended with things i could be creative with, or at least imaging doing so. competition, even with myself, always seemed utterly pointless.
