So does anyone have pics of toy aisles from the 80s?

Man, this brings back so many memories. I had about 80% of those GI Joe toys in that aisle. I was a pretty spoiled kid, and I'm glad I was and got to play with all those cool toys. I also had a lot of transformers, star wars, m.a.s.k., he-man, voltron, madballs, visionaries, sky commanders, and probably a few others I can't recall. I also had one of those motorized squirt guns that looked like a machine gun as well as most of those happy meal changeables.

I also remember Childrens Palace opening outside a mall I used to go to. They didn't last very long though as there was a TRU nearby as well. I do remember that my parents went there to get me the etch a sketch animator.

The only remnants I have from my collection now are a few gi joe, transformer and star wars figures that are falling apart. My favourite thing I still have around from the 80's are a bunch of spinjas, which i've been trying to find more of, but seem impossible to find.
 
heres a question about a toy ive been trying to find the name of for a while now. there was this series of hidden toys in that the toys themselves were inside of something that looked like a cassette tape but you open them up and inside you might find a skeleton with a sword and shield or any number of other things. i always regretted not getting the skeleton when i had the chance but to this day ive never found anything out about the.
 
Aw man, thanks for posting those vids, Lokizz. That was an awesome memory trip. I had all those Muppet Babies toys, too.

I promised I'd be back to talk about my toy aisle memories. There are so many different toy store memories I have as a kid. Lionel Playworld was a big part of my childhood. It's where I got my original LEGO Pirates sets. It's also where I somewhat foolishly spent all the money I had saved for an NES on a nearly complete collection of Starcom toys at clearance prices. Starcom is one of those somewhat forgotten toy lines that really deserves more love. All the wind-up and magnet powered features of the series were really impressive.

The tale of another unfairly forgotten toy line brings me to another variety of toy aisle, the catalog showrooms. In AZ, we had Best, and eventually Service Merchandise. For those who don't remember these, they were really kinda cool as a kid. Some of the smaller toys were available on the shelf, but if you wanted the larger toys, that's where the fun started. You'd either fill out an order form for your item, or in later years, order your item through a computer kiosk, and then you'd head to the checkout, where you could watch your new toy come out from the storeroom on a conveyor belt. This is how I first met my PowerJet XT-7 from Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. Man, was that an awesome show! Sure, it was a great excuse to sell toys, but it had a serious story going on. Sometimes, I'd get so enthralled with the story, that I'd forget to even play along with the PowerJet.

I think I've been longwinded enough for now. Maybe I should just start a blog about all my toy memories...
 
I was a 90s kid but I still remember toy stores like that and dam the happy meal toys I just found a ton of them when I was packing last week I have all the disney ones and power rangers.
 
This thread is making me sick. When I was little I had alot of this shit and more but when my parents finally got divorced my dad threw out all of our shit including half my damn clothes and I went to live at my grandmothers on the farm. I lost all that cool stuff I wish I still had.

Im not looking at stuff through rose tinted glasses, I honestly thought the 80s had the best toys ever. But soon as you started seeing toy guns with orange tips and suddenly all the action figures could make sparks come out of their chest with a dial on the back they all quickly went down the shitter.
 
[quote name='lokizz']heres a question about a toy ive been trying to find the name of for a while now. there was this series of hidden toys in that the toys themselves were inside of something that looked like a cassette tape but you open them up and inside you might find a skeleton with a sword and shield or any number of other things. i always regretted not getting the skeleton when i had the chance but to this day ive never found anything out about the.[/QUOTE]

I think I have the skeleton you are talking about.....it was like a pocket-toy thing, came in a black case about the size of a cassette tape, the skeleton came with a pop-on shield, helmet and dagger right? Folded up flat.......The skeleton is here somewhere, the tape-sized holder is long gone.....and I can't remember the name to even do a google search :p
 
[quote name='HeadRusch']I think I have the skeleton you are talking about.....it was like a pocket-toy thing, came in a black case about the size of a cassette tape, the skeleton came with a pop-on shield, helmet and dagger right? Folded up flat.......The skeleton is here somewhere, the tape-sized holder is long gone.....and I can't remember the name to even do a google search :p[/QUOTE]


that might be it holy shit dude ive been looking for that for a very long time but i never knew the name of it.

starcom toys were cool as hell a friend of mine in elementary school had a few and hed bring them to school. our desks were partially metal so wed stick the men on underneath and on the legs of the desks and all over most fun you could ever have in class.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNjSd0WqsJ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwwhZHERlG4

heres some random bunch of commercials i found on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Gy3FI3J58
 
51V39J6AKZL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


Oh yeah...that's the guy I have :D

PS: I can see now he totally came with a pike too, that is looong gone.
 
[quote name='HeadRusch']
51V39J6AKZL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


Oh yeah...that's the guy I have :D

PS: I can see now he totally came with a pike too, that is looong gone.[/QUOTE]


dude youre my freakin hero thats it!!!! i thought it glowed in the dark but wasnt sure. as i rememer they had a bunch of different toys but the skeleton was the coolest imo.
 
holy shit Starcom!!!!!!

I had honestly forgotten that those toys existed. Watching that video brings back a rush of memories from me being pretty damned young. Those toys were seriously amazing. I'm impressed even seeing them now. I must find some to buy so that my son can play with them too!

EDIT: Wow those are expensive. Wow. The wife's never gonna let me buy those, lol.
 
Remembering Captain Power last night sent me to YouTube, and I was amazed to find this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQapMkdIuSs

This is the commercial that started the hype amongst me and my friends for Captain Power. It was so cool to have this mysterious guy break in on the TV signal, begging for my help to defend the future. How could I not want the PowerJet XT-7 after that? Truly, one of the greatest commercials I've ever seen.
 
Awesome commercial, reminds me of the creepy transmissions from the future in PRINCE OF DARKNESS. I wonder how many kids who watched that show now have brain-tumors cuz of that show firing back :D

PS: Did Captain Power fight the Borg before they were the Borg? :D
 
[quote name='lmz00']I remember those Changeables. I also remember Burger King having way better toys than McDonald's.[/QUOTE]

Burger King had Z-Bots and POGs at the same time, which was awesome.
 
Man, this all brings back so many memories. Like back when Transformers toys were actually made of metal. When Toys r Us had the paper tickets for games, the McDonalds transforming food toys. Captain Power, I had a laser gun from that show. I had one of the old yellow super soakers with green bottles, think it was the 100 or 150.

I also had some of these toys too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2PqrY1P6yI

Kind of depressing what kids have to live with these days.
 
[quote name='Clak']
Kind of depressing what kids have to live with these days.[/QUOTE]

I agree as far as toys go, but they have access to porn whenever they want! In my day, you had to be a pro with the pause button on the VCR. ;)
 
[quote name='slowdive21']I agree as far as toys go, but they have access to porn whenever they want! In my day, you had to be a pro with the pause button on the VCR. ;)[/QUOTE]

LMAO!! So true.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']I agree as far as toys go, but they have access to porn whenever they want! In my day, you had to be a pro with the pause button on the VCR. ;)[/QUOTE]


or you try and sneak a peek at the porn section at the local video store. tucked behind that wooden door and beaded curtain was a naughty world we could only imagine.........and like always if you hovered near it too long you got scolded by the manager and kicked out.
 
[quote name='Doomstink']Burger King had Z-Bots and POGs at the same time, which was awesome.[/QUOTE]

I was hospitalized for 2 weeks when BK had Z-Bots, every day I wanted a BK Kids meal for lunch... by the end of my hospitalization I had a small army of them at my bedside. :D Then I got the giant robot from a KB Toys at the mall.. I miss those things, they were awesome.
 
Well being born in 86 means that I didn't get to experience the 80's but I did get in on the early 90's and back in those days, the toy stores were really plentiful. I remember this store called the toy works (I think KB owned it) near me which had on the right side when you walked in, there was a whole giant row of board games, then it had all types of toys and goodies. Also I remember buying some video games from there.

Now that is gone and there is a dollar tree there :cry:.

I also remember the trek to a toys r us. Where the toys r us was really a special trip kind of deal (since Wilkes Barre, PA had nothing except the mall and toys r us back then. Plus my family had no reason to go to that mall). Oh god that toys r us was amazing until they redesigned the place and it started sucking. I remember back in the day to buy a video game you had to take a ticket out of the sleeves and take it to the back cashier.

I really do thank having toys. It really brought my creativity and imagination out.
 
fuck, now I want to go back to eBay and grab the rest of The Real Ghostbusters I need. I feel like shopping for these as well: G.I. Joe, Thundercats, Transformers, M.A.S.K, Ninja Turtles, Voltron, fake Ghostbusters (The one with that stupid fucking gorilla), and HE-MAN.

I also remember when McDonalds had the Super Mario 2 and 3 Happy Meal toys. Anyone remember the cereal that was Mario on one side and Zelda on the other? Or how about the Ghostbuster cereal or the Ecto-Cooler Hi-C drink? Damn, this thread really got to me!! Time to listen to GN'R's Appetite for Destruction while playing Ghostbusters on the 360!!

fuck I love this thread. fuck I love all of you guys for remembering this shit. fuck, I love the 80s
 
[quote name='HeadRusch']
51V39J6AKZL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


Oh yeah...that's the guy I have :D

PS: I can see now he totally came with a pike too, that is looong gone.[/QUOTE]

Holy shit, that brings back some memories. Does anyone remember the toys that basically was shaped like a person, but from the head all the way down to the waist was a hologram? I think one was a skeleton and another that I remember had snakes or something on it.

There was also another toy that I liked, and I don't believe you ever knew which one you were getting when you bought them either. They came in a bag that you would place in the sink, then the bag would dissolve and you'd have a hard plastic figure. I remember a lot of them were neon or bright colored too.

Also, anyone remember these?

1651.BattleBeasts.jpg_2D00_500x346.jpg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhMwCKOKjBQ

Battle Beasts!
 
Is their a way we can get the late 80's early 90's back?

EDIT: a friend of mine as a kid gave me some of their old battle beasts. I had a shark, beaver, bat, dog and I want to say a few others. I never knew what they were till a few years ago. Damn dog I had at the time ate all but the beaver.
 
Its a damn shame no one else has managed to put up another photo of toy stores like the OP. When that photo was posted in the transformers thread I posted the GI Joe one on my wall and all my friends freaked out asking where I was.

Since everyone is pulling out fragments of memories maybe someone can help me ID this toy line. It was a series of Guns and weapons that you could open up and turn into army bases with small soldier figures. Micro machines had the same concept later but thede were full on gun replicas. I remember there was a huge base that was M16 in gun form, and there was even a base that transformed out of a grenade.

Its one of those toy lines I think back to and know we'll never see again due to the world we live in.


EDIT: Holy crap google found it for me, the line was called Army G.E.A.R. and sure enough Galoob the micro machine company mad it. Look at this: http://www.virtualtoychest.com/a/armygear/armygearbox2c.jpg
http://www.virtualtoychest.com/a/armygear/armygear.html

Could you imagine the shit storm if these came out today?
 
[quote name='mossman43']

Anyone remember the cereal that was Mario on one side and Zelda on the other? Or how about the Ghostbuster cereal or the Ecto-Cooler Hi-C drink? Damn, this thread really got to me!! Time to listen to GN'R's Appetite for Destruction while playing Ghostbusters on the 360!!
[/QUOTE]

I still have some nintendo (empty) cereal boxes in my closet at my parents house. I also have 4 or 5 TMNT boxes and Batman Returns boxes.

[quote name='Pure Apathy']


Also, anyone remember these?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhMwCKOKjBQ

Battle Beasts![/QUOTE]

I still have my battlebeasts too!


Now I've got to find this stuff...
 
Did anyone else have all the Ghostbusters gear? I had the proton pack and trap, man I loved those things. I used to put on the Ghostbusters soundtrack (an actual vinyl record!) and me and my friends played Ghostbusters. I was born in 84 but I do remember watching Transformers and G.I. Joe, probably re-runs, I know fox showed Transformers G2.
 
I had a ton of Battle Beasts, but I sold them all on eBay about 3 or 4 years ago. Sold all my old He-man and original Star Wars toys, too. I kept my construx, matchbox cars, and micro machines for my sons though (at the time I didn't have sons, just was hoping I would, and now I have 2).
 
Re: Captain Power - I was fucking enthralled with that stuff. I wish I had the pic of me opening up the XT-7 jet for my birthday in '87...I was basically the precursor to the "NINTENDO FOURRRRR" kid that year.

I must have played the videotapes hundreds of times. What annoyed me was my brother got the bad guy version of the ship/gun, and it looked so much cooler than the Captain Power jet. The TV show wasn't quite as interactive as the videotapes, but it was still cool to be able to interact with a TV show like that.
 
[quote name='Pure Apathy']Holy shit, that brings back some memories. Does anyone remember the toys that basically was shaped like a person, but from the head all the way down to the waist was a hologram? I think one was a skeleton and another that I remember had snakes or something on it.

There was also another toy that I liked, and I don't believe you ever knew which one you were getting when you bought them either. They came in a bag that you would place in the sink, then the bag would dissolve and you'd have a hard plastic figure. I remember a lot of them were neon or bright colored too.

Also, anyone remember these?


1651.BattleBeasts.jpg_2D00_500x346.jpg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhMwCKOKjBQ

Battle Beasts![/QUOTE]



yeah battlle beasts were like early pokemon since they were elemental based i think. as far as hologram toys the only one i can recall are visionaries who had holograms on their chest. they were pretty cool since they were built like gi joes only on a bigger scale.


robtix were a cool toy back in the day as well.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnU_IxDzPk8


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPMfm16zNjE
 
Since it's sorta on the topic...

I found a handful of action figures the other day from one of the early 90's cartoons. Not sure why I got them (as a kid), since I don't really remember liking the show much.

Anyway, the main character was a blond guy, but he shared a body with a monster(?). So, half the body was like surfer dude and half mad scientist? Or maybe villain?
 
[quote name='Rig']Since it's sorta on the topic...

I found a handful of action figures the other day from one of the early 90's cartoons. Not sure why I got them (as a kid), since I don't really remember liking the show much.

Anyway, the main character was a blond guy, but he shared a body with a monster(?). So, half the body was like surfer dude and half mad scientist? Or maybe villain?[/QUOTE]


put up some pics of them if i see them i may remember but from your description i have no idea.
 
[quote name='Rig']Since it's sorta on the topic...

I found a handful of action figures the other day from one of the early 90's cartoons. Not sure why I got them (as a kid), since I don't really remember liking the show much.

Anyway, the main character was a blond guy, but he shared a body with a monster(?). So, half the body was like surfer dude and half mad scientist? Or maybe villain?[/QUOTE]

Maybe a Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde thing?


[quote name='lokizz']put up some pics of them if i see them i may remember but from your description i have no idea.[/QUOTE]

X2
 
[quote name='Rig']Since it's sorta on the topic...

I found a handful of action figures the other day from one of the early 90's cartoons. Not sure why I got them (as a kid), since I don't really remember liking the show much.

Anyway, the main character was a blond guy, but he shared a body with a monster(?). So, half the body was like surfer dude and half mad scientist? Or maybe villain?[/QUOTE]
This guy?

t_HPIM1161.jpg


He's (They're?) from Toxic Crusaders, a cartoon based on the Toxic Avenger movies.
 
[quote name='lokizz']yeah battlle beasts were like early pokemon since they were elemental based i think. as far as hologram toys the only one i can recall are visionaries who had holograms on their chest. they were pretty cool since they were built like gi joes only on a bigger scale.[/QUOTE]

I had the visionaries too, but I did a search and came up with what I was talking about. The hologram toys were called Supernaturals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ5hOG5FEJ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmhHQiicT1Y&NR=1

The other toys I was talking about were called the Trash Bag Bunch.

TBB05.jpg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjRLY4tfk5k

Skip to about 5:00 to see it in action.
 
[quote name='Pure Apathy']I had the visionaries too, but I did a search and came up with what I was talking about. The hologram toys were called Supernaturals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ5hOG5FEJ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmhHQiicT1Y&NR=1

The other toys I was talking about were called the Trash Bag Bunch.

TBB05.jpg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjRLY4tfk5k

Skip to about 5:00 to see it in action.[/QUOTE]


i remember the supernaturals now i had a friend who had the skeleton one. pretty crazy concept looking back on it they took alot of risks with toys back then.
 
I think they were from the early 90's but anyone remember Exo Squad man that show as bad ass. I had about half the toys.

Also I can not remember what they were called but they were a windup toy. You put them togeather and came packed like a snap together modal. After you wond them up they moved. They were of different robotic animals and came with littl yellow people to fit in them. I just remember having this big ass white and black ape. Think the name started with a z.
 
[quote name='sendme']I think they were from the early 90's but anyone remember Exo Squad man that show as bad ass. I had about half the toys.

Also I can not remember what they were called but they were a windup toy. You put them togeather and came packed like a snap together modal. After you wond them up they moved. They were of different robotic animals and came with littl yellow people to fit in them. I just remember having this big ass white and black ape. Think the name started with a z.[/QUOTE]

exosquad was cool i got a bunch of those years back at toysrus during a clearance reminded me of a colorful version of battletech.

i think the wind up toy youre thinking of are zoids.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UoYJHE7h2A
 
Last edited by a moderator:
[quote name='lokizz']exosquad was cool i got a bunch of those years back at toysrus during a clearance reminded me of a colorful version of battletech.

i think the wind up toy youre thinking of are zoids.[/QUOTE]

Zoids were actually made into the 2000's, and may still be made in Japan, they were huge in Japan. Hell, maybe CheapyD could tell us if they are still seeing Zoids in Japan.....(????)

As for Exosquad, they were probably the best toys produced in the early 90's. GI Joe was dying, had no cartoon support and was releasing crappy guys in day-glow colors and the vehicles abandoned military-theme and went out into batshit-land with gigantic spring-loaded missile launchers, to appeal to a younger crowd. Thats when we got like...hmmm..the urban Pimp guy, the Eco-Warriors with color-changing stuff...I mean some of the figures were cool and a few of the vehicles, but it was basically the downhill slide for Joe at that point.

Exosquad was smaller scale, but had a cooler mech-based theme and the TV show was kinda mature and fairly epic-based...it reminded me of like a robotech-lite, at least the most mature TV show on at that time that was a cartoon aimed at kids....I think some characters died, or were enslaved or something. Either way, neet toys ;)

In the end run of Exosquad, mattel re-released a tie-in with Robotech....so they wound up releasing some of the Zentradi Battle Pods and stuff under the "Exosquad/Robotech" moniker. That stuff piled up in clearance aisle because kids had NO idea WTF was going on ;)

You could have built a house from all the "Transforming E-Frames" that were piled up in clearance aisles......
 
[quote name='Clak']This guy?

t_HPIM1161.jpg


He's (They're?) from Toxic Crusaders, a cartoon based on the Toxic Avenger movies.[/QUOTE]

That would be it! Thanks!
 
I was big into coloring books which seem like they have vanished. Another thing was the Jakks wrestling action figures. Such outdated/poor designs but they were awesome LOL.
 
[quote name='lokizz']exosquad was cool i got a bunch of those years back at toysrus during a clearance reminded me of a colorful version of battletech.

i think the wind up toy youre thinking of are zoids.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UoYJHE7h2A[/QUOTE]

Yep that is them.

[quote name='HeadRusch']Zoids were actually made into the 2000's, and may still be made in Japan, they were huge in Japan. Hell, maybe CheapyD could tell us if they are still seeing Zoids in Japan.....(????)

As for Exosquad, they were probably the best toys produced in the early 90's. GI Joe was dying, had no cartoon support and was releasing crappy guys in day-glow colors and the vehicles abandoned military-theme and went out into batshit-land with gigantic spring-loaded missile launchers, to appeal to a younger crowd. Thats when we got like...hmmm..the urban Pimp guy, the Eco-Warriors with color-changing stuff...I mean some of the figures were cool and a few of the vehicles, but it was basically the downhill slide for Joe at that point.

Exosquad was smaller scale, but had a cooler mech-based theme and the TV show was kinda mature and fairly epic-based...it reminded me of like a robotech-lite, at least the most mature TV show on at that time that was a cartoon aimed at kids....I think some characters died, or were enslaved or something. Either way, neet toys ;)

In the end run of Exosquad, mattel re-released a tie-in with Robotech....so they wound up releasing some of the Zentradi Battle Pods and stuff under the "Exosquad/Robotech" moniker. That stuff piled up in clearance aisle because kids had NO idea WTF was going on ;)

You could have built a house from all the "Transforming E-Frames" that were piled up in clearance aisles......[/QUOTE]

Never knew what happend to Exosquad. I just know that the cartoon was on one weekend and the next I was at my grandparents and the weekend after that it wasn't on. Never saw it again after that. As for the toys I knew they were early/mid 90's and that around here the toys just went OOS one day. I always liked them but ended up selling them in a yardsale.

Also didn't know Zoids was still selling and big in Japan.

[quote name='plasticbathmonki']This was the single most expense toy I ever bought myself, thanks to a generous Christmas check from the grandparents:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c6qIgMbRvc[/QUOTE]

That thing is bad ass

Also Battle Beasts are making a come back, and guess what they suck.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=new+battle+beast&aq=f

Has some videos from interviews and I think some reviews. All I did was do a search on new battle beast on youtube.
 
I wanted Fortress Maximus so much, but my parents said it was too much for a hunk of plastic.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top