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Our childhood toys

  • Thread starter Thread starter angeleyes
  • Start date Start date
Not so much a toy but I had this exact same radio off my grandparents for Xmas 1964, a sign that I was growing up. Unfortunately, I found it before it had been wrapped and had to pretend I was surprised when I opened their present on Xmas Day. Like the fascination of having a torch I was endlessly turning it on and off and re-tuning the stations until the on off switch failed! It was my first and last transistor radio.

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My father brought back a German torch when he returned from Norway in 1946. It was rectangular in shape (akin to a present day cycle light in shape). U2 batteries were needed, I think two of them. It had four options: clear - standard torch light and three slider lenses. Red, green and a deep blue. Sadly, like many things, they disappear over time.
He also brought back a German hand torch which had a lever which, when depressed rapidly, acted as a dynamo to power the light, which could be quite intense. It had a leather tab, similar to those on mens braces, so that it could be attached to a coat button. I believe this type of light was copied, in the UK, post WW2.
 
mbenne said:
Not so much a toy but I had this exact same radio off my grandparents for Xmas 1964, a sign that I was growing up. Unfortunately, I found it before it had been wrapped and had to pretend I was surprised when I opened their present on Xmas Day. Like the fascination of having a torch I was endlessly turning it on and off and re-tuning the stations until the on off switch failed! It was my first and last transistor radio.

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sad. I had one and walked around with it stuck to my ear like people do now with mobile phones. but i was listening to Radio Luxembourg:)
 
Deja vu? My grandson had this for Xmas, following a recent visit to our son in London, and is insisting that we build it TODAY! All I need now are my glasses and plenty of patience. I fear that it will take a while lol. Rather than the old metal parts I think this is now mainly plastic?

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How many of you bought one of these type of construction toys for about £5 from a petrol station?
They were made in East Germany in the 1970s?

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Earlier in this thread mn0njm posted a picture of a metal money box which I now can't find. I was trying to find an illustration of a money box that I had as a child. Finally found one and this is it.
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It is a either a French Foreign legionaire or a French Gendarme.
To operate it a spring loaded slide on the top of his rifle was pushed back until it locked then a coin was placed in front of this (Usually just an old 1d) When his foot was pushed down, the gun "fired" and the coin was shot into a slot in the hollow tree. I used to play with this for hours and money being a bit scarce to a four year old, anything tha would fit into the slot would be shot into the tree. I don't know whatever happened to it, I suppose it went the way of most of my childhood toys and disappeared over time.
 
Radiorails said:
I never heard of Jaco, not sure I would have wanted one....but maybe, all those years ago. I saw one, or something very similar undergoing restoration on a recent tv programme. I do remember a friend having a money box of this style.View attachment 140264
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We had one of those, I think it was my mother's, I'm not sure what happened to it!
Of course not very pc nowadays.
 
A very nostalgic day. I've thought about things that have been put to the back of my mind for years, like freebies in cereal packets and pestering my Mom to buy stuff that she would never entertain buying and me trying to convince her that I really wanted it and not because of the freebie. It never worked,of course, and as she always bought either Force wheat flakes or Quaker oats the chances of a freebie were pretty slim. Also, being an only child it would be weeks before she bought another packet of cereals and the offer would most likely have ended. So I was really envious of my mate having a submarine out of a packet of Kellogg's something or other. We were fascinated by the little sub bobbing up and down in a kilner jar on their kitchen shelf - powered by baking soda. Even if I had got one my Mom never bought baking soda so it would have been pointless! I've just looked for the sub and also came across this amusing letter too......
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My Nan was always a soft touch though and I did get her to buy sugar puffs as they were offering glow in the dark figures! The background was a cut out from the back of the cereal packet - this one was from the early 60's. You can only eat so many packets of anything in a short space of time before the taste or the offer wears off so I only managed to collect the ghost, cat and to my disappointment the clock!
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Until die-cast and plastic models became common a lot of toys were tin-plate with 'internal' details painted on the outside, which looked OK from the front or the side but not from a three-quarter view. The cardboard models printed on cereal packets were similar in principle so quite acceptable as 'freebies', no-one would want them now I expect.

Weetabix often had model lorries and Kellogg's must have run their 'big game' trophy series many, many times. I think it was Kellogg's that produced a fairground series too, the helter-skelter sticking in my mind. New cereal brands were usually promoted with toys in-the-bag. Wasn't Bite-sized Shredded Wheat called 'Cubs' originally? It had various spy/detective toys like coding discs and magnifying glasses. Even 'boring' cereals like Scott's Porridge Oats joined in the fun. I remember a view of Edinburgh Castle that was assembled inside the box, lit from cut-outs in the box side and viewed from the open box end. My dad stuck coloured cellophane over the windows to make the view more like Tattoo times. That reminds me that Kellogg's must have produced little stage sets many times, the finished result was like a little 3-D picture that you could hang on the wall (alongside all your animal heads?). Christmas chocolate selection boxes also went in for 'added-value' cardboard cut-out toys.
 
Astoness said:
we had hours of fun with one of these horse racing games with lead horses...had to clamp it to each end of the table turn the handle and watch them go...didnt half make a racket when we turned the handleView attachment 140252...wish i still had ours this one is going for £130 on ebay and that is with 2 horses missing...happy days

lyn
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I always wanted one of those as a kid , I used to stare into the window of Clapshaw and Cleave in Margaret St , where the old Central library used to be
 
mbenne said:
We must all have been the owners of large arsenals of cap and spud guns over the years and I know I've had all of the ones below. I suppose it must have been a spin off from the war years and the influence of endless american cowboy series shown on 50's and 60's TV but we always seemed to be playing war games or cowboys and Indians - I even had a Davy Crocket hat!. My Dan Dare space pistol was a bit of an embarrassment as it was too futuristic but if you didn't have anything suitable then you made pretend or improvised. One of the older lads had a length of metal tube and old spark plugs as dummy ammunition. He used this as a Bazooka or Mortar, depending on the state of play. We were most impressed and everyone wanted to be on his side!

Ammunition for our cap guns could be bought from shops at both ends of our road at Wally Goode's sweet shop and Woodroffes (but not on Sundays!). Woodroffes was also a hardware shop and in later years was where we bought pellets for out Gat air pistols.

I dread to think how many cap rockets have blocked the guttering on the roof at home as that's where most of them seemed to end up!

Now my grandson plays with Nerf guns and insists I join in. As he always chooses the best armoury I have to improvise using the tube off the vacuum cleaner!!!
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I used to borrow my mates Buntline special , boy oh boy did I feel like Wyatt Earp on the telly (played by Hugh O'Brian) in the holster strapped to my leg just like Wyatt . Only trouble was he never had Broad St and the big edging blocks of the Hall of Memory like I did . You look at me the wrong way friend and I'll fill you full of lead , then it was time to go back to see what Mom was cooking for dinner in the chuck wagon . The Buntline by the way was a pistol with a barrel about a foot long
 
Williamstreeter said:
I used to borrow my mates Buntline special , boy oh boy did I feel like Wyatt Earp on the telly (played by Hugh O'Brian) in the holster strapped to my leg just like Wyatt . Only trouble was he never had Broad St and the big edging blocks of the Hall of Memory like I did . You look at me the wrong way friend and I'll fill you full of lead , then it was time to go back to see what Mom was cooking for dinner in the chuck wagon . The Buntline by the way was a pistol with a barrel about a foot long
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gun.jpg
 
Astoness said:
we had hours of fun with one of these horse racing games with lead horses...had to clamp it to each end of the table turn the handle and watch them go...didnt half make a racket when we turned the handleView attachment 140252...wish i still had ours this one is going for £130 on ebay and that is with 2 horses missing...happy days

lyn
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I loved that game although I was never lucky enough to own one!
 
Interesting that in actual fact although there were five Buntline specials, there is no proof that Earp ever carried one. Ned Buntline was a dime novelist who wrote Westerns making heroes of people like Earp, Cody et al and commissioned the guns from Colt. Some other firearms manufacturers did make long barrel guns and apparently in the fifties Colt did extend the length of their Navy revolver. There is some interesting history on Google. When I was doing my national service, I had to fire off and condemn some weapons, amongst them was a Webley revolver, so I tried quick draw and fire. An almost impossible task, landed on my back twice, jarred my arm and just missed my foot. Nuff said


Bob Davis
 
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Bob Davis said:
Interesting that in actual fact although there were five Buntline specials, there is no proof that Earp ever carried one. Ned Buntline was a dime novelist who wrote Westerns making heroes of people like Earp, Cody et al and commissioned the guns from Colt. Some other firearms manufacturers did make long barrel guns and apparently in the fifties Colt did extend the length of their Navy revolver. There is some interesting history on Google. When I was doing my national service, I had to fire off and condemn some weapons, amongst them was a Webley revolver, so I tried quick drawer and fire. An almost impossible task, landed on my back twice, jarred my arm and just missed my foot. Nuff sai


Bob Davis
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before the ban in 1996. we had members at the club with all sorts of hand guns. i fired everything from 22.short to 45.
the worst was a smith and Weston. 44 magnum.hand gun the recoil was like being kicked by a horse.it went all through me down to my boots. it jumped up into the air. The colts were tame compared to that.thing.
Colt Buntline - Wikipedia
 
There was a series of model hand guns in half-section given away with, possibly, Shredded Wheat. They were all the same metallic blue plastic and about two inches long. Something else to hang on the walls of our baronial halls, alongside our big cat collection!

The 'Lone Star' brand in its prime must have out-done James Bond's 'Q' in its range of weaponary! They didn't just do 'Cowboy' guns, my brother had a decent looking 'Luger', possession of which now would probably get one locked up.

As an infant I took a simple pop gun to school for 'The March of the Tin Soldiers'. Those guns were quite common and cheap. Most of the other boys had the same sort of gun but one brought in some sort of fantastic ray gun! My 80+ great-grandmother accused me of hitting her with the pop gun, she had the bruises to prove it. I protested my innocence as she was on the far side of the room and the popped cork was still attached to the string holding it to the gun!
 
a bush xtal set. .hours I spent listening to loads of stations all at once.and garbled. but i thought it wonderfull
 
Bob Davis said:
Interesting that in actual fact although there were five Buntline specials, there is no proof that Earp ever carried one. Ned Buntline was a dime novelist who wrote Westerns making heroes of people like Earp, Cody et al and commissioned the guns from Colt. Some other firearms manufacturers did make long barrel guns and apparently in the fifties Colt did extend the length of their Navy revolver. There is some interesting history on Google. When I was doing my national service, I had to fire off and condemn some weapons, amongst them was a Webley revolver, so I tried quick draw and fire. An almost impossible task, landed on my back twice, jarred my arm and just missed my foot. Nuff said


Bob Davis
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Bob I hope you're not trying to ruin the dream , your quick draw was obviously the wrong gun . See World Fast Draw championships
 
Bob Davis said:
Interesting that in actual fact although there were five Buntline specials, there is no proof that Earp ever carried one. Ned Buntline was a dime novelist who wrote Westerns making heroes of people like Earp, Cody et al and commissioned the guns from Colt. Some other firearms manufacturers did make long barrel guns and apparently in the fifties Colt did extend the length of their Navy revolver. There is some interesting history on Google. When I was doing my national service, I had to fire off and condemn some weapons, amongst them was a Webley revolver, so I tried quick draw and fire. An almost impossible task, landed on my back twice, jarred my arm and just missed my foot. Nuff said


Bob Davis
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you got the stance wrong.... draw cock it on way out put hand over chamber and fire.
doc holiday sawed his Barrel short.and had no front sight to catch on the draw
 
Spargone said:
We had a Minibrix set in Miss Green's class in Mapledene Infants (the class following the reception class). The studs were wider at the ends so the bricks had to be made of rubber. I remember them as being quite hard to put together or pull apart. My friend, a year younger, had a Bayko set. It was quite complicated to use as you had various lengths of thin steel rod that were inserted vertically into a plastic base plate. You had to choose the right length for the height that you intended to build. At the start of the build it almost looked like scaffolding. There were various plastic panels with different textures and colours that slid between the vertical rods. After a certain height you were supposed to put in a layer of metal strips, like very tiny Meccano strips, that tied the rod ends together. It was possible to make quite nice scale buildings if you had all the parts but it took a lot of care.
Sometime between seeing both these systems, neither of which I had, my older friend had a different building system. It consisted of little ceramic bricks, about the size of a 2x4 Lego brick but not as tall. You were supposed to mix up a paste 'cement' to hold them together. When you wanted to use the bricks again you soaked the building in water. My friend's dad was a builder with Dare's so maybe he was training him up!
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I had Sticklebricks
 
I expect every age is the 'golden age' for each generation, after all they know no better, but I think I did quite well. There were a lot of quality toys available at pocket-money prices. We quickly worked out the merits of tin-plate, die-cast and plastic materials, a useful life-skills training, the right material for the right job.

Something else that I had was independence. Just about every newsagent sold a range of decent toys and there were many newsagents within walking distance, (and of course I was allowed to walk!). I knew in advance what I might want to have, a few pennies would buy a catalogue or price list that could be eagerly studied and plans made!

I wasn't restricted to the newsagents either, a trip to the Post Office, a postal order, clipped coupon or short note and a few days later 'Master S' was the proud owner of a new purchase, (sometimes to the consternation of the parents!).

I'm sure many of my generation sent off for the 'Seebackroscope' or 'Throw Your Voice' instructions, complete with the dangerous looking 'swazzle' or that clear-plastic 'ten-in-one' device, (most of which were variations on magnifiers, plus a mirror and compass).

But then today's youngster just raises their voice above the noise of their computer game and says, "ALEXA! Buy me a ...", and it all goes on a parent's card?
seebackroscope.jpg
 
mbenne said:
Not so much a toy but I had this exact same radio off my grandparents for Xmas 1964, a sign that I was growing up. Unfortunately, I found it before it had been wrapped and had to pretend I was surprised when I opened their present on Xmas Day. Like the fascination of having a torch I was endlessly turning it on and off and re-tuning the stations until the on off switch failed! It was my first and last transistor radio.

View attachment 140268
Click to expand...
that radio would have been every young boys dream, I had a radio given to me at a very early age and now have this obsession with old vintage radios, I remember as a kid, my dad started his own business in a small shed in the garden and I used to sit for hours with him listening to the cricket commentary from far away from Australia, or radio five football night. I'd take radio over T. V any day of the week
 
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