General Toy Nostalgia

[SalemCrow]

Steel Monsters from Tonka.

Had more than a few. The 2 big ones for sure, and I think the black pickup and the one with the motorcycles.

Super Naturals from Tonka:

Had a few. Not as cool as Visionaries.

StarCom by Coleco:

Had a bunch. Loved the magnetic and auto change gimmicks.


Kenner Sky Commanders:

Had quite few of these, and would string them all over our playroom from upper cabinet doors down to pilfered dining room chairs.

My replies in green in the quote for ease.

 

[Spongyblue]

How the hell, out of all that, do they end up with one guy just named Zach...?

Designers kids name? My brain tells me those guys where way more detailed, but my eyes are proving it wrong. My dad had a habit of picking up odd toys for the holidays that I never remember seeing in stores.

My biggest line asking these lines from my childhood was Kenner's Mega Force line. I had so many of those things!

While researching, I stumbled on soo many lines that I either have the faintest memory of existing, or don't remember at all. Either way this was one and I really wish I had some of those, they look real cool.

B.T.W., @Spongyblue this is a great thread!

Thanks! Just had one of those random toy memory's that started my brain going on a fact finding mission.

 

[Red Ogre]

SuperNaturals always creeped me out as a kid.

Now that you mention it, I think they heebied my jeebies as well.

 

[SalemCrow]

I have to say, watching Pixel Dan's toy hunt videos really jars the memories of "Oh crap! I had that!" more often than I'd have thought.

I did not want for much as a child, as evidenced by my reactions to watching him in said videos. Do I know what a lot of those lines the toys came from were called? not a chance, but it has sent me down a few rabbit holes to look up info on more than one occasion.

 

[RichardSimmonsRobot]

Not 80s related beyond where they got the original mold from (the Ewok Tree House from Return of the Jedi), but I did love Kenner's Robin Hood Prince of Thieves tie-in figures. As someone who was too young to experience the Return of the Jedi tree house when it debuted, the Sherwood Forest playset was a lot of fun, even if Friar Tuck was a repurposed Gammorean Guard body.

 

[Boy Wonder]

Jo Ling, Jo Ling, Jo LIIIIIING, I'm begging of you, please don't take my man.

Your beauty is beyond compare with flaming locks of auburn hair with ivory skin and eyes of emerald green.

Your smile is like a breath of spring, your voice is soft like summer rain, and I cannot compete with you, Jo Ling.

 

[Alt]

Damn, the memories this unlocked.

I guess I was pretty privileged and spoiled as a kid because I had at least one or two things from every single one of these lines.

 

[Ultra Seven]

Here's my contribution:

My only fellow collector friend fell head-over-heels for this stupid, ridiculous, awesome toyline back in November, and it's been a blast finding them with him at local toy shows and collectible stores. The fun of collecting weird-assed, obscure toylines is that there's less competition from other collectors, and you can usually get pretty good prices. Even on rare pieces, because dealers will stare at you, baffled as to why you want this vehicle from a stupid Go-Bots sub-line that they've been sitting on for three years.

"Transformers kick ass! How do we compete with a two-in-one toy that appeals to every young man's love of vehicles and robots?"

"Easy! We take away half of its play value! The kids will love it!"

 

[Alt]

I had that exact one in the thumbnail. Such a fun toy.

 

[RichardSimmonsRobot]

I liked Rokkon from MOTU. Sure he didn't do much and could only convert into a blue boulder, but he was out there with the rest of em!

 

[Boy Wonder]

As I was trying to think of random bullshit I had as a kid, this popped into my memory. I got it as a Christmas gift from a family member who just knew I was into action figures. I remember watching the VHS that it came with but had still had no idea what this thing was. But I definitely remember using him as like a background character in more meaningful figure clashes.

 

[cmoney]

The Rock Lord with the green Mohawk was one of my favorite toys as a kid.

 

[Alt]

As I was trying to think of random bullshit I had as a kid, this popped into my memory. I got it as a Christmas gift from a family member who just knew I was into action figures. I remember watching the VHS that it came with but had still had no idea what this thing was. But I definitely remember using him as like a background character in more meaningful figure clashes.

And then the Stooone Protectors. "Our stones of power glow!"

 

[Spongyblue]

I liked Rokkon from MOTU. Sure he didn't do much and could only convert into a blue boulder, but he was out there with the rest of em!

In my head he was a meteor, so he could fly and his skin was super hot. Made him way more useful.

I only recently in the last few years learned this guys name. I had him mixed in with my MOTU and called him Strong Guy cause it didn't know what else to call him.

 

[Ultra Seven]

Oh, man, I have been tempted to pick up the Remco DC stuff so many times, but can never bring myself to pay fair market value. But Machiste and Warlord, particularly, are so cool looking.