The toys of Christmas past - The 1970s

sahara · 22-12-2008, 08:20 PM

How many did you get......

Sindy (1970) Barbie's Limey cousin hops onto her horse for the first time - once she's done all her chores, of course. Invented in 1962, it took the addition of hip joints to win her the Toy of the Year prize some eight years later. As her popularity waned in the '80s, Sindy was redesigned to the extent that she began to look just like Barbie. Poor old Ken, eh?

Spacehopper (1971) No living creature we've ever seen looks like them. No one seems to know who invented them. And the originals each had a different tiny number stencilled on their faces. It was probably their battle designation from Galactic Command Headquarters... Well, they're making a comeback, so let's all be careful out there.

Plasticraft modelling kits (1972) Fun for all the family, collecting pretty seashells and combining them with an epoxy resin so they set into attractive pendants, jewellery and paperweights. All good if you like your house to smell like a fibreglass car repair shop and you don't mind wearing two-kilo trinkets when you hit the town. Available only in green.

Invicta's Mastermind (1973) The classic 'grandparents bought it for you' game; boring to play, dull to watch, but quiet. This and its million spin-off versions was a compulsory classroom end-of-term game - even more so if someone owned a box with all the pegs intact. Still the subject of predictive algorithm mathematics papers to this day.

Raving Bonkers (1974) The British iteration of the already popular let's-get-ready-to-rumble robot boxing game from the US, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. Even these weren't the earliest versions, pre-dated by about a decade by the coin-operated KO Boxers arcade game. Now no more than a pop culture reference in everything from 'The Simpsons' to ads for Dodge trucks.

Wombles (1975) Underground, overground... These popular, before-their-time eco-friendly pop stars (stick that, Chris Martin!) made a killing with cuddly versions of Orinoco, Tobermory, et al. Kids at the time got into hot water for dumping litter on Wimbledon Common in an attempt 'to lure out Wombles'! Cholet not!

Peter Powell Kites (1976) The latter half of the twentieth century and one man finally improves the design of the basic single-line Chinese kite by... sticking another line on it. Now it can be controlled with two hands instead of just the one. And there you have it: the ‘invention' of the stunt kite, an aerial trapeze artist that filled the '70s skies with darting, diving, loop-the-loop diamonds of brightly coloured nylon.

Slime / Othello board game (1977) In the final year before 'Star Wars', the two ends of the kids' toy wish-list spectrum make a textbook outing. On the one hand, sticky, gooey, oozy stuff that scared little kids ('Look at me! I'm MELTING!'). On the other, a deep-thought, perceived 'adult' game of tactics and skill. Guess which one now sells for £200 on eBay?

Star Wars toys (1978) And Christmas would never be the same again...

Legoland Space sets (1979) Lego were quick to jump on the sci-fi bandwagon. Living room floors were now scattered with white, Space Shuttle-informed plastic bricks and tiles. Those little transparent red tube bits for making lazers and lights with were the best. Coincidentally, this was also the year that Skylab broke up and fell to Earth. That was pretty easy to replicate with Lego too.

They were so simple........

sahara · 22-12-2008, 09:44 PM

I had Sindy and a Spacehopper and a womble (Uncle Bulgaria).

**Bindi** · 22-12-2008, 09:49 PM

I had a Cindy, a Spacehopper and Mastermind, all from jumble sales I might add (before the days of car bootys) and a hand made Uncle Bulgaria (the Wombles)

Peter Powell...

lol whenever Steve Wright in the Afternoon mentioned his name they played a sound effect of a zip...still makes me laugh thinking about it

I am really laughing now!!!

Kirkie · 22-12-2008, 10:07 PM

Thats a bit unfair on 1978! If, like me, you were 6 in 1978 and had been used to getting stuff like slime (see 1977) for christmas, the thought of owning your own Millenium Falcon from Star Wars was the only thought on my mind that Christmas. I wanted one sooo badly I even enterered a competition on Swap Shop (remember that!), when they announced the winner their first name was Dave, I knew it was gonna be me.. it wasn't.

I wanted one so badly I still remember that. Never did get one

Totally over the Star Wars thing now by the way

ME SHELL · 22-12-2008, 10:32 PM

I had toblemorie money box, I always wanted a space hopper

I bouce on my fitness ball now

. I had othello and the mastermind game though

Kirkie · 22-12-2008, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ME SHELL

II always wanted a space hopper

I bouce on my fitness ball now

.

Live the dream Me Shell, live the dream

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/retro...ers/index.html

fantapants · 22-12-2008, 11:33 PM

i remember my major morgan the electronic organ. i loved it to bits!

ingisim · 23-12-2008, 07:34 AM

I used to love my Sindy doll! She had such an attitude on her face, not like that vacuous Barbie!

sahara · 23-12-2008, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirkie

Live the dream Me Shell, live the dream

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/retro...ers/index.html

I brought my kids one of those, just like Mum had,

it was absolute rubbish, so thin that it split.

Not made like they used to be.......

Kirkie · 23-12-2008, 12:54 PM

Oh no, thats typical. See...nothing's as good as it was wen you were a kid

22-12-2008, 08:20 PM	#1
sahara Member Hatched Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Posts: 464	The toys of Christmas past - The 1970s How many did you get...... Sindy (1970) Barbie's Limey cousin hops onto her horse for the first time - once she's done all her chores, of course. Invented in 1962, it took the addition of hip joints to win her the Toy of the Year prize some eight years later. As her popularity waned in the '80s, Sindy was redesigned to the extent that she began to look just like Barbie. Poor old Ken, eh? Spacehopper (1971) No living creature we've ever seen looks like them. No one seems to know who invented them. And the originals each had a different tiny number stencilled on their faces. It was probably their battle designation from Galactic Command Headquarters... Well, they're making a comeback, so let's all be careful out there. Plasticraft modelling kits (1972) Fun for all the family, collecting pretty seashells and combining them with an epoxy resin so they set into attractive pendants, jewellery and paperweights. All good if you like your house to smell like a fibreglass car repair shop and you don't mind wearing two-kilo trinkets when you hit the town. Available only in green. Invicta's Mastermind (1973) The classic 'grandparents bought it for you' game; boring to play, dull to watch, but quiet. This and its million spin-off versions was a compulsory classroom end-of-term game - even more so if someone owned a box with all the pegs intact. Still the subject of predictive algorithm mathematics papers to this day. Raving Bonkers (1974) The British iteration of the already popular let's-get-ready-to-rumble robot boxing game from the US, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. Even these weren't the earliest versions, pre-dated by about a decade by the coin-operated KO Boxers arcade game. Now no more than a pop culture reference in everything from 'The Simpsons' to ads for Dodge trucks. Wombles (1975) Underground, overground... These popular, before-their-time eco-friendly pop stars (stick that, Chris Martin!) made a killing with cuddly versions of Orinoco, Tobermory, et al. Kids at the time got into hot water for dumping litter on Wimbledon Common in an attempt 'to lure out Wombles'! Cholet not! Peter Powell Kites (1976) The latter half of the twentieth century and one man finally improves the design of the basic single-line Chinese kite by... sticking another line on it. Now it can be controlled with two hands instead of just the one. And there you have it: the ‘invention' of the stunt kite, an aerial trapeze artist that filled the '70s skies with darting, diving, loop-the-loop diamonds of brightly coloured nylon. Slime / Othello board game (1977) In the final year before 'Star Wars', the two ends of the kids' toy wish-list spectrum make a textbook outing. On the one hand, sticky, gooey, oozy stuff that scared little kids ('Look at me! I'm MELTING!'). On the other, a deep-thought, perceived 'adult' game of tactics and skill. Guess which one now sells for £200 on eBay? Star Wars toys (1978) And Christmas would never be the same again... Legoland Space sets (1979) Lego were quick to jump on the sci-fi bandwagon. Living room floors were now scattered with white, Space Shuttle-informed plastic bricks and tiles. Those little transparent red tube bits for making lazers and lights with were the best. Coincidentally, this was also the year that Skylab broke up and fell to Earth. That was pretty easy to replicate with Lego too. They were so simple........ __________________ xx Sarah xx

22-12-2008, 09:44 PM	#2
sahara Member Hatched Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Posts: 464	I had Sindy and a Spacehopper and a womble (Uncle Bulgaria). __________________ xx Sarah xx

22-12-2008, 09:49 PM	#3
Bindi Super Moderator Adult Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Hampshire Posts: 11,157	I had a Cindy, a Spacehopper and Mastermind, all from jumble sales I might add (before the days of car bootys) and a hand made Uncle Bulgaria (the Wombles) Peter Powell...lol whenever Steve Wright in the Afternoon mentioned his name they played a sound effect of a zip...still makes me laugh thinking about it I am really laughing now!!! __________________

23-12-2008, 07:34 AM	#8
ingisim Member Hatched Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 411	I used to love my Sindy doll! She had such an attitude on her face, not like that vacuous Barbie! __________________ Ingrid Two kids, two cats - Herbie Hermann arrived 28th October 2008

23-12-2008, 12:54 PM	#10
Kirkie Senior Member Adult Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4,887	Space hoppers Oh no, thats typical. See...nothing's as good as it was wen you were a kid

22-12-2008, 10:07 PM	#4
Kirkie Senior Member Adult Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4,887	Thats a bit unfair on 1978! If, like me, you were 6 in 1978 and had been used to getting stuff like slime (see 1977) for christmas, the thought of owning your own Millenium Falcon from Star Wars was the only thought on my mind that Christmas. I wanted one sooo badly I even enterered a competition on Swap Shop (remember that!), when they announced the winner their first name was Dave, I knew it was gonna be me.. it wasn't. I wanted one so badly I still remember that. Never did get one Totally over the Star Wars thing now by the way

22-12-2008, 10:32 PM	#5
ME SHELL Senior Member Adult Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 8,484	I had toblemorie money box, I always wanted a space hopper I bouce on my fitness ball now . I had othello and the mastermind game though

22-12-2008, 11:33 PM	#7
fantapants Member Hatchling Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 542	i remember my major morgan the electronic organ. i loved it to bits!

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