• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Generation X Discussion (Born 1965–1979) - We actually played with toys!

D

djcatskratch

Member
I always was a fan of electronic games, like the Mattel Football and so on. But this one was my absolute favorite, Milton:

hqdefault.jpg


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_(game)

The way it trash talked and had such a great personality.

"Hey Hey Hey, you turn me on! I'm Milton!"

Then came along the NES and I have been gaming since haha.

I did have lots of the same toys as others on here, but didn't see anyone post this yet.
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors! I loved all the designs you could make!

armedforce.jpg
Click to expand...
 
S

Savitar

Member
I always look back fondly upon my time growing up in the 80's, was born in Summer 79 so I was able to enjoy so much back then. Was a rather innocent and naive kid at the time, who got to play with things from He-Man, G.I.Joe, Centurions, MASK, Transformers, Gobots, Bravestar and hell pretty much everything else that came out. There were so many toy lines and cartoons to enjoy! I always felt that instead of progressing animation took a nose dive in the 90's from what the 80's had and was enjoying, things got cheaper and crummier. Not to mention more sterilized.

Nudity, violence and sex? None of us batted an eye about that growing up in the 80's, it existed, that was the way things were. It was hardly anything unusual for "kids movies" to have guns, swearing, nudity or some kids trying to get laid. I don't think many parents I knew of at the time viewed such things badly either, it was more of the same for their kids too.

Growing up the original version of the skystriker for G.I.Joe was one of my prized possessions:
6912ec76cdba65d3741171a1ee461e44.jpg

The heater melted the canopy leaving a huge hole in it.

Also loved this:
whale_open.jpg
Click to expand...
It's so damn cool. Lots of parts were fragile and being kids who played with toys everywhere inevitably meant smaller things got lost.

Biggest thing I owned? Was this:
mcc_rightfront_iso.jpg
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
mobilecommandcenter05.jpg
Click to expand...

My father spent many a hours putting stickers on my stuff Christmas Night so they'd be ready for me Christmas Day.

Mask really had some great toys, I loved this one:
1d7f2f4df1e8699319efde0f1db238bd.jpg
Click to expand...
So damn cool. Even my friend who seemed to get all sorts of cool stuff was jealous and envious I had that one.

One of the thing you don't realize merely looking at the pictures is how big these things really were. Especially the Joe ones. They were massive.

By the time 90's hit things had taken such a sharp turn from everything I knew I rather loathed a lot of the stuff that was done. Felt like so much watered down safe stuff in everything possible.
 
R

ryutaro's mama

Member
Trouble said:
This right here was my crown jewel.

nightraven_leftfront_iso.jpg
Click to expand...

I was so thirsty for that toy that I memorized the commercial jingle. I can still sing it on cue. :(

Also, D.A.R.Y.L. was one of my fave movies as a kid so...this kinda lined up.

TheCochese said:
You will lose, because I have a fucking six foot carrier.
Click to expand...

Not fight you over your choice but over the toy. I still have feelings of unrequited love when I see that toy. :(

As a poor kid, I never got either toy for birthday/Christmas no matter how hard I begged "Santa".
 
S

Sammo_1987

Member
GAF this thread gives me a psychological dilemma.

I was born in 87 so not gen X, but my brother is one of you guys, and I was basically raised in the same way. All of the toys you are showing are the sort that did (and still kind of do) excite me. I feel like I'm stuck between Gen X and the rest of my birth generation.

Send help!!
 
L

lastplayed

Member
Born in 79 and growing up in small town NZ in the 80s was really like living through the 50s now that I look back at it.

But then again we still had all the cool stuff that made its way over, first the ancient computers that plugged into the TV with remote controls and then the Amiga for the late 80s/early 90s, I can't ever remember a time we didn't have some form of electronic entertainment.

Star Trek, Doctor Who (I still remember when the concept of six Doctors seemed crazy), the A-Team and Knight Rider were TV staples, and then by the late 80s we had three television channels! Amazing.

I remember once going up to the city to see a KITT car on display, that was awesome. It even talked!

School was fun, I could be a bit of a shit stirrer when I wanted to be. Got smacked by the teachers a couple of times.
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
besada said:
I love you all my fellow GenXers.

Remember having to change channels? Remember it not being worth it because there were only three big ones (four for your later Xers) and a bunch of crazy UHF shit?

Also, the Big Trak. And G.I. Joes. The real ones, not those tiny Star Wars figure motherfuckers. Ones with hair and kung-fu grip.

And Marvel card packs, with cheesy stickers of Luke Cage and Doctor Doom. And that gum that tasted like card board.

Stretch Armstrong. You could break him open and smoke his gelatinous insides, until you had visions of Baron Karza fighting Jim and the Wolfpack under Lite Brite skies.

Those were the good old days.
Click to expand...

How did I forget Big Trak? Along with the Armatron that was the future right there. A bloody robot you could program to drive around the living room and shoot your dog in the face with a massive laser cannon (tiny red LED). We even had the stupid-ass trailer attachment so you could deliver things to people - you could program it to tip up

The armatron love in this thread is making me all warm inside. A little like I imagine Global Thermonuclear War would - one of the defining elements to my early teenage years was a concrete and real thread of nuclear war. Just thought I’d cheer everyone up :)
 
M

Muppet of a Man

Member
Henchmen21 said:
Probably made by Boomers who want to lump us in with Milennials. They've always hated us Gen Xer's.
Click to expand...

I'm an early 80s Xennial or whatever (a cusper). Definitely have some traits of both, but really a late gen Xer at heart.

The boomers hate us all. They'd kill their own kids or sell them down the river if they could stay in control and live forever, the entitled pricks...the lot of them!
 
S

sandy1297

Member
As a gen-x in Asia we exposed mostly to japanese show like Voltus V, Goggle V, etc

Used to have this one when I was kid
dxgogglevfoam.jpg


And also this one

images


US shows like Mask, Jayce and the Wheeled Warrior, GI Joe, Transformer came later in the late 80s
 
A

acheron_xl

Member
I remember, during a particularly poor time, this was a great toy of mine:

13413652033_6a75910ccb_b.jpg


I think I spent half my childhood pretending things were computers. Having a cereal box who's rear folded down so the thing would resemble a computer was a lot better than a piece of cardboard with screens and keypads drawn on with crayon.
 
E

Ernest

Banned
Savitar said:
I always look back fondly upon my time growing up in the 80's, was born in Summer 79 so I was able to enjoy so much back then. Was a rather innocent and naive kid at the time, who got to play with things from He-Man, G.I.Joe, Centurions, MASK, Transformers, Gobots, Bravestar and hell pretty much everything else that came out. There were so many toy lines and cartoons to enjoy! I always felt that instead of progressing animation took a nose dive in the 90's from what the 80's had and was enjoying, things got cheaper and crummier. Not to mention more sterilized.

Growing up the original version of the skystriker for G.I.Joe was one of my prized possessions:
6912ec76cdba65d3741171a1ee461e44.jpg
Click to expand...
Aw, how adorable!
This is what my G.I. Joe looked like:

1stissueTC-brnholster1-lg.jpg
 
bengraven

bengraven

Member
My uncle went to Korea in the military and sent me a scorpion toy that you had to assemble. I was a bit young for it and my mom banned me from having it until I was older but of course I found it and broke it.

It had to be mid 80s. Want to say it was a popular Japanese show or toyline at the time?

Edit: holy shit I never thought I'd find it and so fast.

Pretty sure it was Guysack from Zoids. 1983ish version. Maybe a Korean KO? Maybe not - memories of it are surging in.

02guysack_500px.jpg


acheron_xl said:
I remember, during a particularly poor time, this was a great toy of mine:

13413652033_6a75910ccb_b.jpg


I think I spent half my childhood pretending things were computers. Having a cereal box who's rear folded down so the thing would resemble a computer was a lot better than a piece of cardboard with screens and keypads drawn on with crayon.
Click to expand...

OH god the memories. Just seeing the box makes me smell and taste the cereal in milk.
 
S

Stalactite

Member
Armoured Priest said:
Contrux. You could build some massive things out of this stuff.

I typically liked to build spaceships, and wearable power armor.
Click to expand...

Wow, Construx, that really takes me back. My brother and I used to make armor too, as well as swords, and other things. Then we had them taken away because we'd get into sword-fights with them. lol

djcatskratch said:
I did have lots of the same toys as others on here, but didn't see anyone post this yet.
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors! I loved all the designs you could make!
Click to expand...

Loved Wheeled Warriors! I still have a few of the Monster Mind vehicles, but they are in storage.
 
Jaguar Victory

Jaguar Victory

Member
Kimawolf said:
Gen X here. 1980.

And yeah it was awesome. I remember riding my bike EVERYWHERE. Going to the woods and coming back home by the streetlights. As a kid you grew up witb Saturday morning cartoons then went outside to play till dinner.

And if you were lucky got a hot babysitter as your parents went out that night.
Click to expand...

Preach. 1980 here too. I can't fathom giving my child the same freedom I had even though I had a stay at home mom. We know too much about how fucked up people are now.

We lived in a world without cell phones where people had to call your house and ask your parents if of you could talk.
 
outsida

outsida

Member
All of the toys posted in this thread just let me know how spoiled I was as a child. I had pretty much everything listed in here
KuGsj.gif
.
 
T

Teggy

Member
I had a really cool toy but I have no idea what it actually was. It was a round UFO-like spaceship about a foot in diameter and it had a Robbie the robot looking robot in the middle. And there was a button you pressed and the outer portion would rotate and the robot would come out of the opening.
 
J

JackBauer24

Member
tearsintherain said:
GI Joe wasn't the holy grail of toys for me, it was the Millennial Falcon

vjdBfPc.jpg


Course my family was way too poor to ever get one but my best friend got one and man we played with that thing every day, carting it with us everywhere around in the woods and around town setting up new planets for Han and Chewie and Luke and R2 to visit.

The other huge difference I'd say is how much we were unsupervised and outside, like 80% of my free time was with friends outside and unstructured. I noticed that changed a lot with my kids and my grandkids now basically are never left alone :(

and yeah saturday morning cartoons were the fucking shit, I was always a Bugs and funny cartoons kinda guy over GI Joe and stuff. I don't understand how most of us didn't end up with diabetes with how much sugary cereal we ate.
Click to expand...

A friend who moved away after a few years in the neighborhood had this and NEVER wanted to play with it. I was so disappointed.
 
W

Walter White Walker

Member
These are the electronic sports I had.

For either a birthday or Christmas I got:

mattel-1977.jpg


I also remember saving up my money to buy:

Mattel-Basketball.jpg


and:

BH.Mattel+bb+game+frt.jpg


The football one got the most use, though.
 
S

shawnbuddy

Member
lastplayed said:
Born in 79 and growing up in small town NZ in the 80s was really like living through the 50s now that I look back at it.

But then again we still had all the cool stuff that made its way over, first the ancient computers that plugged into the TV with remote controls and then the Amiga for the late 80s/early 90s, I can't ever remember a time we didn't have some form of electronic entertainment.

Star Trek, Doctor Who (I still remember when the concept of six Doctors seemed crazy), the A-Team and Knight Rider were TV staples, and then by the late 80s we had three television channels! Amazing.

I remember once going up to the city to see a KITT car on display, that was awesome. It even talked!

School was fun, I could be a bit of a shit stirrer when I wanted to be. Got smacked by the teachers a couple of times.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, that's another thing that millenials didn't experience. Teachers that would beat you, usually with a wooden paddle. In third grade I had one named Janice Thacker that would beat me every day. I liked to read and would read books other than the textbook during class. She erroneously thought I was ignoring the lesson so she asked me a question about the lesson and I answered it without looking up from my book, because I was always a smart ass. She flew into a rage and beat me every day for a while until another kid told my mom. My mom and some other mothers of kids the teacher had been beating went to the school to give her back a little bit of what she'd been giving. She suddenly took an unscheduled two week vacation.
 
S

shawnbuddy

Member
bengraven said:
My uncle went to Korea in the military and sent me a scorpion toy that you had to assemble. I was a bit young for it and my mom banned me from having it until I was older but of course I found it and broke it.

It had to be mid 80s. Want to say it was a popular Japanese show or toyline at the time?

Edit: holy shit I never thought I'd find it and so fast.

Pretty sure it was Guysack from Zoids. 1983ish version. Maybe a Korean KO? Maybe not - memories of it are surging in.

02guysack_500px.jpg




OH god the memories. Just seeing the box makes me smell and taste the cereal in milk.
Click to expand...

I had a Zoid. I don't remember the toy, but I do remember taking the little pilot out, putting him in a small bottle filled with red-tinted shampoo, and pretending he was in suspended animation like a Luke Skywalker in the healing tank in Empire Strikes back.
 
N

nachum00

Member
TheCochese said:
uss_flagg_by_gchildjr.jpg


If you're on the later end of Gen X, you know this was the holy grail of toys.
Click to expand...
I was born in 89 but my brother was born in 79. He passed all his toys and interest on to me. So I was crazy about GI Joe as a kid.

My favorite bands also come from the gen x era.
 
W

Walter White Walker

Member
shawnbuddy said:
Oh yeah, that's another thing that millenials didn't experience. Teachers that would beat you, usually with a wooden paddle. In third grade I had one named Janice Thacker that would beat me every day. I liked to read and would read books other than the textbook during class. She erroneously thought I was ignoring the lesson so she asked me a question about the lesson and I answered it without looking up from my book, because I was always a smart ass. She flew into a rage and beat me every day for a while until another kid told my mom. My mom and some other mothers of kids the teacher had been beating went to the school to give her back a little bit of what she'd been giving. She suddenly took an unscheduled two week vacation.
Click to expand...

Yep. I remember in 9th grade my shop teacher hacked people for being late to class. I was late one day and he said I needed to get hacked. I told him hit me and I hit you back (keeping in mind I likely wouldn't have backed that threat up well at all lol). Anyway, it became a big deal and my mom had to come to the school to clear it up. Never did get hit, though, so mission accomplished.
Also in 2nd grade my teacher recommended I was held back because I was left-handed. Really. My parents raised hell and that became a non-thing. I heard she pulled that again a few years later and was "retired" after that.
 
K

Korigama

Member
shawnbuddy said:
Oh yeah, that's another thing that millenials didn't experience. Teachers that would beat you, usually with a wooden paddle. In third grade I had one named Janice Thacker that would beat me every day. I liked to read and would read books other than the textbook during class. She erroneously thought I was ignoring the lesson so she asked me a question about the lesson and I answered it without looking up from my book, because I was always a smart ass. She flew into a rage and beat me every day for a while until another kid told my mom. My mom and some other mothers of kids the teacher had been beating went to the school to give her back a little bit of what she'd been giving. She suddenly took an unscheduled two week vacation.
Click to expand...

Walter White Walker said:
Yep. I remember in 9th grade my shop teacher hacked people for being late to class. I was late one day and he said I needed to get hacked. I told him hit me and I hit you back (keeping in mind I likely wouldn't have backed that threat up well at all lol). Anyway, it became a big deal and my mom had to come to the school to clear it up. Never did get hit, though, so mission accomplished.
Also in 2nd grade my teacher recommended I was held back because I was left-handed. Really. My parents raised hell and that became a non-thing. I heard she pulled that again a few years later and was "retired" after that.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I definitely can't relate to any of this as a millennial. Teachers weren't allowed to hit us, and no one ever gave me crap for being left-handed (and I went to a Catholic school until finishing junior high).
 
L

lordxar

Member
I got paddled in like first grade cuz some asshats flooded the sink over in the bathroom. We went in groups but I didn't tattle so I still got a swat...
 
W

Weevilone

Member
shawnbuddy said:
Oh yeah, that's another thing that millenials didn't experience. Teachers that would beat you, usually with a wooden paddle. In third grade I had one named Janice Thacker that would beat me every day. I liked to read and would read books other than the textbook during class. She erroneously thought I was ignoring the lesson so she asked me a question about the lesson and I answered it without looking up from my book, because I was always a smart ass. She flew into a rage and beat me every day for a while until another kid told my mom. My mom and some other mothers of kids the teacher had been beating went to the school to give her back a little bit of what she'd been giving. She suddenly took an unscheduled two week vacation.
Click to expand...

I had a 5th grade teacher that loved to drag kids around by the ear when they didn't do what she wanted. She'd get a good hold with on finger inside pretty good and pull you along.

I remember once she got pissed because I asked to use the restroom at a time she didn't consider acceptable, so she dragged me there herself.... by the ear of course. I could hear stuff in my ear popping and cracking, probably cartilage in hindsight. Apparently this was ok then.
 
F

fester

Banned
I love how Gen X has come full circle from being ostracized when the phrase was first coined, to now people asking to stretch the cut-off point so that they can be included. :)

Millennials - don't fuck things up and you can crash our party
Boomers - take your shitty politics and get out

Edit: This thread is awesome

cr0w said:
This was the ALF lunchbox I had.
Click to expand...

This was mine and I still remember the "warm apple juice" smell that permeated it:

4815044840_6a743076b1_z.jpg


chromatic9 said:
73hawNv.jpg


Or just a digital watch of your own was incredible.
Click to expand...

Holy shit, I had completely forgotten about that. Loved it.

Weevilone said:
The really old GenXers will remember that the first VCR's had a freaking remote that wasn't wireless.
and it was still cool
Click to expand...

I'll never forget our first VCR rental experiences - had to rent the actual VCR with the movie because we hadn't purchased one yet.
 
I

I Stalk Alone

Member
Yeah being born in 78 although i identify with the strengths of some gen x ideals i lean more towards millennial traits of today. In a sense i cannot feel like i belong to any of the cohorts and am somewhere in between. I have close friends in their early 20's and i have ckose friends nearing their 50's they would never get along together as group but i get along with them seoarately.

I loved growing up in the 80's but when the late 90's came and became digital i went through what o can only describe as a second childhood which was equally awesome. I am only now coming out of that second phase and am a different maturity that encompasses both generations.

University when i was 18 was so different to what it is now more than 18 years later, coming back to study again.


However looking at this thread a lot of the toys that came out in the late 80's early 90's these are millennial cohort toys.

Late gen x is so different from early gen x.

Early boomers are in their 70's
Early gen x is entering their 50's
Early gen y or millennials is now entering their late 30's
And early gen z is now coming of age and some are having babies.

The cohort after gen z has already arrived and they have been born knowing how to use smartphones from birth.
 
W

Weevilone

Member
I remember having some damn cool Battlestar Galactica toys too. They were easily up there with Star Wars and Micronauts for me, but there weren't tons of them. I remember really wanting some gold Cylon but it might have been from a contest or something.

It also seems that there was a special version of the Jawa Kenner figure that was only available by going to see it at the drive in theater. I don't remember if it was actually a special version, or just an early release.
Or I'm just getting really old and don't remember what I'm talking about.

Oh, also the Jaws game, where you fished stuff out of his mouth!
 
H

Henchmen21

Banned
fester said:
I love how Gen X has come full circle from being ostracized when the phrase was first coined, to now people asking to stretch the cut-off point so that they can be included. :)

Millennials - don't fuck things up and you can crash our party
Boomers - take your shitty politics and get out

Edit: This thread is awesome.
Click to expand...

Boomers hate us because of all the cool toys we had
Millennials love us because of all the cool toys we had
 
W

Weevilone

Member
Henchmen21 said:
Boomers hate us because of all the cool toys we had
Millennials love us because of all the cool toys we had
Click to expand...

Reading about our toys plays to their strengths. Wouldn't they rather watch someone play with a toy on Youtube than actually play with it themselves?
 
A

Armoured Priest

Member
chromatic9 said:
Perhaps more for us European heads


Mysterious Cities of Gold
q8rNorJ.jpg
Click to expand...


Mysterious Cities of Gold played on Nickelodeon in the mid 80s in the US.

Between that and Robotech, it was the first time I'd seen a serialized animated show, and I loved them.

I am going to mention, that screen cap looks like it's from the {relatively} recently released Season 2, and not the original animation from the 80s.

It was a little tough getting used to the new character voices for the child leads. Zia's VA is kind of close. Esteban and Tao? Not so much.

I wish I could easily get a copy of Season 2 on disc in NA.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
fester said:
I love how Gen X has come full circle from being ostracized when the phrase was first coined, to now people asking to stretch the cut-off point so that they can be included. :)

Millennials - don't fuck things up and you can crash our party
Boomers - take your shitty politics and get out
Click to expand...

Aren't you guys and the boomers who crashed the economy and fucked things up for everyone?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Why are younger generations embracing the retro game revival? [Guardian]
2 3
120
4K
Guilty_AI replied
Gen Z, Generation Alpha, & 10th Gen Gaming - What is a "video game" to them?
Social Opinion
31
2K
CLW replied
  • Poll
Why Xbox Abandoning The Traditional Console Business Model, Makes Business Sense
Business Analysis Platform 2
72
5K
WitchHunter replied
Phil Spencer interview - Says that their intent is for all Xbox games, including Call of Duty, to be available on Xbox Game Pass Day One
2 3
102
6K
Kenneth Haight replied
  • Poll
SONY/SIE: The Balance Of Chasing Margins, Multiplat Expansion, And Maximizing The Console
Opinion Business Analysis 2 3
101
6K
vaibhavpisal replied
Top Bottom