Ah, youth. Those days free of responsibilities, free of cares, and full of brightly colored plastic objects that could draw your attention for hours, days, weeks on end. Some of that plastic even took the vague form of a vehicle — plane, train, even automobile. This was the question posed to you all earlier this week: What was your favorite childhood automotive toy? You gave us a wealth of answers, so it’s time we dug into them. Here’s what you said.
1970s kids. If you know, you know.
[Photo of Hot Wheels track]
My friend, you’re in luck: They still make Hot Wheels to this very day. You can find them at your local Target, pharmacy, grocery store, or pretty much anywhere else.
While I loved all sorts of toy cars - my favorites were always Micromachines. Incredibly small, but also detailed - with opening doors and hoods - some even had lights. I had a few of the big floor maps, so you could set out whole cities - including airports and (I seem to recall) an aircraft carrier. Pretty cool stuff, and, of course, because they were so small you could gather up your whole collection for holidays and take it with you.
Apparently they don’t make them any more - which is a shame, because our 4 year old loves playing with my old set. And (ahem) I’m also finding them just as much fun as I remember.
I personally know Micro Machines best for their uncredited role in the Christmas classic Home Alone, but apparently there were kids whose last name wasn’t Culkin that still owned them.
for hours and hours and hours.....
People love to talk about “slot-car handling” when describing cars that carve corners well, but I wonder if those people have ever actually played with slot cars. Those things want nothing more than to fly off the track with the slightest twitch of throttle.
I had the obligatory Matchbox/Hot Wheels cars that I played with forever and have passed onto my kids, but my absolute favorite was one of these keys.
My uncle (you know, the one cool one that everyone has) was into cars and loved that I was into cars. When I was 7 years old, he gave me one of his keys to his new Jaguar XJ sedan for Christmas. Still remember it was black with tan leather.
Anytime we were together, he would let me unlock the doors for him and my aunt, then I’d get to reach up and use it to start the engine. Even today when we get together on the holidays, we still talk about it and all the other car stuff we loved (SCCA racing, turbos, etc.)
People complain that Marvel movies are the adult equivalent of jingling a keyring for a toddler, but this takes that concept down to its bare essentials: Just one singular key, no jingling. Keeping kids entertained is that easy.
Without question my SSP Smash Up Derby sets. I had two so a total of four cars. The 50's era Chevy and Ford were the best. Used them outside in the garage, on the sidwalk, in the basement. Even raced them straight into concrete walls. They came with ramps, parts that few off on impact and somehow, despite all my best efforts to destroy them, they were remarkably unbreakable. I mean until I put firecrackers in them and attempted to time their detonation with being airborne off the ramps. Pretty sure I remember shattering one of them. But hey, that’s not due to poor quality, just the destructive imagination of a 10 year old boy. May have to go check eBay...
I may not have had these cars, but I had a toy set with a similar concept — only, instead of derby cars, it was based on Battlebots. Remember Battlebots? I had a friend who actually built one in college. That’s my fun fact for the day.
[Just a photo]
This looks hauntingly familiar. I think I may have seen one in my grandparents’ house once, it looks like it’s of that vintage. As in, the vintage for my parents to play with in their youth, not my grandparents.
70's Tonka trucks. Had 3 or 4, a couple dump trucks and a crane.
I really like the idea of Tonka elitism. Nah, man, nothing after the ‘70s even counts — the oil crisis hit Tonka hard. The trucks sold out, went mainstream in the ‘80s.
Car and a Boat, My grandmother got it for me.
Damn, yeah. That sure is what it says on the tin right there. You ask for a cat and a boat, you get a car and a boat.
Tyco Fast Traxx. I had one of these in the early 1990s and it was so cool! The ancient batteries only lasted ~20 minutes on a full charge, but as Dom would say, “...for those 20 minutes or less, I was free.”
If you liked the Tyco Fast Traxx because they were fast and had tracks, I like to think you grew up to get really into the Ripsaw. If you liked them because putting two Xes at the end of a word is cool, you probably grew up to watch Darling In The Franxx even after it got bad halfway through.
The original Tyco Rebound. I’m pretty sure it was one of the first R/C cars that could flip and drive on either side. There was a forever under development subdivision near my parents house and we used to launch this thing off of dirt piles that were 10-20 feet high and it would just keep going. It could spin on the spot donuts and could drive into a wall and just keep flipping itself over and over.
As long as we’re on the Tyco topic, why not throw the Rebound in there too? I’ve always wanted to try a full-size version of one of these, a real life car that can flip over and keep driving upside down. I might need a HANS device for that.
A true classic.
Rumor has it that this is the exact sim rig that Max Verstappen trains on. Can something be a rumor if I just made it up right now, but I really feel like people should spread it? Asking for a friend.
The Evel Knievel stunt cycle! Man, I used to wind that thing up as hard as I could, and watch Evel do wheelies down the sidewalk, jump the home made ramps I made and chase my sisters down the driveway with it!
I was born long after Even Knievel retired, so that red, white, and blue getup brings another name to my mind: Hot Rod, the incredibly funny 2007 Lonely Island film. Highly recommend that one.