1980's Top Christmas Toys

[Bogmanfan]

Tomy Super Cup Football was the clear highlight of my childhood. Would have been around 1987 I think. Still play it with friends to this day. Also got a Commodore 64 which was amazing at the time.

[kevkojak]

In the 1980s it was all about the Britains Farm models. I was crazy about tractors and farm machinery. Unwrapping the boxes to see what I had, happy days.

I kept it all in storage, happy memory's really.

Wow, that brought back some memories. I had an absolute mountain of Britains farm stuff, including some machinery I still have no idea of the function.
Most prized were a Renault tractor and a Lamborghini tractor, goodness knows why, just unusual colours I suppose. I must have had 70 or 80 tractors at the peak of my collecting, it'd cost thousands now to replace them now.

I don't know why but to me as a child it seemed obscenely expensive and I very rarely got anything brand new, but I used to scour the Loot free ad's paper and send my poor Dad across the North West picking up little job lots of bargain priced stuff.

[jamesnw]

I remember my Big Trak from the 80's.. I used to love it...

And now they are re-selling them on Amazon...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zeon-Limite...words=big+trak

My son will be getting one for Christmas... for me him to play with.

[Alansmithee]

Was he actually evil?

Who knows but his name was Evel.

[walkerwek1958]

Going back to the 60s, the James Bond Aston Martin DB5 was the 'must have' toy one Christmas, and the shops were selling out as soon as stock arrived. I've never forgotten the pleasure of finding Santa had brought me one on Christmas morning, I think I got more pleasure from that car than many of the real car's I've owned since!

Johnny Seven OMA was another 60s toy, a big gun thing with bits that detached. Daleks were big too...... for a while.

Those were the days......

[D3ckard]

"Super Flight Deck" By AIRFIX

A plastic yellow Phantom attached to a string and a lever, or if you prefer, an Aircraft carrier landing simulator! I wonder what my 8 year old would make of it now?

[pastrana72]

Wow, that brought back some memories. I had an absolute mountain of Britains farm stuff, including some machinery I still have no idea of the function.
Most prized were a Renault tractor and a Lamborghini tractor, goodness knows why, just unusual colours I suppose. I must have had 70 or 80 tractors at the peak of my collecting, it'd cost thousands now to replace them now.

I don't know why but to me as a child it seemed obscenely expensive and I very rarely got anything brand new, but I used to scour the Loot free ad's paper and send my poor Dad across the North West picking up little job lots of bargain priced stuff.

Wow, a Lamborghini fantastic. I never had that many tractors but I had a fantastic MB trac and the dream was a combine harvester, then one Christmas I got a yellow harvester. Happy days. The fun did not stop that Christmas I got a Britain’s crop spraying helicopter. Lost count how many times I broke and had to fix the rotor blades.

In recent years, I bought a fantastic model of a MB tractor that I keep on my desk along with a Britain’s international snoopy tractor. As the local farm had both these briefly as a kid, and they remind me of happy days as a kid watching the tractors in the fields and wanting to be a farmer.

Never became a farmer luckily, became a engineer, probably from fixing all my farm toys as they fell apart.

[markc]

Scalextric, Atari VCS, Stunt Kites, Sketeboards and drop handlebar bicycles.

that pretty much sums up my favourite "toys" of the 80s

Ahhh - memories.

Mark C

[Ashtennisguru]

Did anyone ever get a Mr Frosty? I believe I asked Santa for one every year and it never arrived. When speaking to similar age (mid 30's) friends these days it seems this was a common theme... how did they stay in production??

Same here - asked every year for year after year and never got one... until my mum bought me one for my 21st birthday!

It's utter, utter crap! I have no idea why I wanted one so badly for all those years!

[Tenko]

"Super Flight Deck" By AIRFIX

A plastic yellow Phantom attached to a string and a lever, or if you prefer, an Aircraft carrier landing simulator! I wonder what my 8 year old would make of it now?

I had one of those with a "power launcher". I seem to remember that it was broken by Boxing Day...

[paulpsz008]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkMyUPcuv_A

This one for me.

[Brighty]

This one for me

[Bry1975]

Big TRAK....

[Shakespeare]

I had one of those with a "power launcher". I seem to remember that it was broken by Boxing Day...

Me too. The rubber band powered catapult couldn't quite fire the Phantom (which was yellow for some reason) all the way up the flight wire. Then you had the challenge of landing on the carrier and trapping the arrestor wire. I could never get it right and I'm sure a vital plastic clip or spigot broke, rendering the whole toy ruined.



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[Ventura]

Transformers,
Commodore,
Atari...

[Mr.D]

This one for me

Had one when I was 7 . Only problem is that once you had the muscle memory locked it was too easy . After 3 days I was somewhere between 8-12 secs.

Was fun but longevity was an issue.

[Nuisance Value]

Best toys though we're an Astrowars,

Oh man, I loved that game..



I would always get loads of lego, usually the space ones.

[Mr.D]

Me too. The rubber band powered catapult couldn't quite fire the Phantom (which was yellow for some reason) all the way up the flight wire. Then you had the challenge of landing on the carrier and trapping the arrestor wire. I could never get it right and I'm sure a vital plastic clip or spigot broke, rendering the whole toy ruined.


]

Yup such a disappointment, mine didn’t survive assembly.

[stefaulkner]

Oh man, I loved that game..



I would always get loads of lego, usually the space ones.

The little tabletop electronic games were always a favourite in our house. Astro wars, scramble, caveman and a strange Tomy game called Lupin graced our shelves. I remember seeing a member on here post a picture with a wall full of all different types. Most impressive

I found my old Space 1999 Space Eagle a couple of years ago. My lad took a shine to it and I've not seen it since!

[Yellow Jim]

Visited the Museum of Childhood at Sudbury Hall a few weeks back with the family. Spotted a load of toys from my childhood in the 80s. Was a real trip down memory lane. Will be hunting down a copy of this. Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs. Loved it as a kid but had forgotten all about it.

[number2]

The year my mate got a Johnny 7 I got https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t6Bd0MwEh8

[Jim M]

Tinker Toys

Lincoln logs

Revell slot car track

Hotwheels and tracks

[TheFlyingBanana]

The little tabletop electronic games were always a favourite in our house. Astro wars, scramble, caveman and a strange Tomy game called Lupin graced our shelves. I remember seeing a member on here post a picture with a wall full of all different types. Most impressive

I think that might have been me - here are some of them. I just find the designs interesting, and my kids are amazed by their simplicity.

[JasonM]

Tin can alley.

Same here, really wanted it, never got it.
And someone mentioned the ‘Caveman’ portable electronic game, when my sister moved into her house recently she found one in the garage in its box, fully working, she was going to throw it out, I have it now and my kids love it! The noises it made took me way back instantly.

[Martylaa]

Star Wars toys.
He-Man toys.

And of course my beloved GT bmx...
Best present ever...

[verv]

Star wars and transformers.
Atari lynx as well but that might have been breaching the 90s.

[julian2002]

I have a big trak sitting in my home office, a reissue not original like i had back in the 80's I still remember getting that on xmas morning.
Other memorable toys.
Vertibird
A remote control polystyrene hovercraft.
Lego - pre technics but I had a motor, battery box, cogs and wheels that could be used to do some very cool things for the time.
ZX81 - I got a c64 a year later as i was so interested in programming.

I remember mostly that I didn't get much of a look in on a lot of the cool stuff as my dad and grandad 'tested' them before i got a go....

this might spark a few memories for those of a certain age...
http://retromash.com/argos/

[Brighty]

Nintendo Game & watch

I had a single screen fireman one and a double screen gardener one, but i always lusted after the donkey kong one my mate had

[julian2002]

I had the donkey kong one, bought it on a school trip to Guernsey with all the money I'd been given as pocket money, came home with more money than i left with from charging 10p a game.

[doctorj]

For years I asked for Crossfire. Never got it

I was super envious of my friends who got it for Xmas until I went round his house to play it. It was bloody awful.

I remember getting a TCR set one year. That was great.

[TheFlyingBanana]

this might spark a few memories for those of a certain age...
http://retromash.com/argos/

Fantastic - there goes a couple of hours this evening!

[m4ckg]

Best toy shop,,ever!

It was....I'll second that

[stefaulkner]

I think that might have been me - here are some of them. I just find the designs interesting, and my kids are amazed by their simplicity.

Yes, awesome.

I could probably lose myself in that room for a few days.

Scramble, far right?, then caveman?, then what's next? (The Tomy one).

I think thats Firefox next to Astrowars too isn't it?

What is the white one on the back row, to the right, round black screen? I recognise it but can't quite put my finger on it.

[moe100]

Yes, awesome.

I could probably lose myself in that room for a few days.

Scramble, far right?, then caveman?, then what's next? (The Tomy one).

I think thats Firefox next to Astrowars too isn't it?

What is the white one on the back row, to the right, round black screen? I recognise it but can't quite put my finger on it.

It's a Grandstand Invader from space

[stefaulkner]

It's a Grandstand Invader from space

Cheers Moe, although I did find out myself after spending too long looking at retro electronic games on eBay last night

[zanderpants]

Tin can alley - wanted that for so long, finally got one and it was total crap. Did not look at all like the awesome TV advert!

The original Atari console - I used to have dreams about that and playing pacman. Never got one of those.

Spectrum 48k - single greatest thing I have ever owned to this day! Took my parents so long to save up for that and they managed to get me an old b&w TV with it which was awesome.

The thing I remember was how much I wanted these things when I was young. My parents didn't have a lot of money so any presents were never a done deal, any 'dream' presents I got were always due to a sacrifice on my parents side. Ended up meaning that I was so excited at the possibility of getting something I had dreamed of and soooo grateful and treasured these things. Something I think my kids have missed out on a bit, shame really....


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[moe100]

Cheers Moe, although I did find out myself after spending too long looking at retro electronic games on eBay last night

No problem stefaulkner, also if it makes you feel any better I spent far to long going through the old Argos catalogues