Interesting stuff you had as a kid

[Win]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
... Creepy Crawler set (remember those with the molds?)...

Hey, do you have any Goop? I still have my creepy crawler set in my warehouse of old junk. Wonder what the formula for Goop was?

I remember playing with chemistry sets with real chemicals that could poison you or blow you up.

Erector sets of flimsy metal for when you just had to build a bridge between two chairs.

Transparent models of everything from small block chevys to people.

Estes and Centuri model rockets.

I liked vacuum tubes and still do. I have thousands in my warehouse of old junk and still build with and use vacuum tube electronics, wherever I can.

I remember as a snot nosed gas pumper pumping Ethyl gas (tinted red) for about twenty three cents / gallon, and pumping regular for forty seven cents / gallon after the first oil embargo.

Just like today, people thought gas prices going up was the end of the world.

edit: Geez, how did I forget Heathkit? Everything from a mini bike to an electronic organ in kit form.

 

[oppirs]

Originally Posted By: Win
Originally Posted By: Pablo
... Creepy Crawler set (remember those with the molds?)

I remember playing with chemistry sets with real chemicals that could poison you or blow you up.

Estes and Centuri model rockets.

I liked vacuum tubes and still do. I have thousands in my warehouse of old junk and still build with and use vacuum tube electronics, wherever I can.

Your on my wavelength. Same here! I'll add one major enchantment to my 12-15 y.o faze. My old man gave me a box of Playboys from Hugh's first edition to 1972. I will tell you, I was a hit at school. Wish I never sold them for $$$ back then but I was making a good bux!

Used as a kid now mine from my Dad. All tube 1960 Hammarlund HQ-180. Still works just fine. Close-up here HQ-180 HQ Speaker

 

[hattaresguy]

I built model planes quite a few, fished. Than I discovered boats and sailing and I was done, right after that I found out I could get rides pretty easily because people were always looking for crew, than a couple of my more well off friends were gifted some nice boats.

I started sailing and skiing when I was about 7-8 and have never stopped.

 

[Spazdog]

I used to build balsa wood and tissue planes. The rubber band powered ones flew quite well on calm days. (which were few and far between on the Georgia coast)

My dad picked up a Sea Snark sailboat. Styrofoam hull with a thin layer of plastic over it. It was maybe 50lbs with mast, spars, and rigging. Learned how to sail in that glorified sailboard.

 

[Bluestream]

Originally Posted By: oppirs
My old man gave me a box of Playboys from Hugh's first edition to 1972. I will tell you, I was a hit at school. Wish I never sold them for $$$ back then but I was making a good bux!


Best Father ever!

 

[buickman50401]

When I was in grade school my folks got me the GI JOE aircraft carrier. It was an awesome sight to behold. 8ft x 3ft. Could fit the F14 plane on the deck and below it IIRC. However, the thing was so massive it took up most of one of our spare basement rooms and was so ridiculously large it was difficult to play with. You couldn't lean across it to reach the other side and would half fall on it trying to do so.

They sold it at a profit a year later as I gave up on trying to play with such a massive toy.

 

[HM12460]

Schwinn "Sting Ray" bicycle. Must've been about 1969-1970 or so.

 

[morris]

started driving in 1965, gas was 1/3 the octane. started reading car magazines in 1958. am transistor radio, oil in metal cans, wait everything in metal cans. dad bought one of the first tvs with a channel clicker. dad bought the first dodge charger in 1966 in Wichita, a real chick magnet.

 

[expat]

Had a Mamod/Mechano model steam engine, lots of fun, but nearly burned the house down.
Once found a WWII German Butterfly bomb (possibly live) but my mother put it in a bucket of water and called the police.
Used to ride miles and miles on a One speed bicycle.
Made Balsa wood model aircraft, powered by JetX solid fuel rocket motors.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: HM12460
Schwinn "Sting Ray" bicycle. Must've been about 1969-1970 or so.


That's about when I got the first one. I remember I changed the one piece crank chain ring to a lower ratio and could climb mountains!

 

[Torino]

Loving, caring and involved parents. John--Las Vegas

 

[Touring5]

My first bike (with training wheels) was a Mattel Vrooom. It had fake shocks on the front fork and a fake battery powered engine that make noise (hence the "Vrooom"). After learning to ride without the training wheels I eventually sold it for $7 which was a fair price back in the sixties.

I had a tape recorder called a "Say it, Play it". It was a totally sealed unit with a looped tape (similar to 8-track). Lots of creative fun for a 5 year old.

Coolest "toy" I got was a PAIA synthesizer back in the early-70's. It was in kit form and required soldering and wiring. It consisted of several modules that acted as filters or waveform sources - interconnected with patch wires. That was the impetus for my hobby/career in electrical engineering. Also had the Radio Shack 100 in 1 kit - back in the days when RS was chocked full of electronic components.

Lots of Estes rocket fun. Never learned to take my eyes off the rocket when using the C6-7 engines (I could never see it with my eyes these days!).

Never got a mini-bike or BB gun. In hindsight, that may have been a good decision by my folks....

 

[PandaBear]

Back when I was a kid, Nintendo disk drive system was very common. It was not for the US grey type system, but for the Japanese red/white system.

Little did they know people were modifying the system (soldering / rewiring) to support bootleg copying of games and even developed storage adapter called Game Doctors. When Nintendo realized what a monster it is and stopped supporting larger capacity disk to stop the copying practice.

I had one of such system, and went to the corner game shop to copy disks on a regular basis (common practice back in the days before copy right was enforced). I've also got a little assembly code debugger that I use to modify the game's engine to give me additional lives, unlimited lives, etc.

http://videogamesarerad.com/2010/12/16/game-doctor/

 

[andyd]

I had a surplus Caterpiller D4 with a cable operated bucket fuel tank to ride on and shot gun or on the running boards of a 46 Ford 5 ton dump truck. In return , I learned how to be a pilot, pile it there, pile it here, how to lay brush so it made a compact pile. Pile chunks of swamp maple into the middle of a '56 VW bus. Work a chainsaw, start a bulldozer's pony starter. Burn brush, clear land. Once, I helped Charlie
replace a Cat's thrown track on the side of a hill over a sandpit.

 

[eljefino]

It was about 1996 and a CDROM drive was still expensive, $100 ish. I got a nearly dead one at a flea market for a buck or two. It wouldn't open without help. I took it apart and somehow rigged a paper clip to the thing that clamps down on the disc and brings the laser up. This clip went out the front through the "emergency eject" hole. I also glued a wooden bead to the front of the disc caddy. I literally ran this thing for years with a two step process of pushing and pulling on my paper clip then opening the drawer manually.

(This is more a story of thrift, I guess.

)

 

[RTexasF]

The original Wham-O Flying Saucer many many years before the word Frisbee was ever coined. I bet that thing would be worth a small fortune now.

 

[Cujet]

I had one of these 40+ years ago. It was a cool toy. Always ran perfectly and smoothly. I have no idea what happened to it. I think mom got rid of it.

 

[expat]

Interesting, the # of us that had Steam Engines.

By the way, I also had a Put Put boat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_pop_boat

 

[yeti]

food.

 

[addyguy]

A slinky.

I thought it was fascinating the way it went down stairs - it was like it was alive!

Folks bought me a kids electronic 'hobby' kit - you used a basic circuit board, and could make different things with it - a light with an on/off switch, a motor, a blinking light, a buzzer....