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As *spoon* as Arch comes back from vacation Hepcat will still be Hepcat.
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1,113 posts in this topic

So I was challenged to come up with a list of my personal favourite toys from my childhood. This meant I had to limit my selections to only those toys I either had or really coveted but never managed to obtain as a kid. Accordingly I had to reject a lot of very cool toys from that era simply because I just don't remember even being aware of them at the time, e.g. Ideal King Zor, Kenner Give-A-Show Projector, MPC Pop-Tops, Ideal Godzilla Board Game, Hamilton's Invaders, MPC Horror House Target Set, Ideal Haunted House, Marx Prehistoric Times Playset....

 

Here then in rough order is my list:

 

 

MY FIFTEEN FAVOURITE TOYS FROM MY CHILDHOOD YEARS

 

1. Mad, Mad, Mad Scientist Laboratory

 

4562075255_671eaa206b_b.jpg

 

2. Monogram 330P/LM Ferrari 1/32 Scale Slot Car Kit

 

AFerrari.jpg

 

AFerrariinterior.jpg

 

3. Aurora Bride of Frankenstein Model Kit

 

JCbridefranknstnMIBA_lg.jpg

 

4. Lionel HO Electric Train Set with Launching Helicopter and Bobbing Head Giraffe Cars

 

lionelho0319-Y1A_zpsc71bb0a4.jpg

 

17-09-2013101924PM_zps3e2349dd.jpg

 

17-09-2013101930PM_zps3b9dfd47.jpg

 

5. Revell Rat Fink Model Kit

 

RevellratFink_zps656ab25d.jpg

 

6. Duncan Imperial Spin Top

 

ADuncan1.jpg

 

DuncanCounter_zps5975a079.jpg

 

7. Marx Three Keys to Treasure Bagatelle

 

ThreeKeys_zps3128a502.jpg

 

8. Hasbro Marble Maze

 

MarbleMaze.jpg

 

MarbleMazeGame2.jpg

 

9. Kenner Rocky & Bullwinkle Presto Sparkle Paint Set

 

RockyBullwinklePresto2.jpg

 

10. Parker Bros. Monopoly Game

 

Monopoly_zpsb0f90b76.jpg

 

Monopolyd_zps9198ca42.jpg

 

11. Cox Spitfire

 

CoxSpitfire_zpsb219cdd5.jpg

 

Plane.jpg

 

12. Topper Johnny Seven O.M.A.

 

TopperJohnnySeven_zpsd741c882.jpg

 

13. Mattel Creepy Crawlers Thingmaker

 

CreepyCrawlers.jpg

 

14. Milton Bradley The Deputy Game

 

TheDeputyGame3_zpsa95eb045.jpg

 

15. Coleco Power Play Hockey Game

 

ColecoGame_zpsb4a6bf94.jpg

 

Honourable mention goes to two items that didn't make my list because I wasn't sure they could be properly classified as toys:

 

Standard Plastics Creature-Wolfman Monster Wallet

 

walletdz9.jpg

 

Peacock Crayons

 

PeacockCrayons_zps61e7823e.jpg

 

These crayons of course needed the accompaniment of colouring books. I remember admiring Shari Lewis and Deputy Dawg colouring books at the News Depot in downtown London but I can't say for sure whether these were colouring books I actually had.

 

:cool:

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Hey Hep do you know anyone who does molds for sculptures etc??

 

I am looking for a product called Ultra Cal 30 to make molds with and cannot find a local place only online stores.

 

I needed it two weeks ago..but I woul;d still like to get it and not have to order it and wait (from what I understand) months to get it..

 

any help appreciated cool Cat!!

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Awesome toys hepcat !

 

I love those Aurora models and had most of them when I was a kid, the only thing I have left is the beatup box top of the Dracula model :(

 

The Mattel Thingmaker is epic ! I also had one of those along with the “Incredible Edibles” & “Creeple Peeple” in fact I just bought an original “Creeple Peeple” in mint condition.

 

I love the vintage toys you post ! (thumbs u

 

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Awesome toys hepcat !

 

I love those Aurora models and had most of them when I was a kid, the only thing I have left is the beatup box top of the Dracula model :(

 

The Mattel Thingmaker is epic ! I also had one of those along with the “Incredible Edibles” & “Creeple Peeple” in fact I just bought an original “Creeple Peeple” in mint condition.

 

I love the vintage toys you post ! (thumbs u

 

Hep's collection is amazing..

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and I got stuck hawking..seeds..embossed Christmas cards..for way less cool swag than that!

 

From these comic book ads?

 

09-06-201331021PM_zps9edb9551.jpg

 

08-07-201375649PM_zps0c7aa3f4.jpg

 

I've always wondered how easy this stuff was for a kid to sell. How did it go for you? Did you make much money and/or earn cool prizes selling them? Were the cards easier to sell than the seeds? Where did you live at the time?

 

???

 

I think it was back in about 1973 that I tried selling these “Lifetime Social Security Plates” … from what I can remember they were pretty cool and made of aluminum. The plates had an eagle and flag on the front along with the person’s name and social security number. I sold quite a few but mostly to friends and family although I went door to door throughout the neighborhoods and sold others as well.

 

I don’t think these would go over very well in today’s world of identity theft, people wouldn’t be so accepting to give out their name and social but back then it wasn’t such a big deal.

 

comicadds_zps15f683dc.jpg

 

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Awesome toys hepcat !

 

I love those Aurora models and had most of them when I was a kid, the only thing I have left is the beatup box top of the Dracula model :(

 

The Mattel Thingmaker is epic ! I also had one of those along with the “Incredible Edibles” & “Creeple Peeple” in fact I just bought an original “Creeple Peeple” in mint condition.

 

I love the vintage toys you post ! (thumbs u

 

Hep's collection is amazing..

 

Most definitely ! (thumbs u

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and I got stuck hawking..seeds..embossed Christmas cards..for way less cool swag than that!

 

From these comic book ads?

 

09-06-201331021PM_zps9edb9551.jpg

 

08-07-201375649PM_zps0c7aa3f4.jpg

 

I've always wondered how easy this stuff was for a kid to sell. How did it go for you? Did you make much money and/or earn cool prizes selling them? Were the cards easier to sell than the seeds? Where did you live at the time?

 

???

 

I think it was back in about 1973 that I tried selling these “Lifetime Social Security Plates” … from what I can remember they were pretty cool and made of aluminum. The plates had an eagle and flag on the front along with the person’s name and social security number. I sold quite a few but mostly to friends and family although I went door to door throughout the neighborhoods and sold others as well.

 

I don’t think these would go over very well in today’s world of identity theft, people wouldn’t be so accepting to give out their name and social but back then it wasn’t such a big deal.

 

comicadds_zps15f683dc.jpg

 

My grandma bought one of those for me. She gave it to me when I was small and I had it forever.. I used to carry it in my purse..places wouldn't take it for jobs or whatnot because it was not the actual card.

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My grandma bought one of those for me. She gave it to me when I was small and I had it forever.. I used to carry it in my purse..places wouldn't take it for jobs or whatnot because it was not the actual card.

 

Yea and I like how the add says "millions of people waiting to buy" ... I think I sold about 20 lol

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I found some really good pictures of the London, Ontario that was during my formative years. Unfortunately the only thing they lack is me!

 

Here's a picture of the Arena Dairy Bar on York Street sometime in the fifties:

 

LondonArenaDairyBar_zps31af5687.jpg

 

Sadly I have no memory of this old time dairy bar but it must have been located right by the old London Arena a few blocks away from our house. I have really fond memories of going to the London Arena for the Labatt Brewing Company's employee Xmas party with cake, ice cream, cookies, a magician and finally Santa Claus with a specially wrapped present for each and every kid in attendance!

 

arena2_zpsc79794e8.jpg

 

The London Arena also featured roller skating and wrestling with grapplers such as Whipper Billy Watson, Johnny Valentine, D*ck "the Bulldog" Brower and Sweet Daddy Siki in the fifties and sixties. I also attended a concert by Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention in the London Arena in 1972.

 

Robb's Dairy Bar was located two very short blocks away from where my card collecting buddy Tony lived. Drat, but it closed sometime in the late fifties and I don't remember ever seeing it.

 

RobbsDairyBar_zps05fb16b7.jpg

 

One of the things that I do remember from those early years and sorely miss is milk delivery in returnable refillable bottles!

 

milkman2_zps0b0e0e18.jpg

 

I remember Borden's, Silverwood Dairy, London Pure Milk Company and Mark Ayres Dairy delivery vehicles prowling London's leafy streets:

 

MilktruckB_zpsa3d05a54.jpg

 

MilkTruckS_zpse2b71108.jpg

 

My home town dairy, Silverwood, grew by acquisition to become the largest dairy in Canada by the late sixties and still provided home delivery service in certain markets well into the seventies(eighties?).

 

Both Silverwood Dairy and the London Pure Milk Company still had horse drawn milk wagons wending their way along London streets until sometime in the mid-sixties. It was back in 1963-64 that my mother and I saw that the train car being backed into the Labatt Breweries plant had somehow collided with a Silverwood's horse much to the detriment of the latter. Her uncharitable comment at the time was that Labatt didn't want people to drink milk.

 

Here are a couple of pictures of Silverwood's milk wagons:

 

SilverwoodsCart_zps2326ee5a.jpg

 

SilverwoodsDairy_zps41313d62.jpg

 

Here's a picture of a more modern sixties state-of-the-art London Pure Milk Company wagon:

 

LondonPureMilkCo_zpsc3fce177.jpg

 

We also had home bread delivery from London's own Lewis Bakeries for a while when we lived in Manor Park on the edge of London in the fifties. Many a housewife's household budget was blown succumbing to the pastry temptations proferred that day by the bread man! Best of all though my buddy Dave had a job helping the Jackson's Bakeries bread man make his deliveries Saturday mornings. Talk about a marriage made in heaven! All the delivery man had to do was drive since he had a young boy doing most of the work for him, and Dave got to ride around in a very cool bread delivery truck and run to each house on the route carrying bread in a basket! I'll have to ask Dave whether he received anything more than free tarts and other pastries for his efforts....

 

I also have a hazy memory of having journeyed to the beach with my mother and sister on the London & Port Stanley Railway one summer day in 1957(?). It would have been on an interurban car like this beautifully restored one that's part of the collection of the Hallton County Radial Railway Museum:

 

LondonampPortStanley_zps23774d55.jpg

 

LondonPort_zps69f3e1c3.jpg

 

On the extreme right hand side of this picture of the main Richmond Street and Dundas Street intersection of London from 1960 or so the United Cigar Store sign is visible. I bought many of my comics in that store.

 

1452181_415827255210244_1377567151_n_zps907c95a9.jpg

 

Look at the riot of neon in this picture looking west along Dundas Street circa 1960!

 

DundasStreet_zps965b9c3c.jpg

 

Here's a picture of the Kresge store in downtown London circa 1952, the year of my birth:

 

Kresge_zps52be753c.jpg

 

That was the store where I first saw a Marx Great Garloo in 1961 and discovered the Aurora monster model kits a year or so later. Just beyond it the Metropolitan(Met) store can be seen. The Met's lunch counter did such a thriving business that they had a satellite take-out counter at the front of the store where office workers could quickly grab a hamburger, hot dog, French fries, coffee, donut, etc. to go. Across the street to the left in the picture was a Woolworth store. Directly to the right of the camera man was a Zellers store.

 

My mother used to take me in tow and haunt them all. I lived for hitting her up for a steel bowl of ice cream at one of the lunch counters after she was fully shopped out.

 

And here's a picture from the fifties of Cowan Hardware on Dundas Street where I used to go to admire toys and model kits.

 

CowansHardware_zps6b1a7ee2.jpg

 

Cowan's was also where I raced my Monogram Ferrari slot cars after a slot car track was installed upstairs in 1965(?). Good times! Just out of the picture was the Ontario Conservatory of Music where I lugged my accordion on the bus for my weekly lessons. Not entirely good times.

 

Finally here's a great shot of the Victoria Theater circa 1956 which was just off Dundas on a side street.

 

Victoria_zps9166987c.jpg

 

The Victoria was a classic grindhouse with a balcony from which kids would fling flattened popcorn boxes onto the poor unfortunates below. This of course would prompt warnings from chagrined ushers that throwing objects from the balcony was strictly forbidden.

 

The Hyland was my neighbourhood theatre in London where in the early sixties I used to take in Saturday matinee double features with a cartoon for $0.20:

 

Hyland.jpg

 

Here it is these days:

 

hyland1.jpg

 

;)

Edited by Hepcat
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Awesome toys Hepcat !

 

I love those Aurora models and had most of them when I was a kid, the only thing I have left is the beatup box top of the Dracula model :(

 

The Mattel Thingmaker is epic ! I also had one of those along with the “Incredible Edibles” & “Creeple Peeple” in fact I just bought an original “Creeple Peeple” in mint condition.

 

I love the vintage toys you post !

 

Here then are some more! I've taken some new pictures of three of my display cabinets. First my main model kit cabinet:

 

DSCN3173_zpsea8058c8.jpg

 

DSCN3174_zpsea461e53.jpg

 

DSCN3175_zpsed6841a4.jpg

 

DSCN3176_zps0dde3de9.jpg

 

DSCN3177_zps0d586899.jpg

 

DSCN3178_zpsb795648b.jpg

 

Then my board game, lunch box and overflow model kit cabinet:

 

DSCN3166_zpscf9768ae.jpg

 

DSCN3167_zps6fd28396.jpg

 

DSCN3168_zps6f87cf74.jpg

 

DSCN3169_zps8efbfe83.jpg

 

DSCN3170_zps3aeec88e.jpg

 

DSCN3171_zps79acadfc.jpg

 

DSCN3172_zps0392bbca.jpg

 

Finally, the overflow cabinet in Ace's bedroom where I keep and display whatever cool stuff for which there isn't sufficient room in my comic and toy room:

 

DSCN3161_zpsc7049edc.jpg

 

DSCN3162_zps73be4eb4.jpg

 

DSCN3163_zps3328271a.jpg

 

DSCN3164_zps5685c8dd.jpg

 

DSCN3165_zps00438017.jpg

 

I like to think that it's still the best third toy cabinet on the block.

 

:cool:

 

Edited by Hepcat
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Here are some pictures of me and the crew from this past Halloween. First, Deuce and I admiring the treats on the dining room table:

 

DSCN3194_zps1ff17ed7.jpg

 

DSCN3197_zps46fd478b.jpg

 

DSCN3196_zps110e7ec7.jpg

 

DSCN3195_zpsb981804a.jpg

 

DSCN3198_zps01dd1c00.jpg

 

DSCN3200_zps0ed92647.jpg

 

DSCN3202_zpse397fe44.jpg

 

DSCN3201_zps09f3cd2c.jpg

 

And here I've discovered that the lady across the street will no longer have to endure her husband's many annoying quirks:

 

DSCN3184_zps72b4d5bd.jpg

 

DSCN3185_zps1c8485e5.jpg

 

DSCN3186_zpsebc9415a.jpg

 

DSCN3187_zps2594bc09.jpg

 

:o

 

Edited by Hepcat
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It was just over fifty years ago on 10 November 1963 that Gordie Howe notched his 545th goal to surpass the lifetime mark that Maurice Richard had set. Here are scans of the oldest Gordie Howe cards in my collection:

 

004_zps1be9d6d9.jpg

 

003_zpsfa963604.jpg

 

006_zps5008f9cc.jpg

 

005_zpsaf7ee878.jpg

 

:cool:

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