Automotive (and other) toys from our childhood

[Foxer]

We used to fire off M80s in garbage cans in the alley. In those days in Chicago the "standard" garbage can was a 55 gallon steel drum, not the plastic cans they use today.

Made quite the racket!

Toilets ...enough said

[Harry P.]

anyone ever play with the balsa wood airplanes?  They used to last about 5-12 flights before you broke something on them and the wouldn't fly again.

Also the original paper caps.  You could open a bunch of them and make a little gunpowder pile that would go up like the old flash on plate camera's.

I remember caps coming five rolls? to the box. The rolls were all connected; you broke off a roll as needed. I remember them being on red paper. We used them in our cowboy cap guns, but we also used to take a roll of them, put it on the sidewalk, and then take a baseball bat held vertically and smash the cap roll with the end of the bat. That way almost all the caps in the roll would go off at once... sort of like a mini-firecracker.

Amazing how stupid stuff like that amused us when we were kids...

[Tom Geiger]

Amazing how stupid stuff like that amused us when we were kids...

Which reminds me of a story... Remember Cox tethered airplanes?  In the hands of a sixth grader those didn't last too long.  My friend Henry got one as a gift and we went up to the big field to fly it.  I think he nose dived and ruined it within 10 minutes.   That left us with one damaged plane and a full can of Cox airplane fuel.  Henry thought it would be a good idea to combine the two.  He set the plane on the ground, filled the fuselage with fuel and dropped a match in.  When nothing happened, he put his head close to get a look and BOOM!   The whole thing exploded.  Henry did a backflip and wound up burning off his eyebrows!    Us kids thought that was hilariously funny. I can still see that event in my mind like it was yesterday!

In retrospect, he was BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH lucky he didn't burn his eyes or worse!

[62rebel]

I had a succession of GI Joe's and Johnny West figures before model cars came along... at one point, I had inherited nine Joe's, a grocery bag full of gear, and a Chief Cherokee, Johnny West himself, and a Captain Maddox.... sadly not one of them survived. I do have modern replacements for the Joe's, but not the JW stuff.  Several of my cousins were roughly the same age as myself and we shared common interests as kids. One cousin got both of the big Marx Revolutionary War and Civil War playsets one Christmas, and we played with those for months.... 

[Ace-Garageguy]

anyone ever play with the balsa wood airplanes?  They used to last about 5-12 flights before you broke something on them and the wouldn't fly again.

Still do.      

[Snake45]

I remember caps coming five rolls? to the box. The rolls were all connected; you broke off a roll as needed. I remember them being on red paper. We used them in our cowboy cap guns, but we also used to take a roll of them, put it on the sidewalk, and then take a baseball bat held vertically and smash the cap roll with the end of the bat. That way almost all the caps in the roll would go off at once... sort of like a mini-firecracker.

Amazing how stupid stuff like that amused us when we were kids...

I last saw caps in a five-and-dime at a beach town about a decade ago. Before that I hadn't seen them in 20, maybe 30 years. Dunno if they're still available anywhere or not. If they are, they probably get a HAZMAT rating and would cost more to ship to you than their actual price unless you bought a case.

BTW, cap residue is corrosive and would often eat up the metal parts of cap guns.

[Snake45]

Still do.      

Those Guillows balsa airplanes used to be on just about every checkout counter in America. The basic ones were a dime and they went up in price and complexity from there. The fancy one with rubber motor and wire landing gear was 25 or 35 cents. Last time I saw them--not that long ago--they started at $2.50 and went up from there.

[SfanGoch]

and quite a mess when one would accidentally get flushed in the school bathroom..

Hmm......you and your friends must've used the same training manual we did.  

[SfanGoch]

I remember caps coming five rolls? to the box. The rolls were all connected; you broke off a roll as needed. I remember them being on red paper. We used them in our cowboy cap guns, but we also used to take a roll of them, put it on the sidewalk, and then take a baseball bat held vertically and smash the cap roll with the end of the bat. That way almost all the caps in the roll would go off at once... sort of like a mini-firecracker.

Amazing how stupid stuff like that amused us when we were kids...

It might have been stupid; but, it sure was a lot of fun!   Using a magnifying glass as a death ray and incinerating ants was educational, too.

[Harry P.]

These are the ones. Sometimes, if one of us had one of those big softball bats (the big, slow pitch softball that was pretty much a "Chicago thing"), we would put all five rolls on the sidewalk and try to blow them off all at once.

I don't remember what a box of them cost, but they were pretty cheap.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Those Guillows balsa airplanes used to be on just about every checkout counter in America. The basic ones were a dime and they went up in price and complexity from there. The fancy one with rubber motor and wire landing gear was 25 or 35 cents. Last time I saw them--not that long ago--they started at $2.50 and went up from there.

A friend of mine found about a dozen in an 'antique' shop. They had come out of the back of an old toy store that had been locked up for years. She bought 'em all and gave 'em to me. I'm about halfway through crashing 'em, probably save the last two or three for posterity.

That old balsa gets pretty brittle after 40 years, but my flight tuning is rather better than it was in my youth, so they last a good bit longer.  

[Harry P.]

This guy has the right idea...

[GT4494]

These are the ones. Sometimes, if one of us had one of those big softball bats (the big, slow pitch softball that was pretty much a "Chicago thing"), we would put all five rolls on the sidewalk and try to blow them off all at once.

I don't remember what a box of them cost, but they were pretty cheap.

Yep!  than there were singles that you could put in the metal "Bombs".  You threw them as high as you could and when they hit they set of the cap.  We would always have one throw them up and the other person try to catch them.  Oh to be young and stupid again. 

[GT4494]

Still do.      

I have one at my work desk that has our company name/logo.  Not sure how old it is but we only make two airplanes that I am aware of and it looks nothing like either.  Its never been flown and I'm afraid of crashing it. 

[Roadrunner]

There were two toy M14s, the very nice Topper Johnny Eagle Lieutenant and the Marx, which was electric and ran on batteries. It made machine gun sound the muzzle recoiled back and forth. I had one of the latter. Which did you have?

I've looked at the Topper JEs on eBay from time to time, but they go for much more than I'm willing to spend. Even the Marx ones go for fairly high prices. Couple years ago I had the idea to get one and "gut" it and fill it up with a real Ruger 10/22. Didn't find an affordable one before the mood eventually passed.

I believe mine was the latter, it made sort of a "clicking" noise when fired. (I blasted all the kids in my neighborhood, at one time or another.)

[Roadrunner]

anyone ever play with the balsa wood airplanes?  They used to last about 5-12 flights before you broke something on them and the wouldn't fly again.

Also the original paper caps.  You could open a bunch of them and make a little gunpowder pile that would go up like the old flash on plate camera's.

When I was a munchkin, around the fourth of July, they sold what were referred to as "cracker balls"; looked like paper M&M's. They stayed available for years until some toddlers were allowed to get a hold of them, and blew their teeth out by chewing on them.

[Roadrunner]

Yep!  than there were singles that you could put in the metal "Bombs".  You threw them as high as you could and when they hit they set of the cap.  We would always have one throw them up and the other person try to catch them.  Oh to be young and stupid again. 

I think I had a plastic hand grenade that acted that way too.

[GT4494]

When I was a munchkin, around the fourth of July, they sold what were referred to as "cracker balls"; looked like paper M&M's. They stayed available for years until some toddlers were allowed to get a hold of them, and blew their teeth out by chewing on them.

Those are the ones that you were supposed to throw on the ground (or against something) and they would "snap"? 

[Roadrunner]

Those are the ones that you were supposed to throw on the ground (or against something) and they would "snap"? 

Yes, and they were more or less the equivalent of a a small firecracker. I loved 'em.

[SfanGoch]

When I was a munchkin, around the fourth of July, they sold what were referred to as "cracker balls"; looked like paper M&M's. They stayed available for years until some toddlers were allowed to get a hold of them, and blew their teeth out by chewing on them.

The only place where they are illegal is New Jersey. So are sparklers. Go figure.

Snappers are still available. you can find them in any junk toy store in Chinatown or bodega around here. I have about a dozen boxes in the drawer. Scares the hell out of the rats running around on the subway tracks.  

[sjordan2]

It might have been stupid; but, it sure was a lot of fun!   Using a magnifying glass as a death ray and incinerating ants was educational, too.

Were you in the opening scene of "The Wild Bunch?"

[Roadrunner]

While the concept may be the same, those are not what I'm referring to, specifically. My buddy gets some outrageously powerful stuff here for sale (he's been in both the wholesale and retail market here very heavily for years), so I'll check with him, he may have more specifics. One of my current favorites is Thunderking (25 shot block). They are very loud, and never, ever fail. Not cheap, but very impressive. I usually shoot off one or two blocks on new years eve.

[unclescott58]

Yep!  than there were singles that you could put in the metal "Bombs".  You threw them as high as you could and when they hit they set of the cap.  We would always have one throw them up and the other person try to catch them.  Oh to be young and stupid again. 

Hub Hobby in the Twin Cities still offers those metal bombs your talking about. And the caps. They appear to be newly made. Not NOS. Bought one a year or two ago. And plenty of caps. They're still fun.

[SfanGoch]

Were you in the opening scene of "The Wild Bunch?"

Hah! I watched it earlier this week.  

[GLMFAA1]

These are the ones. Sometimes, if one of us had one of those big softball bats (the big, slow pitch softball that was pretty much a "Chicago thing"), we would put all five rolls on the sidewalk and try to blow them off all at once.

I don't remember what a box of them cost, but they were pretty cheap.

I set my Fanner  50 on fire using those caps!