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11/13/2007: Waxing About Christmas Wish Books: 1985 Editon.

Wow, this one took forever to put together. I know the topic of Sears Wish Books came up a few threads ago, and I had to bite my virtual tongue to avoid mentioning that they were going to be the topic of the next full-length article. So, here we are: The newest article covers six things I had and six things I always wanted from the 1985 Sears Wish Book, only that’s a lie, since the photos are actually from the ‘85 JCPenney catalog. Same difference, really.

I’m pretty certain that this will be a recurring feature, and I’m already chomping at the bit to dive into one of my catalogs from the early ’90s. Will probably do at least one more of these before the season goes kaput.

One of the featured items in the ‘85 catalog review is the “Million Color Drawing Set” from Clowny, the second most awesome crayon company in history. I didn’t get one back in 1985, but the set is important proof that no amount of time can end our chances of finally snatching the toys that “got away.” Thanks to good timing at a church fair sometime back, I now stand before you as the proud owner of what simply must be the last remaining Clowny “Million Color Drawing Set” in existence.


For those who don’t recall (or who weren’t alive), the basic gimmick with Clowny crayons was that most of them weren’t a single color, but rather a messy soup of dozens of colors. When you used the crayons, your line might’ve started off red before changing into yellow and finishing green. This didn’t make them practical for use with coloring books, but with crayons this wild, who wanted to paint within the lines?

The “Million Color Drawing Set” included three different types of Clowny crayons and a gigantic drawing pad. Now that I’ve seen the set, I can confirm that the drawing pad was only gigantic so they’d be able to justifiably use a box that made the set appear to be much larger than it actually was. Take away the pad, and they could’ve fit the remaining contents into even the smallest Ziploc.


The main stars of the show were the Million Color Stick and the Million Color Block. The former works like lipstick tube, while the latter is kind of neanderthalic and simple, but in a good way. I haven’t held a Clowny crayon in my hand for over twenty years, and what’s really hitting me most is the smell. Oh, that wonderful smell! Like stale clay mixed with construction paper, it’s just behind gasoline and coconuts as my favorite smell ever.

Also included with the set were ten Color Finger Tips, which let you doodle in crayon much in the same way that you would fingerpaint. I prefer the other versions, since Clowny crayons don’t feel like rightful Clowny crayons if they don’t look like the remnants of a Crayola 64-count box set ablaze.

My personal triumph in finally finding Clowny again notwithstanding, the years I spent praying for that triumph seems like a good segue into a survey. I’m sure we’ve done this survey before, but there must be some kind of reasonable statute of limitations when it comes to online surveys. In the comments, talk about some of the toys and other childhood items you always wanted, but never got.


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

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Discussion Thread: 269 comments

Oh the GI Joe F14 was the greatest! I was always a little bit pissed that when the wings extended the landing gear had to come down.

I was at a bar (surprise) and I spied an original Kenner AT AT. I was trying to figure out a way to steal it but that’s not how I want to go to jail. If you squint hard enough you can see it.

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t201/veggiemacabre/Image110.jpg

Ghosted by Bill @ 11/14/2007 3:31 PM EST

I have all of these! Even the finger tip things. I had no idea what they were called though, as I probably got them when I was 3. I still have them though, sitting in a box somewhere.

Ghosted by david @ 11/14/2007 4:34 PM EST

Simply put….Awesome!

I had a friend that got the G.I.JOE Carrier back in the day…That thing was huge. More recently another friend found one in great condition and got it.

Ghosted by Drexl @ 11/14/2007 5:03 PM EST

I never realized the fright zone set was from he-man, my brother was the fan of it. I think I used it with my crash dummies before I got the crash test center.

We used to pick up the toys r us book and our mom would have us circle things we wanted in it. The only xmas item I wanted but knew I’d never get was one of those 5 or so in 1 tables (ping-pong, pool, air hockey, basketball hoop, and umm drink table?).

Ghosted by wolfeditor @ 11/14/2007 5:38 PM EST

I remember wanting this weird Real Ghostbusters toy called Brain Blaster just because it was one of the last figures I didn’t have and wanted. I remember a lot of stuff like that where I wanted something but never really asked for it. I know there must be some big thing I wanted that I couldn’t get. ..But I never had these wishbooks either, which is probably for the best. It makes for nice reference now though..

Ghosted by Zharicant @ 11/14/2007 5:49 PM EST

Magic Toy I just had to say that I completely share your thoughts in regards to the family members really making the toys special. Looking back on it now, it amazes me how much time my parents spent playing/entertaining my brother and I. My dad spent countless hours playing restaurant with us in our little kitchen set. And Halloweens, OMG, my dad actually would have us out the door at 5pm, and not back until 10 pm from trick-or-treating. My mom would pretend to be mad every year that he kept us out so late, but she knew how much fun we had. OH! And Legos! My brother and I loved our Legos! Our parents spent hours with us on the living room floor helping us put together those big, complicated sets. My childhood wasnt perfect by any means, but there were a lot of good parts. Thanks MagicToy for stirring up all those good memories for me!

Ghosted by crazy_mainer @ 11/14/2007 6:04 PM EST

Wow, the McDonalds version of Easy Bake Ovens, I had those. One was the apple pie maker where you put some applesauce on a slice of bread, then used a mold to fold and cut it like an apple pie. I remember the burger maker made candy burgers of some kind. I don’t know why I loved them so. Also, Dr. Dreadful’s were the coolest thing in history. I loved making gummy’s and bubbling drinks. It was all basically citric acid with coloring, but I had like, four different sets. Tried to buy one a few years ago, but the “make your own food” craze seems over.

Ghosted by Ben @ 11/14/2007 7:59 PM EST

Rub a Dub Doggy I think is most likely the toy I ALWAYS wanted and NEVER got. Oh to have that little doggy with his little bone sponge and ears that you can wash…*laments Rub a dub doggy*

Ghosted by rimmie @ 11/14/2007 10:40 PM EST

My friend John had the USS Flagg, and if I recall correctly, he actually did use it as a table.

Ghosted by hamburger man @ 11/14/2007 11:02 PM EST

This is way random, but back during the Roger Rabbit craze of ,oh lets say 87, LJM had a Roger Rabbit line. Benny the cab was in the line and he looked awesome.I wanted him so bad but I couldnt have known he was in production for a mere day due to choking hazards.Never got him…until recently, thanks Ebay!!!
Oh and its nice to hear that The Blank was real I guess, thanks Madonna!!! , you ruined my childhood.

Ghosted by T.J. @ 11/14/2007 11:10 PM EST

One more,(I was a needy child). Now I know the love of The Real Ghost Busters around here, and I share that love, but I cheated on TRGB with that other Ghostbusters that had the gorrila and talking car.(ghost buggy rules by the way)anyway, never got the ghostbusters HQ. I had TRGB fire house, no HQ.That was one underrated toy line and cartoon in my opinion. True they had no marshmellow man but they had Ghost Buggy.

Ghosted by T.J. @ 11/14/2007 11:25 PM EST

Thinking back, I was a terribly spoiled child. Not only did I have the USS Flagg, but I had the G.I. Joe Space shuttle, too. Damn, that was a big thing, but I like it better than the carrier. The problem with the USS Flagg is that it was so damn big, you couldn’t move it around anywhere…

Ghosted by Cameron T. @ 11/15/2007 12:12 AM EST

I don’t think I remember looking through the wishbooks as a kid, but I do remember all the various other sales catalogs that would come out, like Toys R Us and whatnot. I think all the stuff I wanted came from commercials and my older cousin, who was practically my big brother growing up. He was one of these spoiled bastards though that had EVERYTHING. I don’t think he had the USS Flagg, but he had just about every other G.I Joe toy in existance, in addition to some kickass Star Wars and Transformers collections. He still has all of it, including a complete Predaking that I drool over every time I go to his house. I had him slightly beat in the He-Man department though, but the only thing I can really hold over his head is my near mint Omega Supreme, that he always wanted but never got. Otherwise, everything I wanted, he had more of and got it like 2 years earlier.

I remember getting a chemistry set and promised myself I would follow the instructions and do exactly what it told me, but instead just started mixing shit together to see what would happen. After I accidently broke all the beakers it came with I kind of lost interest in it, and it ended up back in the box and under my bed.

I remember being pretty sneaky and as much as I hate surprises being spoiled, the temptation would be too great, and every year I would go on a hunt looking for presents stashed around the house. I became an expert at also breaking into the ones that were already wrapped by being able to peel back the tape and re-tape if necessary to get a peek. It was such a terrible thing to do. However, the first present I ever stumbled upon was entirely by accident, swear to god. I was just looking for a pencil or something and was digging around in a nightstand in my mom’s room and found Super Mario Brothers 3 for the NES. I had wanted it SO bad that I just lost my shit and ran downstairs to thank my mom. She just got mad and thought I found it on purpose, but I swear it was totally an accident. This year I vow I’ll be a good boy and not spoil things for myself. We’ll see how that pans out.

I totally know what you mean by “The Spread!” I do that every year, even now.

Ghosted by DJ D @ 11/15/2007 12:35 AM EST

DJ D, I would have loved one of those chemistry sets when I was a kid… though it probably would have met a similar end with me!!

I remember the wonderful year when I got the Hotwheels set I had been begging for…. although the cars always fell off the tracks on the loop-the-loop. Then in my 1st-year physics lab I got to play with high quality silver cars on fancy LOW-FRICTION tracks but it was no longer fun because we had to take about fifty million measurements.

There’s probably a life lesson in there somewhere.

Ghosted by Jinsky @ 11/15/2007 2:36 AM EST

The funny thing is I now hate cars and travel exclusively by bicycle or public transit. MAYBE the toy cars had something to do with it.

Ghosted by Jinsky @ 11/15/2007 2:42 AM EST

These are great posts to read. I remember really wanting a Rainbow Brite doll, which I got and still have. The other thing I recall really wanting was a little rubber Smurf figurine, of a Smurf with a scarf, laying on his backside because he’d fallen on the ice. I was so into Smurfs, and that was my first one.

I think one of my favourite presents was a set of C-3PO and an R2-D2 figures when I was four. I took them everywhere with me. And sucked on Artopo’s head once in awhile to the point where his label sogged off a bit. And it was the same Christmas I got a dark yellow t-shirt with an iron-on of the droids on it. Those 1978 era shirts where you’d go to a store and ask which image you want ironed on, and it was sort of rubbery feeling after. It eventually flaked off after repeated washings, but I loved that shirt.

Oh, how about Speak & Spell. I don’t think it was anytihng we asked for, or even knew about beforehand, but I remember my brother and I getting that, and then later getting Speak & Math. I still have them. I used to hope to get a new language pack for Speak & Spell, because I’d kind of memorized everything on the pack it came with. Some guy where my dad worked tried to tell me that a tiny man lived inside Speak & Spell, but I wasn’t that dumb! I liked how Speak & Spell asked you to spell yolk and had to add “As in, egg” so you wouldn’t get screwed spelling yoke.

One other thing I have to add, remember Furskins? They were made by the Cabbage Patch people. I always thought Cabbage Patch dolls were kind of homely, like someone had sadly kicked them in the teeth, but the Furskins were neat hillbilly bear cousins. Speaking of Cabbage Patch dolls, my sister in law says when she was little and travelling in the States, she was taken to the “birthing” place of Cabbage Patch dolls. You see the garden where they grow, and once in awhile an birth is announced.

I think every Christmas, I have a holiday assocaition of playing video games, because of the year we received a SNES. Total surprise, because we never asked for one. We got Zelda, Bart’s Nightmare, and Mario Paint. I loved Mario Paint, and spent awhile making a cartoon about a dancing cactus. Even that fly swatter game that was part of it was good.

Enough rambling from me or I’ll just keep on going!

Ghosted by CMJ @ 11/15/2007 3:30 AM EST

My mom worked at a Sears distribution center when I was born in 1985 so I totally have the ‘85 Wish Book in my baby box! I love looking at it. I usually can’t get past the toy section, but sometimes I like looking at the crazy expensive stereos and awesome fashion. = )

Ghosted by Leslie @ 11/15/2007 10:22 AM EST

Ive been reading this site for years, and i love it. I saw the SS Flag for 1 day when I was 6, and I remember it in detail. It had this tailhook you could wind up. This article takes me back. Thanks Matt.

Ghosted by Clayton @ 11/15/2007 10:54 AM EST

The toys that I’m still hoping to get 20 years later…
lite brite
mousetrap
easy bake over

My mom’s reason for never getting me these toys? Too many pieces.
I don’t know if she meant that she thought I would swallow them or lose them or what, but I never found that a particularly valid excuse…

Ghosted by Robyn @ 11/15/2007 10:56 AM EST

I too was denied the USS Flagg. Though I did get the giant space shuttle that came out the next year. The toys that are still missing from my youth.

1. Manglore Mountain (I think I spelled that right) It had a green boogery dude that you could rip apart and then put him in the slime stuff and he re-formed

2. The ThunderCat base. I had the toys, I had the thundertank but never the Cats Lair

Ghosted by Toxikfoxx @ 11/15/2007 12:08 PM EST

Oh, god, the Wishbooks! JCPenney’s sent their 2007 out recently and I was like, “What, is this it? This is full of shit!” Man, children of the ’80s had it made.

My Little Ponies: I was desperate to have Paradise Estate. (Actually, though, i think what I wanted was a home for my ponies.) So much so that when I didn’t get it for my birthday or Christmas I cobbled together, as only an artistic seven year old girl can, a make-shift Dream Castle out of an old diaper box. Which got thrown away the following month. :( Continuing with MLP, I really wanted a jewel-eyed pony because I thought it was the prettiest thing ever. My mom thought they were the ugliest thing ever. Guess who won. :(

A few years later I was really into the American Girls. But despite the hours I spent drooling over the dolls and their accessories I never asked for anything because even then I knew how damn expensive they were. Joke’s on me because now that I’ve started collecting, some of the stuff on Ebay is easily 5x what they originally went for. Grrrr.

I did want a Teddy Ruxpin until my friend got one and i realized how creepy they were. And I DID get a small gray Pound Puppy so that was cool. My brother got that TalkBoy recorder (as seen in “Home Alone II”) but I had chances to borrow it.

Not a toy but I always wanted jelly shoes. Again, my mom thought they were ugly. Then last year I saw jelly shoes in adult sizes at Claire’s and I was “thisclose” to buying them when I remembered 1) feet sweat 2) plastic discolors and smells funky 3) no support means bad news for plantar fascilitiis. *sigh* being an adult sucks sometimes.

Ghosted by Poseid @ 11/15/2007 12:15 PM EST

Poseid, I’m 28 and I adore my jelly shoes. I don’t wear them everywhere. Heck, I don’t even where them most places. They’re great for a summer afternoon outside where you really should wear shoes but you really don’t want to. They’re also great to slip on for quick trips to the mailbox or to get the paper. Personally, I like to wear them in any situation where my shoes might get really wet because I don’t have to worry about ruining them. Even though I know better than to wear them for extended periods, I feel I get enough use out of them to warrant the few bucks I spent on them.

Ghosted by Lori @ 11/15/2007 12:48 PM EST

When I was a small child, my Grandfather worked for Sears, and for the longest time I thought that the only reason I got the wonder that was the Sears Wishbook, was because he worked there. It was crushing day, when I discovered the truth.

Ghosted by nikki @ 11/15/2007 2:22 PM EST

Always wanted a Fortress Maximus, but it was priced at that mythical $100 mark that used to seem so untouchable to me as a kid. I never even asked for it. I just figured it was a dealbreaker. God, I spent years drooling at the thought of that toy.

I have one now though. Two, actually. But I bought them both for myself as an adult, so I’m going to assume for the purposes of this article my story of silent pain and broken hearted suffering is still valid.

I’ve got the very cool recolored Korean version that was released during the TransFormers: Armada run, and an el-cheapo eBay find of the original American version that is missing virtually every accessory the toy came with. But that doesn’t matter. I display him in the most stretched out, real estate gobbling configuration I can make out of his city mode, then cover him up with MicroMasters and MiniCons to make him look even more enormous by contrast than he already is. Even without a head or guns, ole Fort Max still looks mighty pretty.

Ghosted by Chris @ 11/15/2007 2:38 PM EST

Matt,

Thank you so very much for allowing me to reminise and walk down memory lane- This Wishbook article nearly brought a tear to my eye and the wonderment that, “Fucking A! I actually used to have that Fright Zone playset” Wow… Real Swell bro! Thanks Sincerely,

Karl

Ghosted by Unodir @ 11/15/2007 7:30 PM EST

Well, I recall that a long time ago, I wanted a Tuneyville Choo-Choo after seeing my cousin playing with one, but I never got one.

A few months ago, memories of the toy suddenly resurfaced in my mind. So I went crazy and binged on eBay instead.

Ghosted by RAMChYLD @ 11/15/2007 8:55 PM EST

Ah, Sears Wishbooks. Their arrival used to be the official start of the Christmas season, before they started shipping in August.

My toy-that-never-was was actually not a toy. I hardly ever asked for specific toy, content with whatever pink and Barbiefied objects my parents decided to foist on me. Except Lion King merchandise. I was a frickin’ fiend for Lion King merchandise.

But the thing I wanted the most, the thing I asked for year upon year, was a loft bed – basically, a bed on stilts. I was completely obsessed with the idea making a fort beneath the bed, and being able to sleep on TOP of the fort at night. High class stuff. Unfortunately, loft beds retail for about $500, so Mom told me Santa couldn’t such a bulky item in his sleigh. I still kind of want one – more for the space-saving opportunities it would provide, but still.

Ghosted by Stella Gold @ 11/15/2007 9:30 PM EST

Crazy_mainer, my youngest sister had the keyboard/stage set for years – it was her first tape player!

We had tons of Jem stuff. The keyboard/stage was the only set we had, but I had Pizazz and Kimber, the baby sister had Gitter n’ Gold Jem and Roxy, and my other sister (who was a huge fan) had Aja, Dance, Stormer, Synergy, and the original non-glitter Jem/Jerrica. (But we never DID get the Roadster…)

I do have an American Girl, Samantha, but her clothes are either home-made or bought from eBay because my folks would spring for her and one dress, and that was it…and that after I spent years of drooling, including desperately trying to win one in a school contest.

Poseid, we never got Paradise Estates, either, but we did have some other My Little Pony sets. A friend of my mom’s gave us the ORIGINAL pony house set, a white-and-purple stable, that was around for ages. We also had this really nifty cloud-shaped shower that, when it stopped working after a few months, made a lovely stage for our creatively-inclined ponies. And my baby sister had a few jewel-eyed ponies – she was the only one into them.

Oooh, Wuzzles! My sisters and I all had Wuzzles. Baby sister had the moose/seal; middle sis had the butterfly/bear; I had the lion/bee and, my eternal favorite, the Miss Piggy-esque hippo/bunny. The only one I wanted that no one could find was the sweet elephant/kangaroo, though I think we did have a figure of him at one time.

My “baby” sister begged and begged for a Lite Brite so much one year, my folks finally caved in and bought it for her. The capper? She was sixteen at the time. I guess these things are timeless.

Oh, and we not only had Clowny crayons for years, but when our crayons would be colored into unusable stubs, craft-inclined Mom would take the stubs and melt them into Clowny-like crayons in different shapes, like hearts and trees.

Ghosted by starwenn @ 11/16/2007 1:03 AM EST

Another AWESOME post, Matt! I love the SEARS Christmas catalog and I used ot circle each thing that I wanted for Christmas. Yes, I also wanted the Omnibot 2000 and begged my parents for it only to receive the same resounding “NO!” form them. While I never had the GI JOe Aircraft Carrier, a friend of mine DID! He got it for Christmas one year and claimed that it was one of only 3 presents that he had received that particular year because it was so expensive and massive. It truly was an awesome sight! I don’t even know where I’d be able to put it in my house if I had one. My brothers and I would have destroyed it within weeks, I’m sure.

Ghosted by Mike D. @ 11/16/2007 4:17 AM EST

GREAT ARTICLE!!! I just realized how spoiled I was as a child. I had the Pound Puppy, Transformers, Star Wars, Voltron and most importantly the FLAGG and if you click on the full page scan, all of the other GI Joes toys on the page. My “toy room” in the basement center piece was the Flagg. I used to sleep on it. Man I freaking loved that thing. I still have all of my Star Wars and Transformers (BOXES of them!) but sold most of my GI Joes when in a garage sale when I got a bit older…sorry my parents made me do it.

A quick side note, I go to a black tie Christmas charity ball every year. It is an invite only free event but you have to bring a toy, over $20. The ball is on a Saturday night and Sunday morning the Directors of the ball give away all of the toys to less fortunate children. And let me say going shopping for that toy every year is one of my favorite things to do. It’s like I’m a kid all over again. This year it will be Transformers! Here are a couple picture from last year…

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g163/rlwasson/IMG_3091.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g163/rlwasson/IMG_3129.jpg

Ghosted by ryan @ 11/16/2007 11:34 AM EST

ryan, Holy crap, that’s a spread!

Ghosted by DJ D @ 11/16/2007 2:20 PM EST

So its nice to know that I’m not the only child of the 80’s who had a cruel, cruel mother who bought a Pound Puppy for a cousin that I only saw maybe once a year, and hid it, but not so well that I couldn’t find it and cry over it and the fact that the cute polyester toy with droopy plastic eyes would be going to a cousin who, somehow, never managed to bring over a gift for me!!! I’m not kidding! I remember it to this day.

Ghosted by Jessica @ 11/16/2007 6:54 PM EST

The front of your Sears catalog said something about “The Great American…”. I remember at that time that their radio advertisements used to refer to themselves as , “The Great American More Store”. Apparantly that referred to Sears when it had something to sell that was manufactured in the U.S.

Ghosted by Jimmyjet @ 11/16/2007 11:36 PM EST

I never got to play with the USS FLAGG until two years ago. I was drinking at a friend’s house and mentioned that I needed some industrial-looking terrain for the 54mm wargame I was running in two weeks. My friend suggested I use the conning tower of the FLAGG which he still had-in pieces-in a storage closet.

I looked at him with widening eyes and roughly 11 seconds later we were out in his backyard trying to fit together a 15 year-old toy with half the pieces missing. It was stripped to its superstructure, with all the decals gone and reminded me strongly of war wrecks I’d dove on in Saipan.

And no one has mentioned the best part… THE BASTARD FLOATS.

Or more properly said: the bastard floats for awhile.

Place a 7 foot floating aircraft carrier in a pool with two 20 somethings who have just watched “Midway” and I guarantee that sucker’s going down.

My old GI-Joe Hovercraft floated a hell of a lot better.

Ghosted by Robert @ 11/17/2007 8:07 PM EST

So many great memories involving the sears wishbook! the 83 and 84 wishbook got me all my Return of the jedi stuff! I had the curtains with all the aliens on it my crush on Si snoodles! My r2d2 rolling toybox and the hours my mom spent putting it together and myself learning the many swear words she used putting it together!
As far as the “toy” i never got was an atari! i got the INTELIVISION befor Atari really hit
my cousins had atari and i was always green with envy when nintendo became popular i still wanted an atari…I STILL WANT AN ATARI! “whaaaaaaaa”
i think i may go to ebay and finally get my atari!
they had an awsome array of the chrsitmas blowmolds! i begged my mom for the 45 inch “frosty” the snowman blowmold that was in 87s wishbook getting that giant box with that snowman in it was one of my fondest memories!thinking about that its almost time to get him down from my moms attic for his 20th christmas season! to respond to Crazy_miner from last saterdays blog about my working at swiss colony
“cool insider knowledge”
it really is a nice place to work weve gotten some really awsome gifts and some really crappy junk….this year for “founders day” we got a plastic cheese with removable clock……mine already broke! we get comission for selling you the comsumer our sale items!! makes for nice checks!we get to try many things in the catalog to eat the truffles are orgasmic the peti fours suck!oh and we get awsome discounts except its all stuff that have been returned! some times angry customers feel it nessasary to take a poop in things they didnt like and package it up! and i am not kidding!
Goob! thanks for the reply as well from last saterday!i really do think our prices are reasonable for what you get in the gift boxes!
Matt you have the taste buds intriqued over the Sierra mist cranberry splash but ive got to get it in the diet form due to the fact im big boned

Ghosted by Jay B @ 11/18/2007 2:40 AM EST

The robots, those damn robots. Every year i wished for a robot to be my best friend. Bring me food, do my bidding…. The worst was knowing that there wasn’t even a chance of ever getting it. On the bright side however, I got the Cobra Moray hydrofoil on the page with USS FLAGG. Thinking back I’m pretty sure I got it that year, perhaps out of this same catalog. This made me sit there entranced for a moment as if I was touching my own past. I was Dennis Quad talking to Johnny in the future.

Ghosted by thejyav @ 11/18/2007 12:31 PM EST

Love your site, long time reader. I know exactly what you mean about the Flagg. Long about 1987, my neighbors got a divorce and as the local G.I. Joe Junkie, I was offered their kids’ Flagg as they were moving and would not have any more room for it. My mom refused to take it and it remains a sore spot between us to this day. I mean the cost is one thing, but a free one? I don’t care how many pieces might be missing, not taking it was unthinkable to my young mind.

Ghosted by Andy J @ 11/18/2007 3:36 PM EST

Been meaning to post this sooner, but…

Anyway, the toy I always wanted was one of those Power Wheels jeeps. I dunno if I asked or not, but I never got it… I also wanted an NES, but the year I finally played it was the year the SNES came out. I got one of them instead :)

Ghosted by DocDragon @ 11/18/2007 9:25 PM EST

Wow, I’m sort of in shock after reading this article. I’ve been reading it for hours because every post I read, I sit and daydream about that time and place.

To the people who mentioned socrates… lol. That system was fun, and yeah I was a nerd but you have to admit that robot was scary. Or maybe it was just me but younger I was creeped out by

1) The socrates robot (even though I’d play the games)
2) E.T. (eeeuughhh)
3) The scene from superman III where the chick turns into a robot, I just watched that scene yesterday as a matter of fact on youtube and laughed my ass off on how corny it was.

I guess I was spoiled, cause I don’t remember not getting something that I wanted, oh, except the lego castle.. I got the lego fort instead, what was it… fort legoredo, it was pretty flippin sweet though. You had the guy’s playing cards.. and when you’d turn the table, the floor where the chair is on will drop down and one of your lego dudes will fall into the jail. That was so awesome….

damn.

I’m only 22 but reading this makes me feel like I’m way older.

O.K, I’m done posting but I have one question for you guys:
1) Does anyone remember the teenage ninja turtle pie from hostess?

Ghosted by MrPeanut @ 11/19/2007 10:01 AM EST

Ok there is just one more thing I have to add:
The two people who mentioned Socrates (the only people who mentioned socrates on this whole board) mentioned the 3 in one table tennis hockey pool set.

I had that too, and it was sweet. DAMN! the goals lit up and everything. O.K, I’m done

Ghosted by MrPEanut @ 11/19/2007 10:05 AM EST

Awesome, I had that He-Man creep #3 (with the googly eyes) in my toy collection for some reason. In my poor-but-warm-hearted youth, we mostly ended up with assorted toys from anywhere. :o

Ghosted by z-reserve @ 11/19/2007 12:45 PM EST

Mr. Peanut, Matt wrote a whole article about those pies. Check it out here:

http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0898/

Ghosted by Chris @ 11/19/2007 12:46 PM EST

After I read this post, I added a rock tumbler to my Amazon wish list. I’m 31, but I like to think of it as a science experiment, not a toy.

Ghosted by AJ @ 11/19/2007 5:48 PM EST

“As a child, it seemed almost instinctual to grab the nearest couch pillows and bedsheets to create a fort.”

Funny, I was just talking to my brother about that last night. We were reminiscing about riding the laundry basket down the stairs long before Kevin took a toboggan into the house and then we talked about the forts we used to construct using blankets, bedsheets, pillows and dinning room chairs. Great article Matt, really takes me back.

Ghosted by Double G @ 11/19/2007 7:05 PM EST

Hmmm, maybe I will cave and get jelly shoes . . .

Mr.Peanut — heck yeah I remember TMNT hostess pies. Actually I remember the commercial because I never got to eat the pies. (But I remember thinking that per box there should’ve been a chocolate one for Splinter. Why should the turtles get all the glory?) Splinter says: “Turtles cannot live on pizza alone.” “*something something* center is filled with mutagen ooze!” then Mikey reassures us “That’s vanilla pudding, dudes!” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pies — fresh from the sewers to you!”

Double G: A year or two before “Home Alone” came out my friends and I discovered the joys of slippery nylon sleeping bags combined with traction-free carpeted stairs. Fortunately my front door was directly in front of the foot of the stairs. My brother and I used to make the blanket forts but we used tilted-over chairs more than sofa cushions. Cushions fell over too easily.

Oooh, that reminds me of another something I wanted as a kid that I never got: one of those bed canopies things. A friend had one and i was so jealous of her — her bed looked like it came out of some medeival castle.

Ghosted by Poseid @ 11/20/2007 12:36 PM EST

I don’t know what I ever did to convince my parents (and maybe it was the fact I didn’t try to convince them — unintentional reverse psychology?), but they did get me the Flagg one year. Thing didn’t even fit under the tree, the BOX was as tall as I was. And yes, as everyone else has said, it was EVERYTHING you could hope it would be. I could _stand_ on it, and it wouldn’t even blink. The deck was larger than my desk. That thing brought me years of enjoyment. Awesome, awesome, awesome toy.

Ghosted by Kannik @ 11/20/2007 3:16 PM EST

A friend of mine had the Flagg, and everytime I went over to his house I used to pester him to put it in the swimming pool to see if it floated. He never did. Wuss.

Ghosted by Hellpop! @ 11/20/2007 8:16 PM EST

I wanted and still want to this day the G.I.Joe USS Flagg. I live in Australia and the Flagg was never sold in Australia but I saw it in a Toys R Us in Hawaii on holiday when I was about 9. My folks did not want to lug it home so they purchased me the Space Shuttle when we got home. I must of spent over $100 worth of change being wasted in wishing wells (I thought this was a sure fire way of getting it) and every Birthday wish for about 5 years on the hope of getting the Flagg.

A few years ago when I had more money backing me than I do now I decieded to buy a Flagg off Ebay but could not find someone willing to post it to Australia. If I ever get to the States again you know this will be my hand lugage. It will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine.

I also got a Tandy Robby the Robot 2000 that same year for christmas and it was the best toy I ever got, very very similar to the robot in that sears wish book.

Ghosted by Greg. @ 11/21/2007 1:19 PM EST

Hey matt,

i too have checked your site out for year because it brings me back to a time i remeber as magical and fun. i just finished the 85 wish book story and it remeinded me of my youth. one christmas (85-86) i asked for and received the USS Flagg, my parents told me that if i wanted it i could only have it from santa, a hard decision, only one present for a whole christmas. but i agreed and sure enough it was there on christmas morn. i have to tell you it was indeed unbeleavable, the aircraft carrier was increadable and i have tons of memories of playing with it i think it was set up in our basement till i was about 16, i sold it to some kids on my street years ago but i will never forget the awesomeness of that christmas morning. one memory i have to this day is when my dad was puttting it together for what seemed like hours, i played in the box that it came in, basically like a fort, even the box was awesome.
thank you so much for reminding me of a great childhood memory, what a spoiled brat i was as a kid. hahaha

Ghosted by aaron @ 11/23/2007 6:12 PM EST

After months of daily begging i finally Got the GI Joe The U.S.S. Flag that Christmas. It was the only gift my mother and father gave me that Christmas because of the price.
What can I say, it was very big ( 7 feet long and took up our whole dinning room table) and looked really cool. after Christmas it was moved to the basement where it really never got played with much. But for a short while I was the Envy of all the kids I knew.

Ghosted by Jamaroo @ 11/25/2007 9:13 AM EST

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