80s kids here, what was your toys of choice?

[HAFROD]

I was born in the early 70s but the 80s was my memorable child hood. I remember the 3.5" tall GI Joes when they hit the shelves at Walmart. I had tons of GI Joe stuff but cannot remember what the heck I did with most of the stuff. I cannot believe they stopped selling them at retail stores. From what I understand, they are a private collector thing now with only limited edition stuff for crazy money. I also collected SGT Rock action figures. They were the same size as Joes. I only got them when we went to TG&Y. I cruised ebay looking at GI Joe stuff and the prices are silly. It was a cool flash back though. I had a friend up the street that was Star Wars all the way. We had many battles GI Joe vs Star Wars. Ahhh, the old days. I of coarse grew up and graduated into the Freestyle BMX scene. At this time I was washing dishes at my parents steak house and had payment plans with my dad on the bike stuff. I had a GT Pro Performer that was turquoise with white Peregrine rims. I ended up trading it for a 1977 Yamaha DT 100. I probably had 10 dirt bikes by age 15 before finally ending up with an 83 GPz 305 which I rode to Junior High. All my friends had 125 endures. I have three 83 GPz 305s in my shed with hopes to restore one in the future.

 

[fleming442]

Who didn't love winding up the inertia wheel on their Evil Kneivel toy wheelie bike?

I have a Mongoose Californian Pro f&f with Skyway mags hanging in the garage; you know, for posterity's sake... Actually, I wanted to fix it up for my daughter, but she's almost outgrown her 24" mountain already at 9.

 

[HAFROD]

I've been looking for an 86 GT Pro Performer to hang in my garage for a few years but the last one I found was priced at $1200. Wheeeew. Too rich for my blood

 

[HAFROD]

I remember this commercial

 

[ssn696]

This Lego car kit was a defining event in my pre-teen life:

I had all of these:
https://brickset.com/article/11819/classic-lego-sets-expert-builder-technical-sets-part-1

For my parents, it was like polystyrene Ritalin that kept me out of trouble for days on end.

 

[DRIVEN]

Legos and Hot Wheels in younger years. Never got in to GI Joe or Star Wars. We lived next to acres and acres of woods so my brother and I had a couple walkie talkie sets that we used with our friends.

GT Performer story for Hafrod; When I was in 7th or 8th grade my best friend and his brother got brand new GTs for Christmas. I had a pretty nice Schwinn Predator with 1.5" Arayas that I'd acquired through a series of trade-ups that began with my grandma's inherited 3spd cruiser. I was pretty proud of it. Anyway, my buddy and I had ridden into town and stopped at McDonald's for just long enough to take a leak. When we came back outside we found that someone had moved his new Performer out of the way to steal my Predator. I can't accurately describe the emotion I felt. Now, almost 30 years later, I just give him sh*t that my bike was so much better than his nobody even wanted to steal it.

 

[Qdub24]

Transformers, Hot Wheels, and Voltron

 

[ssn696]

I badly wanted the chopper Schwinn 5-speed with the high-back seat and the stick shift right in front of your nuts.

My parents budget, of course decided that my brother and I got the Stingray with coaster brake.

I skidded the back tire until I popped the innertube and 'had' to go get dirtbike knobby tires (plus a normal seat and handlebars).

Later I graduated to remaking a Malibu, my way...

 

[HAFROD]

GT Performer story for Hafrod; When I was in 7th or 8th grade my best friend and his brother got brand new GTs for Christmas. I had a pretty nice Schwinn Predator with 1.5" Arayas that I'd acquired through a series of trade-ups that began with my grandma's inherited 3spd cruiser. I was pretty proud of it. Anyway, my buddy and I had ridden into town and stopped at McDonald's for just long enough to take a leak. When we came back outside we found that someone had moved his new Performer out of the way to steal my Predator. I can't accurately describe the emotion I felt. Now, almost 30 years later, I just give him sh*t that my bike was so much better than his nobody even wanted to steal it.

My first freestyle bike was a white Schwinn Predator, then traded back to the bike shop for a white Redline RL-20, then I got the Pro Performer. My bike shop was Venables in Tulsa. They had new and used bikes. They gave pretty decent trade in offers but my dad is a pro at wheeling and dealing. Lol

 

[Injectedcutty]

Well, being the 1st boy after my parents had 3 girls my dad made sure my younger and brother and I had all the coolest toys in the late 80's and early 90's. We had GI Joe's, Lego's, steel erector sets, hot wheels, transformers, etc. I believe the GI Joe Rolling Thunder is still stored away at their house!
We also had an awesome slotcar track that my dad built a 4'x8' platform for, then a pulley system to raise and lower it from the basement ceiling to keep it out of the way while not in use!
I also had my fair share of skateboards and bikes, my favorite being my Mongoose BMX that still hangs in his shed.
Oh, those were the days, but my body feels the pain from all the wrecks lol!
Thanks for allowing me to take a trip down memory lane!