The Childhood Toys We'd Love to Have Back

Puppeteer Gerry Anderson’s various ‘60s action shows went through a bit of a revival in the early ‘90s in the UK, with Thunderbirds leading the charge accompanied by a bunch of new toys. The crowning jewel was the team’s lavish island base, which could house all the various Thunderbird vehicles in secret hideaways ready to launch on missions, and had sounds and clips from the show. The Tracy Island toy was so famously hard to come by, kids show Blue Peter offered an almost similarly iconic how-to-guide to make your own out of household junk. As a supermarionation kid who grew up watching the re-syndication of shows like Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, and Stingray, it was the ultimate playset. - James Whitbrook

“Pose her! Comb her! Love her!” If Barbie’s own flowing locks weren’t enough to occupy you, her pet Afghan hound—no doubt chosen as Barbie’s breed of choice because of that fabulous fur—was ready to step up. I don’t remember all these accessories coming with Beauty, but what a fantastic mix of practical (collar, leash, dog bed, dog dish, and one of those classic Barbie comb-brush combo things) and utterly frivolous (crown, cape, medal, straw hat). It’s no wonder that now, as an adult, I have a dog that has a bigger wardrobe than I do. - Cheryl Eddy

When I was very young my parents tape-recorded a TV special that was promoting the Captain EO film that started playing in Disney Parks in 1986. I loved the special, as it aligned perfectly with my existing Michael Jackson obsession, but for some reason I thought that putting the VHS tape into the player prompted actors to assemble halfway across the country to perform just for me. I understood the concept of how live TV worked, but learning that little bit of basic knowledge somehow made me think everything I saw appear on TV worked that way. All of this is a long way of explaining that I loved a Captain EO plush of the character Fuzzball, acquired years later when we eventually visited Disney World. There’s something special that happens when a character that’s lived inside your TV for so long becomes a tangible reality. - Matt Novak

She had a LOT of needs. You had to manually put her to sleep, regularly feed her from this magic milk bottle that came with her, and make sure you were keeping her very still when she was sleeping or she’d wake up and start crying and then you’d have to pat her back long enough to make her stop crying. These are just the basic, everyday ones. There were more needs I can’t recall.

Playing with her was a full-time job. I absolutely loved it though because I’d feel like such a mom. I would quite literally imagine myself as my mom and pretend-talk to my aunt, too. My favorite scenario would be going shopping with Chou Chou and then acting like I was super overworked because of her million needs.

I don’t know if it was because it catered to my maternal instinct or the feminine urge to be exactly like your mom, but I really loved her.

I’m weirded out by myself when I think about it now, though. - Dua Rashid

Han Solo was, and remains, my favorite character ever. So, as a kid, I used to love running around with my toy Han Solo “laser pistol” and shooting all the other kids in the neighborhood. One day though, we were playing and I dropped the blaster in a pile of leaves. I dug and dug but could never find it. A few days later, one of my neighbors got the exact same blaster. I was at first jealous, then curious if he just found and stole mine. When I confronted him, he got mad. That son of a bitch stole my blaster and I’m still mad about it today. So it’s one that I’d love to get back. Plus, for very good reasons, no one really makes toy guns that look like this anymore. - Germain Lussier

I used to get bored of all my other dolls pretty quickly, I’d give them a haircut or dye their hair a different color and then instantly regret it. But this doll was so cool, you just raised one arm and her hair grew past her knees, then you raised the other arm and the long braid would shrink back into its hole. The mechanical sound it made was also very soothing. Although it did break pretty quickly, and it was around the same time I cut my hair really short... those were dark times. - Passant Rabie

When I was about nine years old there was nothing I wanted more than the Tyco Tantrum. The Tantrum was a remote-controlled car with front wheels that would spin on command, sending the car flying for “bone-breaking back flips” and “airborne twister action.” There was a commercial that ran nonstop on TV that promised “the madder it gets, the badder it gets,” and that was all I needed to hear.

After months of begging, my parents got me a Tantrum for Christmas. It was just as awesome as I hoped, but I doubt I got more than a few hours of fun out of the thing. It came with a set of not-swappable, rechargeable batteries. That’s pretty cool in retrospect, but it also meant the car was useless if you lost the batteries, and they disappeared almost immediately. My Tantrum probably did its last bone-breaking backflip in the first few months of 1998 and lived out the rest of its life at the bottom of a toy box. - Thomas Germain

Polly Pocket is why I love miniatures and always carry little things around. My favorite was the vintage beach house from 1989—before Mattel took over the brand in 1998—though I didn’t get my little kid hands on it until about 1991. I lost Polly and her boyfriend, who came with the playset, but I kept the compact around wherever I went and stored other little toys inside it. - Florence Ion

There’s very little that compares to Beyblades in my childhood, but having a Beystadium was like a 10x fun multiplier. One of the best add-ons for any toy in my memory. It was like an arena for Roman gladiators, where you and your friends could battle your Beyblades out once and for all. Truly a magnificent toy at such a low price point. - Maxwell Zeff

Note: Was Hasbro just selling cat litter boxes to kids?

I miss the original Polly Pockets, which featured hinged plastic dolls that were barely two centimeters tall. I wonder if they got swallowed too often, because later generations of the toys featured much bigger dolls. The vibes were all wrong—the psychic energy previously densely packed into Polly became too diluted in the larger dolls, some of which were nearly four inches tall. I loved moving tiny Polly around her tiny rooms. Sometimes we would play “earthquake,” where I’d shut Polly into her playset and gently shake it. Tiny Polly would rattle around but always be OK. I know it wouldn’t be the same with four-inch Polly. - Rose Pastore

As a 10-year-old in 1980, the Big Trak programmable electric vehicle, built by Milton Bradley, introduced me to the idea of programming, as you had to issue a predetermined set of instructions for it to move around, e.g. “Forward 4,” “Pause,” “Turn right 90,” “Forward 2,” and so on. It was super sleek looking, like a tank from the future, and capable of firing its laser cannons (a blinking light with “pew pew” sounds). I loved it, even though it was a more challenging and involved toy in terms of its operation. - George Dvorsky

My favorite toy as a child, well I guess toy series, were the Lego Bioinicles. I used to love how they all came in their own plastic tube you’d pop open like some industrial soda can, and then all your little pieces are there and easy to put together. More than that, the world Lego developed for Bionicle was honestly engrossing for the young me. They had a culture inspired by Pacific Islanders and a depth of esoteric lore that was engrossing when the deepest thing going for me was Chrisopher Paolini’s Eragon series. My favorite was the Toa of Ice - Kyle Barr

I gave away all my cards to a couple of boys who I babysat for in high school, and I have (mostly) no regrets about it. But I should’ve saved that card. It’s not worth a ton, but I remember how I felt about it as a kid—it feeling like a truly rare thing, a total bragging right on the playground. Alas. Hopefully they’re keeping it safe. - Isaac Schultz