Before technology took over

Long before the wonderful world of Nintendo took over my childhood, my favorite method of wasting time was playing with my model train set. I got my first train set for my 6th birthday. It was your basic all-in-one train set but I thought it was awesome. It was called the “Fire Fox” train set, which was a firefighter themed kit. It had a basic locomotive and all the freight cars you could want all the way down to the caboose. There wasn’t much track, barely enough to go in a circle, but it did have a train car that had a spring-loaded launcher that shot an airplane, not to mention it had a bunch of little plastic firefighter figures and a few fire trucks. It was really a complete play set that happened to have an electric train. It was a pretty good deal, both for me and my parents. However, my obsession with model trains just got worse from there.

It might not look like much but it had everything I could have wanted.

The set came with a fold-out mat with roads, houses and trees printed on it, and that sufficed for a while, but before too long the entire setup got an upgrade. Once my parents saw how much fun I had with my train, they got a sheet of plywood and that became my play space. The best part was it let me design and build my own custom landscape. My mother, the consummate crafter, helped me make my own mountains, hills and tunnels with paper mache and cardboard. Then with help from some cereal boxes, I made my own buildings and very quickly my own little city started to take shape. Toss in a few Hot Wheels and Transformers for good measure and I was all set. I remember getting books from the library on how to decorate and make my own little accessories, it was so much fun. But there’s one thing you can’t do on your own when you have a train set…make your own train.

Slowly but surely I customized my train set..check out that tunnel!

Don’t forget the caboose

You’re at the mercy of the hobby stores when it comes to train engines and extra cars, and little did I realize at the time but they were expensive. Sure, the set I got had all the stuff you needed to get started, but from that point on I built my train set up piece by piece over several years, getting a few things for my birthday and Christmas. Friends and family knew I loved my train set, so that helped speed things up. Looking back at it now, I really didn’t have a lot of stuff but when you’re 7-years-old, it felt like I had everything. I had several locomotives, a lot of freight cars…I even had a trolley and a crane! Then somewhere along the way my play space grew as we added another sheet of plywood so I had a “huge” 8-foot area on which to make the perfect train layout.

Hands on fun.

I might have had a decent collection of train cars but I had even more track. I used to spend hours just drawing and planning my track layout, and of course I always needed more. I think I had more fun planning and building than I did watching the train go around the track. I guess in the end, the train just went around in a circle, but you could create a story with the environment, and that’s just what I did. Every building had a story and every train had a purpose. I even tried to combine my slot car set and my train set…but that didn’t turn out so well.

A trolley...for those simple cross-town commutes.

Video games derailed my fun

Life on the railroad was a lot of fun but it all derailed when I got my Nintendo. Instead of wanting train engines and fake trees for Christmas, I wanted NES games. My train set eventually got packed away and I haven’t really looked back until now while writing this article. To my surprise, most of my train set was still together and probably still works. I took some time to look up the state of model trains today and it doesn’t appear as though much has changed since I was playing with them 25 years ago. There are a few new pieces of technology around today, like cameras and more computerized controls, but all in all, it’s still just a model train set.

However, one thing I understand now as an adult is just how expensive keeping a train set can be. Locomotives seem to range on the low end around $50 and up and beyond $100. That’s a lot for anything, if you ask me. Even the basic train cars run at least $20 and go up from there depending on how big and real you want things to be. Then you have all the extras like cars, people, trees, signs and telephone poles. It might seem cheap at first when a pack of something like telephone poles is only $3, but when you consider how many you need to make your set look “real”, it quickly adds up. Rather than have the dozens and dozens of the accessories I wanted, my town had to survive with only a few telephone poles and a mailbox.

I'll take the B&O for $200...wait, wrong toy...

A hobby is an investment

I have yet to find any inexpensive hobby, although my Hot Wheels addiction certainly comes close, but a train set doesn’t qualify either. I can see the appeal of keeping up with a model train hobby as there’s a part of me that wishes I had. There’s a lot of challenge and fun on many levels, from constructing environments to wiring switch tracks and painting freight cars. But model trains require a lot of time, dedication and money…and at least two out of three of those dwindle more and more as you get older and older. I’d love to see what I could do with a train set today, but I don’t think I could afford it…or more so, I wouldn’t want to. I think having a model train set is a lost art, a toy that is totally under appreciated in today’s world of techno-gadgets and video games. But I challenge any video game to amaze and mesmerize a child as much as a model train set. A train set is real, physical fun. It’s hard to beat a toy that you touch, build and are then able to watch all your hard work come to life.

Check out more model train photos over in my Flickr sets

So simple yet so loved

Stuffed animals could very well be the most primal toy. Next to a good old fashioned stick, no other toy is seemingly enjoyed by so many people across so many generations. I find it somewhat amazing that in a world of technology and gizmos that a plush toy can still be the best thing ever. Much like video games, simple is often better and because of that, a stuffed animal can still be a thing of endless charm and imagination.

Even though I grew up in an age of action figures and awesome D-battery toys, I had my share of stuffed animals and plush toys. I’m sure I had dozens upon dozens of stuffed animals as I grew up, but I only remember a few of them and then mostly only because I have photos of me as a child with them. It’s amazing what a picture will do to jog your memory. However, I do remember one stuffed animal that I loved and the story that goes with it, and that animal was Huckleberry Hound.

Stuffed with memories

Not the same one I had, but close.

Yes, Huckleberry Hound, the blue, slow-talking, Clementine-singing cartoon hound dog with a long Southern drawl that was most famous between 1958 and 1961. No, I’m not that old but thanks to reruns and syndication, I was able to enjoy Huckleberry Hound along with Quick Draw McGraw, Secret Squirrel and others, so I knew who Huck was, but it’s not like he was one of my all-time favorites or anything. However, he was better than Yogi Bear, or at least he was to me.

One summer my family took a trip to King’s Island near Cincinnati, the same amusement park once visited by The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family and even Evel Knievel. At the time, King’s Island had a kiddie section of the park called Hanna-Barbera Land, which was filled with rides and mascots from all the classic cartoons. Naturally, all the merchandise and toys being sold there was from the cartoons, and like every kid there that day I wanted a toy. Usually my parents weren’t ones to give in to over-priced theme park souvenirs, but apparently they felt differently this trip as they let me pick out something from the gift shop, and that something was Huckleberry Hound.

Even though Huck didn’t talk or light up or do anything real fancy compared to my other toys, I loved him to death. He was my buddy for what felt like years, even though it was probably only a couple months following our trip. I didn’t love him just because he was a big plush with a cool bow tie and awesome hat, I loved him because he was a special present from my folks. The memories certainly outlast his stitching. I think he eventually lost his bow tie but he never lost his hat. I’m not sure what happened to my Huckleberry Hound plush. My hope is that he ended up in an attic somewhere rather than in the trash or donation bin. Maybe one day I’ll rescue him.

Cheap, stuffed love

One unique trait about stuffed animals is their association with amusement parks, fairs and carnivals. I got my Huckleberry Hound at an amusement park and who knows how many plush toys I won over the years playing cheap games of skill at locations all around the midwest. We all know stuffed animals are insanely cheap, especially if they’re not licensed, and that’s why all these carnies have them as prizes, but yet we’ll spend four, five, even ten times their worth for no other reason than to give them away as a gift.

I remember another visit to an amusement park on a elementary school trip, this time at Cedar Point, I spent who knows how much money on a game in effort to win a stuffed bear to give to a girl I had a crush on (it worked). It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to impress the pretty girl or lure in the cute guy, a plush toy will always do the trick. You can’t do that with a pop gun or baby doll. The emotion we associate with stuffed animals is fascinating and clearly timeless.

The best things aren’t always purchased

You call that an Ewok? My mom is laughing.

As I mentioned, my parents weren’t keen on buying me over-priced toys whether they be action figures, cars or stuffed animals. However, when it came to stuffed animals I had a distinct advantage over a lot of my friends – my mother could sew. Along with your typical clothes and blankets, my mother made me a couple of stuffed toys that were by far some of my most cherished plush toys ever.

If you’ve read some of my previous articles, then you know I was a Star Wars kid, and I wanted a stuffed Ewok just as much as I wanted the Millennium Falcon playset. I got neither, but mom made up for it best she could by making me my own Ewok, and I can safely say it was better than any one I could have gotten from a toy store. For one, my custom Ewok was huge, near as a tall as I was at the time and he was crafted out of the finest yellow polyester fur you could find. He had jointed legs and arms so he could sit down and grab around my neck during play time. He also had the trademark hood that I could take on and off as much as I wanted. My Ework might not have been as detailed in the face as the retail version but its playability was off the charts and I can tell you he was well loved and beat up extensively, far more than Huckleberry Hound.

As if a custom Ework wasn’t enough to make my friends jealous, my mom also managed to make me my own custom Cabbage Patch Kid as well. I don’t ever recall wanting a Cabbage Patch Kid, but as popular as they were I’m thinking my mom just wanted me to have one so I could hang out with the rest of the cool kids. So while other parents were getting trampled at Children’s Palace looking for these things, my mom just bought a plastic head that looked very similar to a CPK and made the stuffed body herself. She also crafted some clothes for the doll because, after all, you can’t have a naked doll. My mothered fashioned a flannel shirt and some little jeans for the thing…and how disgusting is this? They coordinated with the real clothes I wore! God bless mothers.

Growing up plush

Stuffed animals are some of the first toys we ever have as infants and through our early childhoods, but that’s not where the love and affection stops. As adults we might not drag our stuffed toys around like security blankets anymore, but I know we all have some stuffed animals on our shelves that put a smile on our face. In some cases we’ll buy new versions of stuffed animals we had as a kid for the nostalgia alone. At other times we’ll buy stuffed animals because they’re the ones we never had as a kid, which was the case a couple years ago when I got a plush Gizmo from “Gremlins”. And I can’t even count the number of Star Wars plush toys I’ve acquired over the past 15 years, everything from Yoda to Chewbacca to Lando and then some…however, I’m still waiting for them to release a stuffed Lobot.

How can you not find that addorable?

Why do I still buy stuffed animals? It’s not just because they’re licensed from my favorite movies, it’s because plush toys are just…well…they’re just harmless. They’re cute, they’re cheap and they look as good sitting on your shelf as they do being hugged by a kid, and they bring joy in both cases. I have loving memories of GI Joe but not Barbie as my wife might, however, we both have stories about our long lost and well-loved stuffed animals. It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl, a kid or an adult, everyone can still appreciate the memories and emotions associated with a good stuffed animal.

What stuffed animals memories do you still cherish?

The man behind Hot Wheels

The inventor of Hot Wheels recently passed away. His name was Elliot Handler and he was 95 years old, but let’s not discount the fact that the man also co-founded the entire Mattel toy empire, so his impact goes well beyond Hot Wheels. To be honest, I didn’t know his name until one of my friends posted about his death. That might be shameful of me to not know the man’s name but it got me thinking about how much we really take the toys we have for granted. Many toys, like Hot Wheels, have been around for so long that it’s easy to forget that someone actually had to invent them. Diecast cars are so ubiquitous these days that we rarely stop to think about how awesome they really are. Something so simple can be so much fun to play with and enjoy.

Undoubtedly one of the best birthday presents ever.

The passion grows

Staple childhood toys like Hot Wheels were not chosen by us, they were just given to us. I don’t recall the first time I told my mom I wanted Hot Wheels. It was a toy I just received without asking and from there my love of them grew. They were as popular then as they are now and because I’m a boy, friends and family always got them for me as presents. Hot Wheels were (and still are) cheap to buy and always put a smile on my face, so for boys they’re an easy “go to” gift. I don’t even remember how many Hot Wheels cars I had as a kid, hundreds probably passed through my hands…but I always wanted more. You could never have too many Hot Wheels.

When I think about all the toys I grew up with, I’ve learned that there is a common way to tell when a toy meant a lot to a kid…when you received the “rip off” versions of the same toy and got mad about it. It doesn’t matter what popular toy you’re talking about…Hot Wheels, GI Joe, LEGO…you loved them so much that you could spot, and would reject, imitations in a heartbeat. You could smell a fake a mile away, a skill our parents could never quite figure out. There was nothing worse than being excited about a present only to open it up and find some sort of bootleg version, and Hot Wheels was no different. Parents and grandparents would try to pawn off cheap Woolworth’s diecast cars as Hot Wheels but I knew better. The quality, the colors, the style and the fun just wasn’t there. If there’s one thing Hot Wheels is not, it’s being able to be copied.

Imitated but never duplicated.

Toys that are meant to be played with

Many of the Hot Wheels you see on the shelves today are little more than mini versions of real life car models…Corvettes, Porsches, Volkswagens, etc…but the other half of the Hot Wheels catalog were fantastic designs that could speak to every child. The crazy designs created by Hot Wheels looked like they came right out of the pages of my childhood sketch book. I loved Hot Wheels because they weren’t normal, whereas brands like Matchbox cars were all about accuracy. They were the “collector” cars…but really, what kid wants a Mustang when they can have a Sol-Aire CX-4? If you just wanted to put cars on a shelf, you got Matchbox cars. If you wanted cars you could play with, you got Hot Wheels. And don’t forget about all the “gimmick” cars that Hot Wheels released of the years; cars that changed color in water, cars with peepholes and pictures on the inside and cars that came “pre-wrecked” and flipped when they hit the wall. Mattel knew what they were doing and knew what kids wanted…and we wanted to play. Hard.

Why have a Porsche when you can have the Bone Shaker?

Hot Wheels are certainly the toy cars with the best performance when it came to play time. They are made to be played with. Hot Wheels are meant to be scooted across kitchen floors and flung off of ramps made of shoe boxes and magazines. Of course, what every kid really wanted was just miles and miles of the iconic Hot Wheels “orange track” that came with the playsets. I remember taking all of the Hot Wheels track I could find and connecting it all together to make a giant downhill track on the steps in my house. Sure, you’d toss your Matchbox cars and other dime store cars down your track too, but none of them could hold a candle to the real deal of Hot Wheels.

I’ll never forgive myself

However, as I grew up, my Hot Wheels found a fate that many of my toys experienced – total destruction. I’m not sure if every boy goes through a “blow everything up” phase, but I did and nothing was off limits, including my Hot Wheels. Most of my cars along with my GI Joe figures, Transformers, Construx and many other toys suffered a fate of low end fireworks, bonfires, brick smashing, dismantling and even the occasional drowning in my sandbox when it was filled with water. It’s hard for me to think back to that time because I’m not really sure what came over me that made me destroy all my toys. It makes me sad, and not because I’m thinking what all of those toys would be worth today…it makes me sad just because I loved them so much and I still do. Thankfully though, becoming an adult affords us all an opportunity to reclaim a little bit of our childhood, and I did just that when it came to Hot Wheels.

Picking up where childhood left off

As I mentioned before, Hot Wheels are still a very cheap toy to buy – they’re still only a dollar. Find me another toy that hasn’t changed its price in more than 20 years! In a world of $12 action figures and other expensive gadget toys, the simplicity of Hot Wheels combined with the attractive price cannot be beat. About 10 years ago I started collecting Hot Wheels again. I never left Target or Walmart without at least one car in my bag…usually a dozen or more, actually. It’s a great feeling to go on a Hot Wheels shopping spree and know you’ve only spent $20 for 20 cars. At first I was selectively collecting them, only buying the models I wanted and putting them on a display case my grandpa made me when I was a kid. It felt good to reclaim some of my childhood but putting them on a shelf to admire just wasn’t enough. It didn’t feel right, so I went about finding a way to have fun with Hot Wheels as an adult.

My first custom Hot Wheels. Not too bad, I guess.

The solution turned out to be something I and all men are pretty good at – taking things apart. I started exploring the customization of Hot Wheels cars. I’d take them apart, paint them, modify their bodies, swap out tires…just about anything. Although, what kid didn’t paint their Hot Wheels at some point? I would take my mom’s acrylic paints and give my cars quite a covering, but now with better tools at my disposal, I could do the job right, effectively turning my Hot Wheels into very tiny model projects. I even brought a car that survived my childhood back to life. I took these experiences to the web and started blogging about what I was doing and how I was doing it. It was fun and got a few eyeballs but not until I took my Hot Wheels chop shop to the world of racing did things start to get interesting.

No other toy has done more for me

Give me some track and some Hot Wheels and I'm happy.

If you were ever in a club like Boy Scouts that did pinewood derby races, then you know what I’m talking about. Giving Hot Wheels new paint jobs and shiny wheels is one thing, but trying to make them faster in a downhill race is another thing entirely. I continued writing about my Hot Wheels racing and somehow it turned into an entire online game, a fantasy league for Hot Wheels drag races. The blog I started, Redline Derby Racing, was intended to be little more than a way to chronicle my custom work, but now it stands as what I believe is the only online Hot Wheels racing league around, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch it grow. Not only am I playing with my Hot Wheels as a 30-something adult, but it’s serving a purpose by entertaining quite a few people. What started as my return to the world of Hot Wheels has become a full time hobby and I’ve found myself in the middle of a community of people that are looking for the same thing I was…simple, nostalgic fun. I always get funny looks when I tell people I run a web site dedicated to Hot Wheels racing, but I always shrug it off because I know that everyone collects something…and chances are it’s “stupid” too (and probably more expensive). We all geek out about something and I just happen to go nuts for Hot Wheels. It could be worse.

Some people…most people…see Hot Wheels cars as nothing more than a cheap, disposable toy. Something to keep their kid from crying in the store or something to stuff in that Christmas stocking at the last minute. But for kids like me, Hot Wheels made quite an impact and despite a phase where I thought I had outgrown the toy, I returned to the brand with renewed interest (and a wallet full of cash) to finally have the fun I couldn’t have when I was a kid. I’m not sure any other toy has stuck with me as long as Hot Wheels. I can’t think of any other toy that I was able to enjoy so much as a child but then also as an adult. It’s easy to look back and remember how much you loved some toys, but how many of those toys can you still enjoy like that today? Hot Wheels made an impact on me then and continues to do so in a very positive way, and for that, I must thank Elliot Handler and the other people at Mattel that created Hot Wheels and the other toys we all love so much. His name may not be well-known and might be forgotten, but his toys will live on forever and continue to make kids of all ages happy.

Brian is a freelance writer that blogs, tweets and races Hot Wheels weekly while also co-hosting live podcast.

Not your typical convention

This wasn’t my first toy convention. I’ve been to my share of video game conventions and a few model train shows as a kid. I even went to Celebration III in Indianapolis to bear witness to one of the largest gatherings of Star Wars fans ever, but none of those prepared me for the Nashville Collector’s Experience. This wasn’t your normal convention where you walk into a giant hall filled with endless tables of people selling their stuff. Instead, collectors that were staying at the hotel where the convention was held opened their rooms up, allowing anyone to walk in and check out their cars for sale. You had to walk from room to room to see what people had for sale, often creating a somewhat awkward experience…it’s not every day you walk into someone’s hotel room to make a purchase. On top of that, people were scattered around the hotel so you had to jump floors to see everything. If you ask me, this room-to-room format really hurts the experience and in the long run I think it limits how much people can sell. Had everyone been in one spot I probably would have purchased more.

Hot Wheels for sale in every room.

However bizarre this method of buying and selling was, it didn’t impact the quality of toys for sale or the deals to be had. Whether you were looking for ultra-rare diecast cars or just cheap cars to play with (like me), there was something for every type of collector. I saw some cars selling for upwards of $150 that I assume were custom made or possibly one of the original 16 Hot Wheels from the late 1960s. While I do collect Hot Wheels, I’m a not collector that is looking for rare, vintage cars or anything like that. I just wanted cheap cars to play with…and boy did I find them. Even today some 40 years after they hit the market in 1968, Hot Wheels are still incredibly cheap to collect, only a $1 for a new car at Target or Walmart, but that doesn’t beat the 30 cents some people were selling them for at the convention. I walked out of there with nearly 50 new cars and paid less than $25 for all of them. Not a bad haul by any stretch.

Ready, set, race!

Despite this convention being called the “Collector’s Experience”, I was really there for one thing and one thing only – racing. I mentioned starting Redline Derby Racing, which is an online fantasy league game for downhill diecast racing…kind of like the pinewood derby in Boy Scouts only with Hot Wheels instead. Through my Redline Derby web site I made some connections inside the diecast collecting community and found others that love racing as much as I do, and one of them was bringing their massive 50-foot race track to Nashville to be part of the convention. Long story short, I went to Nashville to take my racing on the road and hold a special set of races on this huge track, a slight step up from the 20-foot track I had at home. The racing went great and was made even better by the crowd that was on hand. While it wasn’t anything more than a couple dozen people, seeing everyone from kids to adults get excited about downhill racing was great to behold.

Beats the heck out of the Pinewood Derby.

A little something for everyone

While the racing was a lot of fun, there was more to do at this convention than buying cars and sending them down a hill. Other activities at the convention included a customs contest that asked folks to customize a Hot Wheels and have it be judged. You might think the cars you see on the store shelves are fancy enough but let me tell you, you haven’t seen anything until you see a car that has been blinged out by a pro. The amount of detail these customizers get on a 1:64 scale car is ridiculous, putting any full-sized model to shame. There was also a famed diecast vending machine in the main convention hall. I had heard stories of this vending machine for a while, it seemed legendary, so I was interested to see what all the hubbub was about. Turns out this vending machine was exactly that, a snack vending machine that was altered to drop toy cars when you enter your selection. The fun part is you have no idea what you’re getting, you can’t see the cars inside. You just pick a number at random and whatever falls out is yours, but being a collector’s convention, everything that came out of the machine was of collector quality. With my vending machine pull I scored a re-issue of a vintage car called the Red Baron, which I then had signed by Larry Wood, one of the first Hot Wheels car designers, who was at the convention for autographs and photos. Larry didn’t design the Red Baron but it was still cool to meet the guy that had designed so many Hot Wheels for decades.

One of the cars I got from the vending machine...classy and collectible.

I was only at the convention for one day, so I’d be short-changing it if I didn’t mention a lot of the other stuff going on before I showed up. The in-room buying and selling was happening all the time, there were several special events going on for ticket holders, including bingo, a special version of UNO and even some late-night racing for cash and charity. And just about every activity at the convention resulted in you receiving a special, collectible diecast car. On top of the cars I bought, I walked out of the convention with at least a dozen free cars I got just for being there and having some fun.

Every hobby is better with friends

Most hobbies tend to only require one person, you, the collector. You can collect toys, trains, games, action figures or whatever by yourself. You don’t really need other people and collecting Hot Wheels isn’t any different. I can go to the store, buy cars, and come home and be done, but sharing your hobby and finding others that enjoy it as well is always more fun. Even though I got to race my cars on a big track and found crazy deals on new toys, the one take away from this convention was the comradery and friendships. This was my first diecast car convention so I was new to everything, but most of the people there had forged friendships from these conventions…from collecting toy cars…for years and it was great to see, and it was even better making a few new friend myself. Even though the convention was a little different than I expected, it was a great time and if another convention comes within driving distance I’ll be there with bells on…and with a couple hundred Hot Wheels ready to race.

Brian is a freelance writer that blogs, tweets and collects.

Want more articles on diecast cars? Check these out:

-5 Ways To Enjoy Your Hot Wheels Collection

-Sweet Memories of Childhood Cars: A Matchbox Retrospective

-Still Leading The Way: A Hot Wheels Retrospective

-Talking Cars, Space Ships, and Classic Americana: The Most Popular Die-Cast Cars

Now, 5,000 years later, a boy named Yugi unlocks the secret of the Millennium Puzzle. He is infused with ancient magical energy, for destiny has chosen him to defend the world against the return of the Shadow Games, just as the brave pharaoh did 5,000 years ago.”

If I chronicled the phases of my childhood obsessions, it probably would look something like this: 3-5 years old, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 5-7 years, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. 7-8 years, Beast Wars. 9-10 years, Spider-Man and X-Men. 10-13, Pokemon and Digimon. 13-15, Dragon Ball Z. And finally, 15-17, Yu-Gi-Oh. By the time I was 18, you’d think I’d give up obsessing over kids shows, and you know what, so did I for a little bit.

“But nooooooo.” Because Nickelodeon just had to whip out one last kickass series that would ultimately annihilate any chance I ever had of growing up (Pranger’s Note: It’s Avatar. I bet he’s talking about Avatar). Anyway, what was the subject of the day again? Oh right, Yu-Gi-Oh, what I consider the finale of my official unofficial childhood.

Yet again, don't ask me where they all went. I couldn't tell you.

 Probably the most common misconception I’ve seen repeatedly concerning the Yu-Gi-Oh card game is that duelists (people who play Yu-Gi-Oh) are often thought of as aggressive, insecure outcasts who get easily offended when outsiders either mistake their game for Pokemon, or worse, call it a shallow knockoff of Pokemon. I’ll say while it is true that several older Yu-Gi-Oh fans have been known to be quite defensive in their support of this franchise, it’s not without its reasons. One reason being, well, it’s annoying honestly. How is Yu-Gi-Oh any more a knock off of Pokemon than Monster Rancher, Card Captors, or friggin Digimon? (It technically predates Pokemon, but that’s an argument for the ages.) It’s almost as annoying as people who wouldn’t stop calling James Cameron’s Avatar ‘Dances With Smurfs’ and think they’re so clever for it, even though all they’re doing is quoting South Park.

As for the card game itself, it is far from shallow. If there is anything Yu-Gi-Oh shares with the Pokemon card game, I would say it is its sense of simplicity of structure. Besides that one element, both games have a very unique style to play. In the case of Yu-Gi-Oh, the detail surrounding its simple structure feels far more complex. In Pokemon, all strategies are built strictly around the monsters you chose for your deck, with the energy’s being a requirement and trainer’s just sort of there for a little support. With Yu-Gi-Oh however, there are so many ways to string the three types of cards together; Monster, Spell, and Trap cards are all equally important in constructing a deck.

Pity this guy was never on the show.

To talk briefly about my strategy, I stuck with Dark type monsters for the majority of playing the game. Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer was the driving force of my deck for quite some time: A four star monster (the highest level monsters that can be summoned without sacrifices) with 1800 attack points that allowed me to remove from play two monsters in my opponents Graveyard (discard pile). This ability was useful because it highlighted my biggest strategy. Monsters that were sent to the Graveyard were never really gone forever, because there were far to many avenues to revive them, (Monster Reborn, Call of the Haunted, a ton of others). Figured my best bet was to remove as many cards from my opponent’s Graveyard as possible. I also stocked my deck with other removal cards like Noblemen of Extermination and Noblemen of Crossout.

These were especially helpful when up against a Fiber Jar (a card very popular when I was a duelist) that’s effect enforced both players to reshuffle all cards in play and essentially reboot the game with the exception of life point count. Any cards I removed previously would not return to my opponent’s deck, and even if my opponent had a similar strategy, Kycoo had a second ability that prevented my opponent from removing any cards, and that was my strategy: Ostracize my opponent from his minions while keeping my own team together.

And that is why friendship is the greatest thing in the... wait, what the heck is Duke doing here?

Probably one of the most appealing things about Yu-Gi-Oh was that its card game was so much in sync with the anime. They made starter decks named after characters in the show, containing cards identical to the ones they used. I remember being sixteen and in High School when this game was a hit, but I could only imagine what it must have been like to be six and in Grade School at the time of this game’s/show’s hay days. It must have felt super special awesome to actually use the exact same cards as Yugi and Joey. All we were missing were complex holographic duel systems, which, let’s be honest with ourselves, if they really existed, EVERYONE would play this game.

I would now like to focus our attention on the Anime. Yu-Gi-Oh was based off the manga of the same name by Kazuki Takahashi. The series was licensed by Shonen Jump in Japan and localized in US on Kids WB by 4Kids Entertainment. Now, before we all jump on the 4Kids hate wagon… again, I want to be fair and admit that at the time, I had no problem with the way the series was translated. We hear over and over again how 4Kids has utterly ruined every single anime series ‘One Piece’ at a time (Pranger’s Note: I see what you did there), starting with their opening themes, and I am more than aware of this occurrence. But to their credit, the opening theme music for the English dub of Yu-Gi-Oh, was actually really good. Easily some of the best work 4Kids’ music department has done.

The name changing, censoring of guns, and a couple punches to the face didn’t bother me all too much either. What did bother me was when I found out about how several bits of dialogue completely changed subject matter in translation. At its roots, Yu-Gi-Oh is the story of a young boy [Yugi] in present day Japan who discovers the game he thought to be a simple hobby has become the battleground for modern day sorcerers attempting to harness ancient Egyptian magic to do their bidding, and he must ally himself with the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle [Yami] to return the magic back to whence it came. It’s quite a compelling story to juxtapose kids in modern day just playing a game with a 5,000-year-old Egyptian prophecy, yet much of the discussion about the mythology surrounding the game, including Yami’s origins, is etched out of the early portions of the dub and replaced with more pep talks about friendship. What ends up happening is once we do get to the final season that actually does take place in Ancient Egypt, it wasn’t built up properly and almost felt like it came completely out of left field.

I think I was maybe one of four people in the theater when this came out.

I should mention as I write this, I have not seen any of the current Yu-Gi-Oh spinoff known as 5D’s, and I only watched a few episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh GX before I completely lost interest. So when I say that I loved this show for its colorful characters, surprisingly clever strategies, and its ability to create a legit amount of suspense and drama (out of playing children’s card games no less), you’ll know I’m talking specifically about the original series. But now that I’ve gotten this far, it would not be right if I left my history of Yu-Gi-Oh without talking about Little Kuriboh’s Yu-Gi-Oh The Abridged Series.

Actually now, it's three times.

What we have here is quite possibly the greatest series of web videos ever made. Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged stars a full grown British guy named Martin Billany, better known throughout the web as Little Kuriboh, who takes clips strait from the Yu-Gi-Oh anime and dubs the voices of all the characters himself (save for a few guest appearances), adding sound effects, music clips, and well-known movie/TV quotes to create one of the most balls-out equal-opportunity-offender parodies of all time.

The series first aired July of 2006. I was introduced to it somewhere late 2007. At first I wasn’t sure what to think because the videos struck me as someone who didn’t even understand the series trying to put it down (LK has openly admitted to never actually playing the Yu-Gi-Oh card game). But as I watched more of his videos, his audio and voice work got better and his writing and sense of satire grew on me. I realized just how much he got this series and was probably no less a fan of the show than I was. On his 50^th Episode, Joey Wheeler Ace Attorney (my favorite character BTW), which aired end of October last year, there was one bit of dialogue where Little Kuriboh dropped the act and let his true feelings for Yu-Gi-Oh shine through, even if it was only for a moment:

Joey: Maybe we have committed copyright infringement, but you gotta’ know we’ve done everything in our power to support the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, and if it weren’t for us, I don’t think the show would be nearly as popular as it is right now.

Johnson: And where is your evidence, as such?

Joey: Look around, Johnson. There are more Yu-Gi-Oh fans now than ever before, and the more you try to stifle our creativity, the more we’ll try to express our love for a show that’s more than just about children’s card games. It’s about fighting for what you believe in. And I believe in this show and its fans now more than ever. Because they believe in me.

Yugi: This is so Meta.

Joey: Flame Swordsmen! Use the power given to me by the Yu-Gi-Oh fanbase to wipe out Judgeman’s life points!

Flame Swordsmen: My name is FRAAAAAAAAAAAAANK! (cuts down head of 4Kids Legal Department)

Johnson: NOOOOOOOOOO!

And for that, Mr. Martin Billany, I thank you for persevering through so much controversy to keep this series and it’s fan base alive. For better or for worse, you pioneered the entire Abridged fad that is sweeping across Youtube. I’ll keep watching, and praying to the Egyptian Gods that you survive another 50 episodes.

P.S. your voice work as Frieza in Team Four Star’s DBZ Abridged is easily stealing the show. Keep up the Super Special Awesome work.

So there you have it, and you know what? I really want to play some Yu-Gi-Oh right now.

Like Children’s Card Games? Maybe you’ll like these:

-Forget-Me-Nots: My History With The Pokemon Trading Card Game

-Bakugan Battle Packs Game Review

-Uno: A Brief History of the Classic Card Game

Formalities aside, we’ve all had a history with Pokemon. However, not all our histories are the same. Sure, both Chris and I (as well as just about every other kid our age) watched the Kids WB TV series for at least the first few seasons, yet whileChris has reminisced of his past experiences playing the various games for Nintendo’s handhelds, the teen version of me was much more busy collecting Pokemon trading cards to drown in the games. Sadly enough, my hobby was probably much more expensive in the long run. It still baffles me that my brothers and I actually managed to scramble up enough money and trading tactics to collect every single card from the Base, Forest, and Fossil sets.

Don't ask me where they all went. I couldn't tell you.

I suppose one of the ways we justified spending so much to obtain every single card was convincing ourselves that the rare ones would be worth something in a few years. But in all honesty, it was just a stubborn sense of self-satisfaction that came with “catching ‘em all” that we were really after. Unfortunately, shortly after our victory over the first three sets, before we could even take a sigh, the Rocket, Gym Hero, and Gym Challenge sets came immediately after that. After that, it was Neo. Then there was EX, and it went on and on from there.

But this went way beyond the collecting aspect because we did play the game as well. Yet even after we completed collecting an entire set, and could theoretically create decks with the greatest potential possible, a new series would come along with cards far more superior than their predecessors, rendering all the cards we collected before, if not flat out written out of the rules, completely obsolete. It was a marketing system that couldn’t be beat.

For example, here is a Promo Mewtwo from the First Movie...

And here is Mewtwo ex from several years later. Same attacks. Same energy cost. Yet greater HP and Damage

Yet despite difficulties to keep up with trends, my memories of the Pokemon Trading Card Game have been generally positive. It was one of the few activities of my childhood in which all my younger siblings and I had a common interest, something that is scarcely found nowadays. It wasn’t a very complicated game by any means, and there was always a good amount of luck involved, yet it didn’t matter because it was easy to learn and teach newcomers, and aspect that, I can say from experience, Magic the Gathering seriously lacks. So with that, I would like to take a look at my past and show just a few of my favorite cards over the years.

First Generation: Mr. Mime

Mrs. Ketchum would be proud.

The fundamental rule about the Pokemon card game that separated it from the video games is that players are highly encouraged to chose a team of only one or two elemental types, seeing as the game worked on an energy card system (not much different from mana in Magic The Gathering) in order to instigate attacks. Back in the day I made numerous decks and experimented with all elements, but I always found my Psychic Decks came out the most effective. While the majority of Psychic pokemon had low HP, they made up for it with the most unique attacks and abilities that were best at throwing your opponents off guard.

Take Mr. Mime here: Only 40 HP? You’d think most high-level pokemon could wipe it out in a single hit. However, it has a Pokemon Power (a special ability that bends the rules) called Invisible Wall that renders all attacks higher than 20 hit points completely useless. Up against a Charizard, a Gayrados, or a Richu? No problem? Just bring out a Mr. Mime, and your opponent’s ace in the hole immediately becomes useless.

Rocket/Gym Leader Generation: Sabrina’s Kadabra

Every bit as intimidating as the Kadabra from the show.

Seriously, when Ash fought Sabrina’s Kadabra in episode 22: Abra and the Psychic Showdown, that was probably the first point in the whole series where I genuinely felt there was a legitimate threat in Ash’s journey to be the best. The first time I was like “Dang bro! There is NO WAY he can beat this thing. I can’t wait to see how he pulls it off.” (Technically he never did, which was kind off a letdown.) So imagine my excitement when I saw that the card representation of said Pokemon had it’s own deal breaking move. Here is one that isn’t even that hard to get. This is an uncommon card that you get two of just by buying a Sabrina Starter Deck. What’s better is that Sabrina’s Abra can be evolved right away and have its extremely effective attack ready with one psychic energy. Life Drain has a 50-50 shot of bringing your opponent’s Pokemon down to 10 HP in a single attack. And it isn’t affected by opponents with resistance against Psychic, which may likely be present if you’re facing any normal type Pokemon. If you’re up against a heavy hitter with 70+ HP, with a little luck this could be a game changer. Then you evolve to Sabrina’s Alakazam to finish the job.

Neo Generation: Unown

You let one ant stand up to you, and they'll all stand up.

Another fundamental rule of the Pokemon card game was that you could have up to four Pokemon of the same name in one deck. This worked excellently with the Unown, because each of them had its own unique Pokemon Power. Here was an instance in which you had lower level Pokemon that, alone, wouldn’t seem like much of a threat, but together become an almost impenetrable force. The four Unown I used were the following: A, whose ability increased every Unown’s Hidden Power attack with every damage counter on him; I, which could summon another Unown still in my deck onto the field; Q, giving me a 50-50 shot of avoiding every single attack onto any Unown every turn; And X, with the potential to give my Hidden Power attack an unlimited amount of damage, dependent on how lucky I am. If all of these abilities are in play at once, I cannot tell you how frustrated my opponents will get.

EX Generation: Deoxys

Yet another way to mess with your opponent's head.

This was just about the last generation of Pokemon Cards I invested in, but boy was it a crazy one. Deoxys was one of those cards of a Legendary Pokemon that actually lived up to its title as a Legendary Pokemon. Its Poke-Power (the successor to Pokemon Power in later generations), Form Change, worked surprisingly a lot like how the Pokemon itself changed forms in the game and in the movie, Destiny Deoxys. I was able to switch out my Deoxys on the field with any of its other three forms in my deck at any time. I would start off in his Defense Form to trickle my enemy down little by little while keeping my HP up, then when my opponent was weak enough, switch out to his Attack Form to deliver the final blow. If the defending Pokemon had a resistance against Psychic or some other special effect in play that would negate my damage, than I could switch to Speed Form and use Swift to bypass my opponent’s defenses. And with all the separate forms safe in my deck, my opponent would be hard pressed to predict my next attack.

My career as a Pokemon Card Trader ended not long after that, but boy was it fun while it lasted, and that’s really all that mattered to me. I couldn’t care about being the best, especially in a situation where masters are genuinely determined on how much money you are willing to depart with. But how about you guys? Any particular cards, elements, or strategies you found most effective? Leave a comment and let me know. In the mean time, I have some weird Egyptian guy challenging me to a children’s card game for the fate of the world.

Card images courtesy of  PokeBeach.com

Can’t get enough about Pokemon? Then check these articles out:

-5 Aspects of Pokemon That Make No Sense

-The 10 Best Pokemon Moves Ever

-Triple Feature: Pokemon The First Three Movies

Warning: May induce contented yawns.

If your toddler is between the ages of 2 and 20, it is likely that she is going through a scared-of-the-dark phase. One of the most common solutions (aside from camping out in your child’s bedroom to stave off the boogey-man) is the soothing comfort of a night-light. A company called Cloud B has a wide range of products to help your little one start slumbering, sans tears. One of the most enchanting products is the Cloud B Twilight Constellation Night Light- it’s a sweet plush sea turtle (there are also land turtle and ladybug options) with a hard shell that projects stars onto the walls and ceiling.

Effective and Educational

One of the sweetest things about this already-adorable sea turtle is that it’s educational! Not only does it come with a star guide to help you identify the constellations shown in the projection, but there are also 5 endangered sea animals pictured on the hand-painted shell: a Blue Whale, a California Sea Otter, a Knysna Seahorse, a Leatherback Turtle and a Vaquita Dolphin. The animals light up individually, and are so cute and comforting that your child won’t even realize they’ve been tricked into learning something! The night-light also comes with a Twilight Sea Turtle storybook- just the thing to help your child wind down before switching off the lights and switching on the stars.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...

The shell itself illuminates in blue, green, or a combination of the two colors, and as well as the star projection, it is on a 45-minute sleep timer to save battery power (3 AAA batteries are included). The shell has the potential to break if treated roughly, but it’s fine for supervised use in bedrooms of children 3 and older. For best results it is suggested that the turtle is placed in the middle of the floor, but this also presents the potential for the turtle and its fragile shell to get stepped on in the dark by a sleepy parent or child, so keep that in mind when purchasing. If placed on a nightstand or dresser, the stars may not project as evenly over the entire room.

Other toys in the Cloud B lineup include the Sleep Sheep, which emits nature sounds (always my favorite at bedtime), the Lavender Lab with scented lavender (commonly used in pillows and bath products to promote relaxation) and many other sleep- related products for children and the parents who must put them to bed. You can get the Twilight Turtle on Amazon right now for very little money.

Just wook at this widdle puppy! You NEED him! I need him!

An iconic image for any young boy's childhood.

Tonka Company History

The word “Tonka” was an interesting choice, a Dakota-Sioux word for “great” and/or “big.” These days, Tonka is a word associated with great big trucks for kids. This is of course due to the famous line of metal construction vehicle toys that Tonka released in the mid-sixties. By the way, for more on these classics, read our earlier post on vintage tonka trucks.

The company spent many years with their metal trucks (dubbed the “Mighty” line), using the profits to acquire a barbecue manufacturer and expand their variety of products to attract other demographics.

A Tonka for any occasion.

This plan took off in the 1980s, when Tonka released Pound Puppies and Gobots. Though these were big sellers, the big yellow trucks never waned in popularity.

1991 came with a big change, as Tonka was bought out by Hasbro. Thankfully, the Tonka brand name never left, nor did their trademark trucks.

The Original

The original Mighty Tonka truck was, of course, the Mighty Dump Truck in1964. Back in the sixties, the line of yellow construction monsters also featured real rubber tires. At a whopping eleven pounds and big enough to haul a household cat (yes, I tried it), the truck is now a symbol of Tonka strength and durability.

Some of the marketing lines written for the early incarnations of the Mighty line included “Guaranteed for Life” and “Tonka Tough.” Rightly so, as the Mighty Dump is a common family heirloom that is safe in the hands of any generation.

They're still mighty tough these days.

Materials and designs

When I was a kid, I was fortunate enough to have some older metal Tonka trucks. They were suddenly scarce, because the company was slowly transitioning their trademark toys from metal to plastic in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Kids are still enthralled with the classic designs in the Mighty line, despite the loss of durability and strength embodied by the earlier steel-made versions. Back-hoes, scrapers, and mobile cranes have been slowly integrated over the years, always in the signature yellow color. Different sizes have come into play, ranging from the pocket-size “Tiny” line and moving up to the Mighty size.

Prices

Mighty size Tonka trucks go for about $29.99 on Amazon, whereas the Tonka Junior products can be as cheap as $4 in the right places. The classic metal trucks are great items for collectors, and the original 1964 Mighty Dump Truck can be found for sale at $169.00 (restored). Not bad for a toy icon.

I predict the next big craze will be paperclips with crazy plaid and animal print patterns.

Remember that useless collection of objects that decided your status in grade school? Tell Beanie Babies to slide down the bench, because the new generation is hooked on Silly Bandz.

With Sales Like This, They’re Not So Silly

Available in any color, Silly Bandz are silicon-based rubber bands that kids can wear as bracelets and necklaces. The real selling point: when not stretched out, Silly Bandz are molded into funky shapes and letters. There are animal sets, rock band themed sets (dubbed “Rock Bandz”), and even princess themed sets. Like all standard rubber bands, Silly Bandz retain their shape when not stretched.

Kids enjoy trading them and showing off their collections by wearing them all like sleeves. Packs of 24 cost anywhere from five to eight dollars on Amazon, and Silly Bandz hold eight of the top ten bestseller slots in the Toys and Games category as I write this. Impressive. Most impressive.

So simple, but hey, whatever works.

Apparently, Silly Bandz have been causing a little ruckus in some schools, and have been banned due to distraction. Parents, don’t let this worry you. Every classroom has opportunities for distraction, and kids will make a toy out of anything. In fact, the banning has only made the craze more outrageous, just as it does for every tradable contraband item in schools.

Also, according to an April 17 article in the New York Times, there is a Silly Bandz page on Facebook with over 83,000 fans…and counting.

Well, what can I say about these little buggers? They look like fun. It is so uplifting to see that the biggest craze in elementary classrooms isn’t technology-based. When you think about it, rubber bands have been around for so long, and kids have always been fascinated with the pliability of rubber. This product takes that basic childhood interest in an existing product and takes it in the next logical step (speaking of which, I vaguely remember the birth of duct tape wallets in school).

At first, I mused that Silly Bandz were a little expensive, especially considering the amount of labor and materials that goes into their creation. Then I remembered that video games are $60, and action figures are $10. Silly Bandz would certainly be a welcome alternative for parents and checkbooks alike. Keep in mind before buying them, they tend to break after a while, and naturally they are easily lost.

If there is one thing that really impresses me about Silly Bandz, it is the ability to wear a whole collection. When I was a kid, and yo-yos suddenly became the coolest thing ever (it was 1996, go figure), it wasn’t like you could bring thirty Duncan brand yo-yos to school. The Beanie Babies that every girl in my class collected were too cumbersome as well. Even a full deck of Pokemon cards required a large cargo pocket, coincidentally at the same time cargo pants were in vogue. But Silly Bandz don’t even need to be carried.

Grade school fads are mostly harmless, I think. Especially Silly Bandz, which prove to me that children still have imagination, and don’t require USB cords to have a good time.

Hot Wheels is one of the most affordable toys to collect. Since most cars are only a dollar, it means anyone with a pocket or a purse can cobble together enough spare change to buy a few toy cars. Most people might think Hot Wheels starts with kids scooting them across the kitchen floor and ends with adults putting them on shelves, but there is a lot you can do with Hot Wheels.

1. You can race them. And I mean racing beyond the loop-de-loops and ramps you remember from childhood. I’m talking all-out drag racing. All you need is two lanes of straight track, a hill, and a finish line. It sounds simple, and it is…just grab some friends and you can quickly create your own game. Everyone picks a car at random and you race them tournament-style. The winner gets bragging rights and the losers, well, they’ll just have to pick another car and try again. I made a 20-foot fold-up race track that I can take out at any time, and easily hide whenever my wife wants it hidden. It’s great for parties, kids, and even just a lazy Sunday afternoon.

2. Create your own car. Customizing your very own Hot Wheels may require some effort, but it’s a lot of fun. A well-placed firecracker was the only way to get cars apart when we were little, but now we have tools! Grab your drill and in 10 minutes you can be personalizing your own Hot Wheels car. Paint them, put stickers on them, swap out wheels and parts…whatever you want. And if you’re adventurous, take several Hot Wheels and combine them to create your own Frankenhotwheels. Beware, however, once you go down this road you’ll never look at Hot Wheels on the shelf the same ever again. You’ll start thinking, “I bet the wheels on that truck would look awesome on that Porsche.”

3. Turn them into something useful. Hot Wheels are simple toys…but that doesn’t mean they have to stay that way. You can turn your toy cars into something useful and hip, like a USB thumb drive! I took one of my favorite Hot Wheels cars, a $10 USB drive, and combined them. What I got is a truly unique thumb drive that is fun to play with, fun to look at, and a great conversation piece at the office. Technology is cheap and, better yet, tiny…perfect for toys. What else could you add to a Hot Wheels car? Lights? Motors? Magnets? If you have the time and gumption, there are a whole slew of weekend DIY projects.

4. Educate and experiment. When I started racing Hot Wheels I was just looking for some fun with toys. What I didn’t expect was the game turning into one big science experiment. In the quest to find the fastest Hot Wheels car, I was faced with all sorts of questions. Does car shape matter? Does weight matter? Does WD-40 work on Hot Wheels? I found myself creating a bunch of trial-and-error experiments that were a lot of fun. I even applied a Mythbusters experiment to my Hot Wheels.

5. Start a local club and meet people. Hot Wheels is a universal toy. Everybody knows them and I’m willing to bet just about everyone has one. The Internet makes it east to connect with other Hot Wheels fans on places like Facebook, Twitter, and message boards…but nothing is better than getting a chance to geek out about Hot Wheels in person. All you need is a place to gather (local park, church, library, coffee shop, etc.) and tell everyone to bring their Hot Wheels. You will quickly pass the time chatting, trading, sharing, and racing your favorite toy cars.

 This is only a short list of fun things you can do with Hot Wheels cars, believe me, there are many more. And remember, just because you’re no longer 8-years-old doesn’t mean fun with Hot Wheels has to stop, it just means you have to figure out how to make them fun.

About the Author: Brian Vaughn writes at MorningToast.com about video games, retro toy memories, all around geekery, and, of course, Hot Wheels. He’s also the world record holder for Urban Champion. Follow him on Twitter at @morningtoast

Oh boy did I love these things.

What better way to wrap up my Pokeweek than with a little trip down memory lane to remember all the Pokemon toys I had when I was a kid? While the games were what introduced us to the concept of Pokemon, it was the phenomenon that exploded shortly afterward with the toys, cards, clothes, and cartoon that grabbed the rest of the world’s attention. I won’t talk about the cards (maybe another day) but I’d like to just riff a bit about the Pokemon toys I had. Ready? Go!

Bite-Sized Fun

I was in roughly 4th grade when Pokemon hit. Back then, it wasn’t quite the thing it is today. As with most surprise phenomena, the merchandise was quick to come but not to the quality levels we’d expect. It was a surprise hit, so toy companies began chugging out whatever they could with the Pokemon logo on it and called it a day.

The toys I had the most were the miniature figures for the various Pokemon. These were literally chunks of plastic shaped like the Pokemon characters standing no bigger than your thumb. They had zero points of articulation, zero attachments and zero projectiles. They were just the Pokemon they were supposed to be. My first two sets were the Pikachu/Raichu set and the Rattata/Raticate set. Each set came with two Pokemon, usually the first and second stages of the Pokemon, which meant that for a little under $10 you could have two similar-looking chunks of plastic. Some sets included all three stages of a Pokemon, like the Charmander or the Squirtle set, but usually it was the standard two.

I don’t know what it was about these, but I got addicted to collecting them. I stopped about the time Gold and Silver versions were released, so my collection only included the first 151 Pokemon, but I had a pretty impressive number. I won’t go so far as to say I had over 100, but I think I was close. Even though they were just chunks of painted plastic, I battled them constantly. I loved those stupid things, partly because I was the perfect age for the marketing to work on me.

Had to love these little guys, no matter what.

Besides just the mini figures, I had a Plush Pikachu doll that I snuggled with constantly. Yeah, I said I snuggled with Pikachu, what of it? It was the perfect plush doll. Super soft, just the right size, and it looked exactly like the character. It was one of those things they got right on the first try, but of course a search of “Plush Pikachu” yields dozens of results other than my exact Pikachu. Now there are quite a few other plush Pokemon ranging from the 9” sizes to beanie-baby sized to big ol’ stuffed animals.

I keep an eye on the toys whenever I stroll down the toy aisle in department stores and I’m happy to see that the newer figures have made two big improvements. First, they’re quite a bit larger, making them more compatible with other toys and of course look more impressive by themselves. Secondly, they have moving parts and in some cases projectiles. I was never into the Pokedex electronics that let you place the figures on them for battle and info purposes, but those are still prevalent. Basically, you have a lot of good options to feed your Pokemon addiction in the toy aisles, so I’m happy, even if the prices are a little steep.

Also, the actual Pokemon themselves got cooler, too.

I’ll probably never get back into Pokemon toys, but the time I spent with them as a kid is enough for any one lifetime. I moved on to bigger and better things, but while it lasted, I was a Pokemon Master and it felt great.

This brings me to Bioshock 2 by 2K games.  If you are not familiar with the game, just add an engaging story, fun gameplay, and slightly psychotic characters running around.  That said, I’m perplexed by the Big Daddy plush doll from “Bioshock 2.” This insanely detailed bugger looks exactly like Little Sister’s ramshackle doll that she carries around, featuring a baseball head and a corkscrew arm. But why did they chose to make plush dolls for a violent, M-rated game?

It’s clearly not for kids to cuddle with –no– this is for adult fans of the game series.

The Big Daddy doll looks beautiful, just like its on-screen counterpart (you know, in that Tim Burton/punk rock way). Most of the doll is good old-fashioned textiles, but there are some plastic parts too. The style of the game really shines in this soft toy, and if you are a big fan of “Bioshock,” or maybe someone wants to be Little Sister for Halloween, than this doll would certainly be up your alley.

At $25, Big Daddy plush is most suitable as a conversation item, or something to round out a collection. I’ve personally paid much more than that for a less-than-reputable item for a collection (let’s just say I still haven’t watched my DVD box set of “21 Jump Street”). So if you must own every piece of “Bioshock” memorabilia, snag it.

If you don’t, I’d say you should just get the game and check out the weird subterranean universe 2K has created.

Wait, I'm not just repeating articles, am I?

Everybody is going green these days. It’s rather trendy to say the least, so it’s no surprise that toys are following the trend and selling big when it comes to eco-friendly categories. If you’d very much like to give your kids something fun to play with that they’re guaranteed to enjoy plus is quite possibly better for the environment in the long run, then good news because here’s an article about the top selling eco-friendly toys right this second.

Still Going Green It Seems

Do you remember me talking about the company Green Toys a while ago? I’m not here to judge; it was after all quite some time since that article. The reason I’m bringing them up is because they’re selling one heck of a lot of their toys right now with the number one green toy of them all being the Green Toys Tea Set that I went on about in my article. Someone must have been listening to me when I wrote the positive review or something. Of course they aren’t just a one-trick pony since they also have a cookware and dining set, a dump truck, and a sand playset. You know, things every kid should already have. The best part of all that is that none of those toys are particularly expensive with only the full cookware and dining set being over $30.

Dang it, now I want to go play in the sand.

Green toys may have a lot in the bestseller category, but they aren’t alone. Another company called i Play is doing quite fine for themselves until Apple decides to sue them for using a lowercase I in their company name. Their top item is the Green Sprouts Stacking Cup Set, yet another incredibly simple toy that happens to be a toy every kid should own. Heck, I had a set of these when I was a kid, but I’m sure this set is a lot better for the environment.

My set had much manlier colors though, but otherwise they looked the same.

If you’d prefer something way more advanced, check out Elenco Electronics’ Frightened Grasshopper Solar Powered Bug. I swear to you I didn’t just invent that thing, and even better, this robo-bug is only $7. That’s a deal no matter who you are.

Alright, I'll allow a robo-grasshopper, but as soon as we get robo-hornets I say we've gone too far.

Sprig Toys have a handful of bestsellers when it comes to construction vehicle toys if you’d rather not buy everything from Green Toys. Let the girls have their tea sets, us boys got stuff to dig and construct and whatnot. Then after we’re done with that maybe some more tea.

Once more, all I want to do now is go play in the sand.

Rounding out the bestsellers is Plan Toys with a couple items. What’s their highest selling item right now? A solid wood drum. That’s it. Just a little drum with a little mallet. While I’m all for kids having a toy drum, I’m not everyone. Plan Toys also has a doll house nursery set for the less noisy children, though I’m somewhat surprised to find out that the toy drum is $21 and the doll house set is $18. I must be really out of touch with my green side.

Yup, that's one wooden drum there.

So there you have it folks, a multitude of great eco-friendly toys at affordable prices. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s once more time for tea.

I don't think I'll ever get tired of these people.

True Fact: I grew up in the United States of America. I’m not trying to brag or anything, it’s just simple stating of fact. Why this is important to The Simpsons has to do with what The Simpsons is to me: An American Institution. This in no way means that I believe The Simpsons is only for Americans. Oh heavens no, The Simpsons is a show for the entire world. It’s been aired all over, only managing to tick off Australia, Brazil, and a few other countries of the world that I can’t be bothered to remember. The real special aspect of the show is how unimaginable it is to think of a Sunday night at 8 without The Simpsons. It’s into its 21st season now, with the 20th season just released on DVD (and which I just finished watching). The show has been around for 20 years and here’s how I remember it.

It Can’t Just Be My Childhood I’m Remembering

It interests me that for the 20th anniversary of the longest running primetime cartoon in history, a 20th season DVD comes out with pretty much nothing special about it. Granted, I loved every episode more than I figured I would, but I couldn’t help but laugh at the only special feature included in the “Extras” portion of the DVD: A sneak preview of the 20th anniversary special that isn’t included on the special 20th anniversary 20th season DVD. That’s the sort of thing I’d expect to be parodied on The Simpsons. Otherwise seasons 1-12 are available with each having a bevy of special features and the like. I’m just sort of sad that there is an 8-year gap of seasons we have to slowly close.

I bet you had no clue who did it, did you?

My original concept for a Simpsons retrospective was going to be a top ten list of my favorite episodes, but I couldn’t easily identify those from the over 450 choices open to me. If I had to pick, the “Who Shot Mr. Burns” plotline may be my favorite, and any time Sideshow Bob appears I’m quite happy, but I couldn’t choose a conclusive top ten without turning it into a top 20, 30, or just a number one show listing.

Instead we have my ramblings about the series. As a kid my parents were skeptical about The Simpsons. They sat down with me a few times and watched some new episodes with me, laughing the whole time. After that they seemed completely fine with letting me watch, so I made sure to watch the series in syndication religiously. I tried to watch it at my grandparent’s house once, only to have my grandpa tell me he didn’t think it was a good show. “I don’t like how the son backtalks the father,” he says. “That’s disrespectful.” Then we watched an episode anyway and he laughed the whole time, making it welcome in his house as well.

This image was everywhere on merchandise, so much so that the actual show had to make jokes about it constantly.

I never saw Bart Simpson as a model for myself to follow. Rather, I understood he was exemplifying everything I really shouldn’t be, despite how much I’d have enjoyed it. I’m a lot older now and thankfully I never became a Bart Simpson. Now I’m a Homer Simpson and too gleefully S-M-R-T to know that I’m nowhere near my potential as an American.

When Burger King had a Simpsons promotion way, way back in the day, I managed to acquire all five family members in “plush” cuteness. And by “plush,” I mean that their bodies were soft but their plastic heads could crack a child’s skull with enough blunt force applied gradually over time (no I didn’t try this on anyway you know of). What was always weird was how Bart’s shirt was never red on any merchandise I could find. He’s always worn the same red shirt/blue shorts combo on the show for 20 years, but merchandise with his likeness frequently had him wearing a blue shirt. I had no clue why they did this but it always bugged me as a kid.

I actually prefer these little figurines over the main figure series.

By the time the collectable figures were coming out I was too busy playing with Ninja Turtles to spend any money collecting figures from a comedy program. I was still watching the show every single night, but I had no desire to collect the collectables. Regardless of my lack of participation, The Simpsons figurines are a collector’s dream with each new year getting a handful of wonderful additions. By now you’d have to plunk down some hearty cash to be caught up to the current series.

Why the heck hasn't this been turned into an HD remake already?

Instead of the figures, I was busy messing with the video games. The saddest part of all this is that in the 20 years the show has been on, only one Simspons video game has come out that’s been any good: The Simpsons Arcade Game. I played Bart vs The Space Mutants and Bart vs The World on the NES and hated them due to the extremely poor controls, but if you love the Angry Video Game Nerd you already knew that. Something about the arcade game was just magical. I played it into the ground, even managing to beat it, and let me tell you, that’s quite a feat. I still can’t figure out for the life of me why it hasn’t been ported over to Xbox Live by now.

Oh, and I also saw the movie twice in a day. Is that sad?

I keep hearing from people that The Simpsons should end already. I disagree on the basis that we need a Simpsons to exist, even if you don’t find it funny anymore. It’s like the evening news at this point. There’s just something comforting about knowing that every Sunday I’ll see the same family from my childhood waiting for me whenever I feel like visiting. Why would you really want to take that away?

This right here is one of the most popular education-based toy around. And it's a video game system.

If I were pressed to defend the educational value of video games, I probably couldn’t do much other than say they can teach reading, math, problem solving, community interaction, cause and effect, and hand-eye coordination skills, so really I’d have an uphill battle talking about their benefits (wink). However, there are a handful of very popular toys being sold this very second to parents wishing to give their kids a little boost in the learning aspect of playing while still making sure the toy is fun (gotta love parents). But just what are some of the most popular educational and learning toys right now?

Yay! A noise-maker for kids!

Heard of LeapFrog? You probably have since they’re selling tons upon tons of electronic toys aimed at teaching kids. It just so happens one of their best-selling products is a video game system called the Leapster. It looks like a mutant Game Boy but plays like something with the explicit purpose of learning in the foreground. However, you can easily fool a kid into forgetting he’s learning something when the character in the game is Batman. LeapFrog also has a wide variety of other electronic-type toys with the Learn & Groove Musical Table for kids (a thing that makes noise), the Spin and Sing Alphabet Zoo (a thing that makes noise), or the Scribble and Write (I’m sure it makes some sort of noise, it is a child’s toy after all).

Responsibilities! Exciting!

If, perhaps, you’d rather not futz with noise or electronics in general, our good friends Melissa & Doug have more than enough toys made of wood and magnets. Sometimes simple can be best, and Melissa & Doug tends to make very high-quality toys that last and last. It’s hard to beat a magnetic alphabet set or a magnetic responsibility chart. Sure, kids hate responsibility, but disguise it with magnets and they’re sold.

Dang that kid looks happy. I want some of those blocks!

Fisher-Price is still around and doing just fine, by the way. Do you remember them from your childhood? I sure do. I had all sorts of plastic blocks and shapes and steering wheels and things of that nature from Fisher-Price, and I’m happy to say they still make all those things with their Brilliant Basics Baby’s First Blocks staying as a bestseller. Their Sesame Street Silly Sounds Remote may not really be in the same category though. It may say “Sesame Street: on it, but it also says “Silly Sounds” which is code for “Lots o’ Noise.” Just get the blocks.

Hooray for bugs! What, you don't like bugs? That's science!

It’s also cool to see that the Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden is up near the top in sales. Why is that? Bugs, while super gross, are also super cool. Plus, it’s impossible for kids to find bugs in the house, so they have to go outside. If they can find tons of bugs inside, you’re teaching your kids something wrong. I was always happy as a kid with a bug net and a jar to keep my findings in. I assume kids haven’t changed too much since my childhood.

This is an incomplete list of the bestselling Education and Learning toys, but it’s a good start for sure. If all else fails, I can’t think of a single kid that’d say no to “Imagination Time” with their loving parents. In fact, I might just call my dad and see if he’s up for a game of it right now.

Who would win in a drag race between Matchbox and Hot Wheels?

I wrote an article last week about Hot Wheels cars, but upon posting it something started gnawing at me. While talking about Hot Wheels, I had completely neglected to mention Matchbox, the opposing brand. What makes this worse is that as a kid, I couldn’t distinguish between the two as both brands made little toy cars. They still do of course, so it’s only fair that I give you the other side of the story.

The Other Big Name In Toy Cars

What is the key difference that separates Matchbox cars with Hot Wheels cars? As far as I can tell, one has an imprint on the bottom that says “Matchbox” and one has an imprint that says “Hot Wheels.” This does not by any means imply that I believe one to be a knock-off or inferior or anything. Heck no, both brands are awesome and as a kid I was perfectly happy getting either. I happened to get most of my toy cars as hand-me-downs though, so it didn’t make much of a difference as long as the cars had wheels.

If I had to make a sweeping generalization about the differences, I’d say that Hot Wheels tend to be more fantastic in nature, emphasizing designs that are impossible such as a stegosaurus or a torpedo car, whereas Matchbox was more concerned with real world vehicles like ambulances and police cars. The playsets seemed to reflect this as well since I remember having Hot Wheels tracks meant for jumps but Matchbox sets like a city landscape or a triple-decker parking garage.

Don't ask me why, but I always thought realistic cars were just as cool as dragon cars.

The important thing about all of this is that more brands mean more variety, and I already noted Hot Wheels’ incredible number of different vehicles to choose from. Matchbox may have even more than Hot Wheels if we’re talking variety of collectibles, but either way, it makes it even easier to have a collection entirely original to you and no one else.

One thing that I find really cool about Matchbox is the official website makes reference to the 100 new cars released this past year. Yes, 100 new cars to collect. They even provide a checklist for the hardcore collectors, and with a 20-car pack being priced at $19.99, that sounds like a fair challenge for the year. You’d be so lucky to only spend a C-note on toys each year.

I remember the time my uncle gave me an old tackle box filled with all the Matchbox cars he had as a kid. Some were busted pretty badly, but the majority were in perfect working condition. This equaled an awesome time of taking each car out of the tackle box and checking out what it was. Parents, make sure to pass down your toys as soon as possible to your kids. Few things are more enjoyable for the kid.

There is certainly something to say for simplicity.

Do you have a favorite Matchbox car from your youth? Can you tell the big difference between Matchbox and Hot Wheels from a distance of twenty feet? Do you prefer one or the other? I want to know your thoughts. Leave a comment and I’ll get back to you once I’m done checking out my collectibles.

I don't care, I'd still ride in the Barbie version.

I was insanely jealous of anyone who had a Power Wheels as a kid. Sure, I was fairly content with my Hot Wheels, but how was I supposed to compete with those kids that could ride around in their toy and laugh at me? I couldn’t, that’s how. And why? Because Power Wheels were beyond awesome. Let’s talk about why.

Imitation at the Heart of the Fun

As kids, one of the activities we most enjoy is imitating adults. Inversely, as adults, our favorite activity is imitating children, though that’s somewhat frowned upon despite it’s truth. If you consider some staples of children’s toys, you’ll see that consistent high-sellers are kitchen sets, vacuums, life-like dolls, phones, and steering wheels. It all makes sense as kids just love doing anything that they see adults do. So when someone comes along and decides to create a Jeep Wrangler that kids can drive around, Ham Radio included, is it any wonder that kids go nuts for these things?

Dang it, look how happy this kid looks! I want to be this kid!

While I didn’t have a Power Wheels, I had friends that did. I’d hop in their Barbie Jeep and roll around talking to Barbie because, forget you, it was freaking sweet. I was DRIVING a VEHICLE. No one was going to say I wasn’t cool because my little imagination was way above whatever the real world was doing. So what could be cooler than all that? How about a Kawasaki Power Wheels? Check and mate. The product even has the word “Ninja” in its full title, so there will be no convincing a child otherwise on the wonderfulness of said product.

An Expense Worth Making

And sadly you probably will want to convince them otherwise as Power Wheels, while cool, are crazy expensive. We’re talking past $200 expensive. I wish I had one as a kid, but I never questioned why my parents didn’t plunk the money for one of these bad boys. It’s a big investment to make and the only place to really use a Power Wheels is outside, meaning that if you live in an apartment complex, these kids are probably going to be unable to ride it anyway.

It's sad, because what kid wouldn't want to roam the open fields in one of these?

However, don’t let me deter those of you with ample space and money, plus a kid or two. A common complaint from parents these days is the lack of outside exercise kids get. Some things make for great incentives to get kids outside, and Power Wheels count as such an incentive. Even though they’re riding around in these they’ll be getting exercise. Trust me, no kid can resist a full-fledged imagination adventure involving a high-speed chase that leads to him hopping out of the car and sprinting around in circles fighting bad guys with an invisible katana. If I had a Power Wheels right now I’d totally do that.

That’s pretty much all there is to say about the wonder of Power Wheels. Any of you have fortunate enough childhoods to have Power Wheels? What are your thoughts on the matter? I’d like to know, so you need to post a comment.

Simple Fun Without Limits

So what made and still make Hot Wheels so great? Not to sound too crass, but they’re extremely cheap. You can get a pack of 10 for under $15, and a lot of stores will sell them individually for 99 cents. Even better is the sheer amount of models to choose from. You and your friend could each own three-dozen cars and only have two that look identical. This means that every kid has a chance to have a unique set of cars best suited for his or her personality (sure, girls like Hot Wheels, too).

Sweet Glavin! This 10 set has a motorcycle?! I would have killed for a motorcycle Hot Wheels as a kid.

What did I have? I had a few cars that I absolutely loved, but my favorite for some reason was a beat up old Jeep that had a hood that could open. I had entire plotlines that involved this Jeep fighting other cars, just because it was my favorite and clearly the hero among my other cars. It had a posse of several other, “cooler” cars, but nothing could outclass my Jeep, not even the Mach 5 from Speed Racer or a car shaped like a dragon. Nope, the Jeep was my favorite.

Yeah, I'd be happy if I could race cars through a shark all day, too.

They also make great gifts for your dad.

I’m taking another day off video games to go into one of my favorite things from my childhood: Die-cast cars. The term can be applied to a lot of things, such as Hot Wheels and the like, but I actually won’t be bringing Hot Wheels into this since, well, that makes for an article in of itself sometime next week. Okay, not the classic thought of what makes a car a Hot Wheels car at least. I can’t lie, I’m talking about the most popular die-cast cars right now, so Hot Wheels are going to show up in some way or another.

Hot Wheels Showing Their Stuff

How are they showing up? The highest selling die-cast cars at the moment are Hot Wheels toys based off Disney and Pixar’s movie Cars. Y’all might be familiar with that movie, but if you’re not, the whole premise is centered around a car named Lightning McQueen that wants to be the DinoCo official car by winning all sorts of races. So pretty much the whole world is populated by cars. It’s actually a really good movie with Owen Wilson playing Lightning McQueen. The odd thing here is that the most popular die-cast car isn’t Lightning McQueen; it’s Mater, the junky tow truck voiced by Larry the Cable Guy. I…I don’t make these things up. I wouldn’t make that up if I could.

I guess I can't make fun. My favorite die-cast car was a beat up old jeep.

So what else is popular these days? Star Trek. That means the USS Enterprise is getting bought by the galaxyful in the form of a 1:50 scale model on a nifty little display stand. If I had one of those as a kid, I’d have done nothing else but run around my house flying it from the kitchen to the living room and beyond. I was never into Star Trek at any point of my life, but anything that could fly was considered awesome to me. I assume the same still holds true for kids everywhere.

Something a Bit More Classic

Thus far we’ve had die-cast toys based off talking cars and space ships. There’s an actual car in the die-cast model best sellers, right? You’re dang right there is. High up on the list is the Burago-made Lamborghini 1:18 scale model, met closely by the 1957 Chevy Corvette made by Yat Ming. Kids that want these models are just classy folk and know style. If a kid walks up to his grandpa and says he wants a 1957 Chevy Corvette die-cast model for his birthday, I guarantee it’ll make that man weep tears of joy. I know it’d have that effect on my grandpa at least, and he’s awesome.

This is the USS enterprise, not a 1957 Chevy Corvette. If you can't tell the difference, I've severely over-estimated this generation.

All of these cool-sounding die-cast models must cost a fortune, right? Wrong. Everything I’ve mentioned here is priced under $30, with some, like the Mater toys from Mattel, priced under $6. Kids wanting a die-cast model of something are well within modesty when they request such an item, so treat ‘em well. Stay tuned next week for a larger article on Hot Wheels. Better go out and stock up in preparation.

They're cute, but behind their innocent faces are creatures of pure terror.

Chris Whitmore was kind enough to give us a rundown of these Zhu Zhu Pets earlier this year. You might have read that. But what Whitmore did not do is ask me for my opinion, which is usually a mistake as I have a very loud, very correct opinion on everything (and it never gets annoying or pompous or anything like that, clearly). Maybe I want to talk about the hottest toy of 2009. Why can’t I? I’m going to. Here we go.

The Zhu Zhu Pet Craze

What is a Zhu Zhu Pet? It’s a robot hamster as far as I can figure them out. And, if I may speak frankly for a second, that makes them vastly superior to regular hamsters. Robo hamsters don’t stink, they don’t bite, they don’t need to be fed, they don’t need constant attention or love, and they don’t get little flaky chips of wood everywhere. I’m pretty sure a Zhu Zhu hamster would eat a regular hamster if put into the same cage with one.

Your kids have probably decided they want one of these things for Christmas or equally great gift-giving time (there are many, so make sure you have a gift for each one ready to go), but you can’t just get them one Zhu Zhu Pet and be done with it. These things are like a flowerpot. Sure, you can buy a nice flowerpot, but you should probably put a pretty flower in there and add some good soil, maybe put it in a place other people can see it. Also, buy it a car. Yeah, Zhu Zhu Pets are just like flowerpots, except not.

See? Just like a flower pot. Oh, but you'll be expected to buy everything on this chart by the way.

Fun With Zhu

See, there are numerous Zhu Zhu’s (Zhu Zhi?), to pick from, and you darn well get them all. Currently there are four, but expect these to act like real hamsters and create exponentially more hamsters. And these Zhu Zhi must live somewhere, so you buy them a little area for them to run around in on their robo paws (which zoologists have dubbed “wheels”). But you can’t just get a little circle for them to run around. No, you’ve been instructed to purchase an interlocking city of Zhu for these Zhu Zhi so that they may worship their Zhu god named Zhuzhabar (all speculation of course).

There are all sorts of things you can purchase for your happy Zhu Zhu Pet. Everything from a bed to a hamster wheel to a car to a- Wait, a car? Why would a robo hamster need a car? Oh, what’s that Zhuzhabar? You say all Zhu Zhi need cars to be happy? Well alright then, sounds logical. You can also get them carrying bags, hamster balls, and boats. What, boats?! Oh come on!

Do hamsters really need a boat? It would seem that yes, they do.

I’d like to bring the mood in a little bit. Let’s talk, shall we? Zhu Zhu Pets are hot. Really hot. And they’re going to be even hotter the closer you get to December 25th. It may be in your best interest to go out and purchase one Zhu Zhu hamster and one extra thing to go along with it, just in case you discover that your child actually wants one. We’ve seen Tickle Me Elmo cause riots, Furbies scare the bejeezus out of us, and the Nintendo Wii cause us to do things we’re not entirely proud of, but it doesn’t have to be that way with Zhu Zhu Pets. Do things quickly, do them quietly, and we can all go home before the rioting begins.