Sure the Technodrome made you Commander Cool, but what other toys couldn't I have as a kid?

Remember a Christmas or birthday when you wanted that one special toy, but no one got it for you? Now you understand…it was ridiculously expensive, or impossible to locate. You were disappointed then, because there was no such thing as ebay or Amazon, and instead you got a sweater.

Well, now I’m going to take a long look back at the items that even made Santa say, “I…um…YOU WANT WHAT?!” Any kid with one of these babies was instantly cool in my eyes, no matter how much he smelled. I bet every one of them is easy to find nowadays, too.

Keep in mind, this is my personal list, in chronological order of their production. These were impossible to find, and expensive as heck for me and my parents.

10.) The U.S.S. Flagg playset (G.I. JOE)

This thing ate my Ghostbusters Firehouse for breakfast.

Okay, yes, this one was a few years before my time. It was released in 1985, and is to this day the biggest action figure playset known-to-geek. It was well over seven feet long, and could store GI Joe vehicles and figures. A friend of mine had one when I was very young, and let me tell you something: there is nothing quite so epic as an all-out, vehicle-on-vehicle battle between whole armies of figures on your own personal aircraft carrier. Unfortunately for me, my parents didn’t have $90-110 lying around, and they certainly didn’t have space for the Flagg to lie around. It was bigger than my bed, after all. If you had this as a kid…I kind of hate the kid version of you. The adult you is still okay, though.

9.) The Super Soaker 50

The latest in hydraulic shenanigans at the time.

This was the only toy that I wanted, my brother wanted, and my dad bought…for himself. Apparently, computer companies in the early 90’s employed some screwballs who enjoyed water-gun fights in the office. So, I didn’t get the original Super Soaker, first named the Power Drencher (good call on that change, eh?) that came out in 1990. Instead, I was given the consolation prize: the smaller, orange-colored version of the same gun, dubbed the Super Soaker 30. Water fights were all the rage back then, and they haven’t really come back since that golden age of pressurized warfare.

8.) The Talkboy (Home Alone 2: Lost in New York)

Looking back, this thing was so dopey. I feel embarrassed for my younger self.

The movie was a total rehash of the first, but as a kid I thought it was amazing cinema. Apparently, Macaulay Culkin’s crazy piece of technology that let him pose as an adult was never meant for mass-production. It was a non-working prop. But after many letters and phone calls, a working version was created by Tiger Electronics in 1993. Keep in mind that this “toy” was just a tape recorder, with a few dodgy features like an extendable microphone that extended about half an inch. This is why my dad put his foot down and said, “Kyle, if you want a tape recorder, you’ll get a tape recorder. If you want a toy, you’ll get a real toy.” Thank you dad, for being wiser than me at that age. Luckily, I did end up getting the weak little ballpoint pen version for a quarter of the price.

7.) Talking 12” Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story)

Available at all Al’s Toy Barn outlets in the Tri-County area.

Thanksgiving of 1995 meant the best toy shopping for Christmas. That was when I told my dear, unsuspecting parents that I wanted the most movie-faithful Buzz Lightyear that their money could buy. Predictably, we drove all over Oregon’s Willamete Valley looking for that goofy space ranger because retail stores didn’t order enough. Imagine sifting through fifty Woody dolls, and finding a Mr. Potato Head at the bottom of the bin, as a cruel joke. Pixar even took a shot at those retailers in the sequel when Tour Guide Barbie explained, “Back in 1995, short-sighted retailers did not order enough dolls to meet demand.” My demands were met, however, and I’m proud to say that I owned the first-run Talking Buzz, which in mint condition in the box can go for over $500 today. Something touching here: I recently donated my Buzz to a young child, who hopefully treats my rare little friend with care. *sniff*

6.) Batman Forever Triple Action Vehicle Set

I must not make jokes about Batman’s wonderful little toys. Every time I do, Joel Schumacher gets another movie deal.

This was a pretty cool one. Sure, Batman Forever was goofy, and a little heavy on the Jim Carrey (I didn’t even order that side of Tommy Lee Jones’s face), but the toys were pretty awesome. I distinctly remember my Bruce-to-Batman figure from the movie, and I wanted so badly to sit him in this beautiful vehicle. Batwing, Bat Boat, and Batmobile all in one, this was available around Christmas 1996 if I remember right. Again, too big and too expensive for my parents, but easy to find in any Target. I found one online for about $120 yesterday, and I still kind of want it. I mean, come on! It’s all three in one!

5.) Spider-Man Web Blaster

Silly String Plus: now with over-elaborate comic book tie-in.

Did anyone else write a three-page argument to their mother about the benefits of shooting Silly String from your wrist? No? You guys weren’t trying hard enough. No written diatribe could convince my parents to arm me with Peter Parker’s ingenious device. This was right around the time I got into comics, around 1996 or so, and I decided that this toy was the closest I would ever come to being Spidey. The great part is that they keep remaking this little gem. Eventually, Hasbro wisely toned down the messy, aerosol-based ammo and created suitable replacements for worried parents. These days, child Spider-men shoot water, rubber webs, and foam disks out of their wrists, just to name a few. None come close to the original, though.

4.) Dr. Judy Robinson (Cryo-Suit) Action Figure (Lost in Space)

Yeesh. I should blow this thing up on the 4th of July this year, while playing the Lenny Kravitz cover of “American Woman.”

Please don’t make fun of me, but I was a huge fan of this movie when it came out in 1998. It released two weeks before my birthday, and is the film credited with knocking Titanic out of the #1 slot. It was also a terrible film, and all involved wished it didn’t exist. In late 1997, the toy line came out and I devoured it, buying every bit I could. The Judy Robinson figure, modeled after Heather Graham, was the unicorn. I didn’t even want to play with it; I just wanted to find it. By the time my grandmother found it at a swap meet, it was a year later. I eventually had two of them, because I naïvely thought that one would be an expensive collector’s item in the box. I still have it, as a mark of my toy-collector’s shame. It can easily be found online for less than four dollars.

3.) “Power of the Force” Electronic AT-AT Vehicle (Star Wars)

That’s how Vader strikes back…with impractical, articulated legs on his tanks!

This behemoth turned mere battles into all-out wars. When Star Wars toys made a huge comeback in 1997, my parents warned me against putting gigantic hulks of plastic on my wish-lists (especially if they made loud, disturbing laser sounds). An interesting thing about this vehicle: it comes with two figures, that of the AT-AT driver and General Veers, the leader of Vader’s ground forces. Star Wars vehicles usually didn’t come with appropriate driver figures at the time, so I thought it was a nice touch. Find this giant robot camel online, and you’ll probably spend $80-$100 on it, mint in the box.

2.) The All-Powerful Nintendo 64

Goldeneye (Kyle), Banjo-Kazooie (Gus), Ocarina of Time (Chris), and everyone else’s favorite game of the late 1990’s was available for one machine.

Ah, yes. There are Youtube videos dedicated to the rapture of owning an N64. First available in 1996, the 64-bit video game shrine brought Nintendo back to the top, after the strange days of Sega Saturn failed to properly impress gamers in North America. This was the first major purchase for me that wasn’t entirely made of molded plastic. It was also the first that I was forced to pay for myself. I saved up for 18 months to buy my used 64, with one controller and one game (Goldeneye) in 1998. Many summer days blew by as my brother and I became pros at Super Smash Bros., and eventually I became the podracing champion of the galaxy in 2000 (I’ve since retired). Pick one of these up if you missed out on it back in the day, they are durable as heck and have more fantastic games than any other system out there, in my opinion.

1.) Lego Millennium Falcon

Someday, I’ll get it. My girlfriend says we can put it in our wedding registry! Um, would you all please excuse me? Gaaaawwww…

Okay, here’s the thing. They have been improving this set for years, and every time they came out with a new version, it was more expensive and more impressive. The latest version, the Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon, became available back in 2007, and is currently waiting for me at the nearest Lego store for $500. For that, you get the 5,000 pieces to build the three-foot-long ship and populate it with five minifigures. Did I mention that this is the biggest (as well as the coolest) Lego set ever? It will be mine…after I pay back my student loans…

Looking for more Top Ten Lists? Check these out:

-Top 10 Best Zelda Items

-The 20 Greatest Mario Enemies Ever

-The 10 Most Ridiculous Ninja Turtle Action Figures

These are some pretty high quality toys right here. Toy Story's still got it.

I don’t want to jinx this, but I’d really like to see Toy Story 3 receive a perfect 100% at Rotten Tomatoes, thus making the Toy Story series have a perfect score. While it’s most likely not going to happen since at least one reviewer will be jaded for no reason other than to cost it a perfect score, it’ll still be a hugely successful movie. And you know what that means? Merchandise! Toy Story has always had toys tying in, I know you’re shocked, and now that the new movie is a few days away I think we should talk about those, don’t you? So let’s go to infinity and…let’s, let’s just go.

The Shotgun Approach to Toys

Toy Story has a huge strength in merchandising that may also be it’s greatest weakness: The basic premise involves toys without any inherent theme. What this means is that the majority of the toys from the movie are independent to their genre, such as a space ranger, a cowboy, a Mr. Potato Head, or Barbie. This creates a shotgun effect in terms of a target market. While you’re sure to find at least one product that interests a kid, you generally won’t find one that’s interested in ALL the toy line and feels compelled to buy each and every item that has the Toy Story logo stamped somewhere.

Buzz Lightyear has wings. I'm happy. What more can I say?

Yes, there will be some kids that fall into that unlikely category of Toy Story brand loyalty, but generally you will find kids interested in one sort of toy and coming across a Toy Story-related toy in that area of interest. For instance, if you tend to love dinosaurs and collect dinosaur toys of all sorts, you’ll probably think the new Rex toy is awesome, but may not have any real interest in a Woody action figure.

However, it becomes apparent that the Toy Story brand realizes this weakness and decided to make sure that the various toys were excellent in their category. The Barbie and Ken pack is exactly what you’d think it is, and we all know that Barbie is pretty darn popular already. Jessie the cowgirl has a doll aimed specifically at girls, just as you’d expect the doll from the movie to be crafted.

Yup, that looks like Barbie and Ken alright. Very 90's. I like it.

Probably the big standout is the 12’’ Buzz Lightyear as it’s, well, Beyond Awesome. It comes in the spaceship box from the movies, has all the features the movie Buzz Lightyear has, and isn’t over $50. They’ve had these sort of Buzz Lightyear super toys out since the first movie, but they’re really stepping up their game to make them even closer to exact movie replicas this round, meaning your kid probably wants one for Christmas/birthday/Wednesday.

I want a few of these, just so I can see Buzz Lightyear fight with Buzz Lightyear because there can be only ONE!

The great equalizer may just be the LEGO sets. Since it’s LEGO, there’s no need to care about the specific genre. LEGO seems to just have one genre anyway and that genre is LEGO. The downside to the LEGO sets? The LEGO prices. No surprises, but still, good Lord LEGO, a little sympathy already. Haven’t we loved you enough over the years for a little price break?

For some reason this is more expensive than that ultimate Buzz Lightyear I just mentioned. How'd that happen?

I most suggest the action figure line if you’re looking for a solid gift for someone into Toy Story. Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the rest are crafted rather well, as has been the case in the past. Woody will always look a bit out of place as a stiff plastic toy since he’s intended to be made of cloth, but the Buzz Lightyear action figures consistently deliver. Don’t forget my number one action figure rule: Toys that can “fly” are always cool. And look at that, Buzz Lightyear has wings. Sold. Despite this advice, I’m pretty sure the most popular Toy Story 3 product will be the Toy Story 3 Silly Bandz since those are also stupidly popular right now.

It really doesn’t matter if you mean to buy a Toy Story 3 product or not. If you have a child or have to buy a gift for anyone under the age of 10 this year, you’ll undoubtedly encounter something that says Toy Story on it somewhere. Thankfully you really can’t go wrong in terms of quality, so thank your lucky stars.

When I was growing up, almost every kid I knew had LEGOs. We all enjoyed building different objects, letting our imaginations do the work. There were instructions to follow, but individual creations were always more fun. And with the LEGO Ultimate Building Set, it seems that the trend is still going strong today.

With 405 pieces, this set is enough for any child to have a great time and perfect for any first-time LEGO user. Step-by-step instructions are available for five different models, but as said before, there is no limit to what can be created. Accessories such as wheels, doors, and windows are available for the models, but can be used for any number of objects. And the included building plate allows for a sturdy foundation to all your creations.

And for any parent that might be worried, the LEGO Ultimate Building Set comes a convenient container that allows for easy cleanup and no mess around the house. This feature also doubles for the creator, as the see-through cover creates the perfect display to show off your masterpiece.

So all in all, this set won’t keep long time LEGO users interested for very long, but for first-timers, this is a great starting point. The instructions for the five models will help children get the basic idea of how to construct something, and those provide a great stepping stone of which they can branch off. After all these years, it’s great to see that there is still enjoyment to build and create at a young age and the LEGOs are still around to provide that creativity.

So here we go, hold on tight, and please no food or drinks while the article is in motion.

10. Bananagrams:

Real bananas have letter tiles in them, too.

I’ve seen Bananagrams every time I go into a classic toy store, but I was never quite sure what to make of it. Obviously I’ve discovered that the thing I had never heard of outside my own random noticings is a super successful game that people have been buying like it’s a source of real potassium. The game has you rearranging letter tiles to spell out words faster than your opponents can, so think Scrabble but then don’t, if that makes sense. Better yet, just pick up the game for a loved-one and have them teach you how to play.

9. Qwirkle Board Game:

Looks about like what'd expect froma game named "Qwirkle."

I’m going to go ahead and just say that board games are back with a vengeance. You’ll be seeing more board games here on this list (and a whole lot more in my typical articles), possibly because people enjoy playing with each other again. My theory is that they’ve all forgiven each other for the sins of Monopolies past and moved on to creating new hateful memories with different games. Qwirkle is one of those games. I could explain the rules, but I can’t exactly decipher them enough myself, so you’re best just taking my word for it that Qwirkle is a good choice for a simple game with a lot of replay value to it, and really, those are probably the best.

8. Melissa & Doug See & Spell:

Time to see and/or spell.

Hey, now here’s a toy we’ve covered way back in the long long-ago (July). The See & Spell is exactly what it sounds like: it’s a collection of pictures with words spelled out on them. This one’s for the younger kids as a means to teach spelling and the like, but be warned that there are small pieces, so choking is probably a huge concern (heck, even as an adult choking is a huge concern).

7. LEGO Ultimate Building Set – 405 Pieces:

Oh LEGO, how I love thee. Let me count the ways...

Good, LEGO is getting some face time here. And ever better, it’s for a completely ambiguous set that requires the child to use his or her imagination and design something without instructions (a skill most men end up attempting anyway later in life). This is a great gift for the young builders in the family, but remember that LEGO bricks are small and can be severe choking hazards, so, you know, no newborns, please.

6. Bop It:

Hey, you get your mind out of the gutter right this instant.

What this “It” is that we’re bopping I have no idea, but it sure is fun. I still remember Bop It from when I was a kid and my sister got a Bop It game. It’s been redesigned slightly and the color got changed to white instead of black, but it’s the same simple game. Computer tells you to either “Bop It,” “Twist It,” or “Pull It,” and you must do that as fast as possible before it freaks out. Think Simon Says but on speed.

5. Ucreate Music:

I think kids like this "music" thing I've heard so much about.

If I told you that the Ucreate Music mixer allowed you to mix your own music, would you be shocked? Yeah, I didn’t think so. That’s what this is, no more and no less. Your kids can see what it’s like to be a music editor without some supremely expensive high-technical device that they’ll get frustrated with immediately and never touch again. No, this is the good option for the music-inclined kids that haven’t got all that instrument playing mastered quite yet and don’t have Garage Band on a Mac.

4. Blokus Classics Game:

I'd play with this even if no one else was playing with me.

Blokus is sort of like Tetris but more in-your-face, if that’s at all possible (it is). It’s won all sorts of awards as a game due to its enjoyment factor and apparent learning qualities. Yeah, don’t tell your kids they’re learning anything. Just tell them the game is popular and they’ll be cooler if they have the game. They’ll love it, just like everything else on this list.

3. Wild Planet Hyper Dash:

Aliens are designing our kids' toys now, by the way.

I wish I could explain exactly what this thing is, but I’m at a loss. I must be getting old or something. What I do know is that Wild Planet Hyper Dash is a fast-faced game based on reflexes where you listen to whatever the bell-shaped thing tells you to do. If it tells you it wants the red disc, you darn well better do something with the red disc. It has a few different difficulty settings, so there are all sorts of chances to be yelled at by an electronic device.

2. Scrabble Slam Cards:

Good stocking-stuffer right here.

Whoa, another thing that we covered this year. Funny trend there. Anyway, Scrabble slam is a game that mixes the word spelling of Scrabble with the raw hatred contained in a fast-paced card game. It’s a good game alright, but it’s one of those games that’ll cause your friends to evaporate and your family relationship deteriorate the moment someone decides to throw down and get serious about this whole family game night thing.

1. Scene It? Twilight Deluxe Edition:

What did I tell you kids about vampires and TV?

I’m disappointed. No, I really am. *sigh* Okay, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be so judgmental (doctor’s orders). I mean, something doesn’t just magically become the top selling toy-related item by being something everyone hates. Naturally, Twilight has a bad reputation because it’s so darn successful, and at this point in history you either love it or hate it. At least Scene It? is getting played and that’s good enough for me at the moment so kudos to that. I’d just prefer they made a TMNT edition just for me.

Real police stations should look like this.

There is no way I can cover the entirety of Lego in one small article. Therefore, I will limit myself to strictly non-Bionicle Lego since that just asks for a whole article unto itself. Pretty much every kid had a set of Lego.

And by the way, it is Lego, no ’s’ at the end, though that is a common misconception. Apparently the Lego brand utterly HATES when people make that mistake. Personally, I don’t care, but that’s just because I’m spending so much time building a spaceship or a jet formed from an RV and a police station to care what’s happening in the rest of the world.

In the simplest terms, Lego cannot be contained to one simple category despite the various series of models they’ve put out. While you may get a pirate ship set, nothing is stopping you from deciding it should be a knight’s fortress or a coffee shop, assuming you have the know-how to assemble whatever your mind can dream up.

The Brief History

Remember when pirates were actually cool?

The first Lego bricks were created by Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1949, though Christiansen had been making wooden toys since the 932 with his company that he named Lego, a name Christiansen coined in 1934 that came from the Danish term “leg godt,” which meant “play well.” And that’s where “Lego” comes from. Now you know.

However, it wasn’t until 1958 that the current standard for Lego bricks was formed, but since then every Lego brick has been compatible. Seriously, if you can find some Lego bricks from 1958, they still fit with bricks being manufactured this very second.

I’m sure everyone has owned at least one Lego model over the years. One of the best Christmases I’ve ever had involved me coming down to a track of Lego road pieces with a truck stop built on them, complete with multiple big rigs, a firefighter’s jeep, an RV, and an airplane for good measure. Since that moment I was thrilled to construct, play with, and then deconstruct models both sanctioned by Lego and of my own design.

Popular Brands Love Lego

More recently you’ll probably find Lego tied to other big names, such as Harry Potter, LEGO Batman, and LEGO Star Wars. Most boys my age drooled over the thought of owning the super duper model of the Millennium Falcon, but of course most of our families were unable to afford something that cost as much as a year’s salary (okay, they weren’t that expensive, but they were ridiculous for little plastic bricks).

Go ahead, try and build a pony out of this.

Personally, I’d advise finding something a little less on the dramatic side and more on the functional side. A firehouse is always fun, or a police station, purely because both of those are important once you begin building space ships and time machines since there will be aliens and Vikings and all sorts of things that will eventually need to be arrested or saved from fire.

Of course you can’t go wrong with a kit of pure building Lego bricks, though I would suggest that more for the sort of kids already excelling at creating models other than what comes in the Lego manuals.

Depending on your interest in a Lego set, you could spend under $10 or over $100. Sadly, you’re paying for the name here, so expect the models to be more expensive than other brands, but still, you get what you pay for and then some. Lego will be around forever; they continue to be one of the most reliable and sturdy building toys around.

Lego lost its bid to make the iconic brick shape of its products a trademarked-protected design.  According to ToyNews,

The ruling rejected Lego’s claims that its bricks have special chacteristics that set them apart and ruled that Lego’s two rows of studs on top of the brick performed a utilitarian function and were not ‘for identification purposes in the trademark sense.’

This claim has become increasingly important for Lego as other markets have grown up around the classic look of the plastic building blocks.  For example, this MP3 player by HOMADE is styled to look like blocks in order to attract the youngest of the technological age.

We agree with the ruling’s sentiment that functional designs for stackable blocks should not be the intellectual property of only one toy producer.  It seems that Lego is forgetting its own history – after all, the design of LEGO bricks is based on the design of Kiddicraft’s “Self-Locking Bricks,” which were sold in the UK up until the 1940.

It seems that LEGO may also have forgotten the sentiment behind its generations, too.  The term “Lego” is a contraction of the Dutch phrase “LEg GOdt” which means, “Play Well.”  Building blocks are a great toys for kids of all ages, and the right to “own” the simple mechanisms behind building blocks in simply nonsensical… LEGO should remember how to share.

According to Toy News , Lego and the National Schools Partnership (NSP) will work together to develop an after school program called the Lego Technic Club.  The purpose of the club is to help kids have the materials to engage their creativity and interest in technology design.

Sometimes corporate interests in public schools is questionable (for example, soft drink manufacturers and school lunch programs) but we applaud Lego for reaching out to public schools and helping generate brighter futures for kids.