1128 – Holiday Toy Catalog (from the 80’s!)

  • Notable Notes

    Notable Language:

    • Beetle Bop
    • GoBot Giant Puzzler
    • Ball Bearing Motion

    Notable Culture:

    • A Man for All Seasons
    • She-Ra
    • M.A.S.K

    Notable Talking Points:

    • You can’t page through a PDF
    • I couldn’t name a GoBot if I had to
    • The Star Wars vehicles were high quality
  • For Transcript of Episode Click Here

    Episode 1128 – Holiday Toy Catalog (from the 80's!)

     

    [START OF RECORDING]

     

    SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, whether you saw…if you’ve seen the movie G.I. Jane, you saw the G.I. Joe animated movie…I did not get a chance to see it when it was in the theatres about six or eight months ago from when I’m recording this, where you have no idea what I’m talking about. You say Scoots, what…or if you’ve…let me know. If you’ve ridden the Transformers ride or you love…or here’s another thing you could…if you love the humming of a transformer at a distance occasionally when you’re walking by it, we’re in the same club. Or even better; how about this one?

     

    If you’d love to hear a transformer hum…I don’t know if the last Transformer movie was Beetle Bop or whatever it was called. What was it called? It wasn’t…if you say Beetle Bop four times in a row…Yellow Beetle? I don’t know…Beetle Bumblebee…Bumblebee. Did Bumblebee hum or just make music? I don’t know, and I don’t know much, clearly. If you’re confused, you’re in the right place. It’s time for Sleep With Me, the podcast that keeps…here to keep you company because you deserve a good night’s sleep, to take your mind off of stuff, and help you fall asleep. It’s time for Sleep With Me, and thanks for making that possible, my patron peeps.

     

    INTRO: [INTRO MUSIC] Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. Alls you need to do or alls you could do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press Play, or press Play, then later get in bed, then turn out the…later turn out the lights. I think that’s most people’s experience. But you could; you could do it in whatever order you wish. Just watch that turning out the lights part. Get in bed, press Play, turn out the lights. That seems like the setup for a rap. Rocking the mic like a vandal. Why do I want…? I don’t know, but anyway…that just pop…I’m sorry, I’m just sharing what’s in my head.

     

    Also the smell of catalog is in my brain now, and the tactile feeling, but we’ll get to that eventually. Where was I? Turn out the lights, press Play, I’m gonna do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do is to create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake. It could be the…it could be that you’re…it could be you’re…whatever. It could be thoughts that you’re thinking about, thoughts from the past, the present, or the future. So thoughts on your mind, so thinking stuff. Thoughts, it could be feelings, anything you’re feeling physically, like anything coming up for you physically, physical sensations, anything you’re experiencing emotionally, feelings about the past, the present, the future, feelings that are just there, it could be changes in time or temperature or routine or weather, it could be something coming up, you could be traveling, you could have a guest.

     

    You could be just having a moment or just going through something, or part…in one of those many transitions of life that I wish would just…Thomas Moore was a man for all seasons, and I thought they never fully form…my thoughts; always in transmission. Anyway, what was…I don’t even know what I was talk…whatever’s keeping you awake, I’m here to take your mind off that and keep you company so that you could fall asleep. The reason we make the show is because you deserve a good night’s sleep. You deserve a bedtime you feel good about or at least neutral about, a bedtime you don’t have to dread and say oh, not again. That’s something I can relate to. I hear it come up all the time, too. People say yeah, I start worrying about Sunday night going to bed on Friday evening, and I can relate to that.

     

    You deserve a good night’s sleep, and it’s not just important to me, it’s important to everyone because you deserve a life where you get the rest you need, your life is more manageable, and you could flourish. That means your life’s better. That means the entire world we live in is better. So, I hope that this show can provide it for you. The other reason I make the show…I guess I said it already, is I can relate. There’s hundreds of thousands of people listening right now. While all of us might not know exactly what you’re going through, a lot of us can relate to how it feels. Maybe not everyone, and maybe it doesn’t feel that way, and that’s okay too, ‘cause I know how it feels when it doesn’t feel that way. It doesn’t feel that way…I know the feeling.

     

    That’s never been on a pillow before, but I…I’m not sure I know how it feels, but I know the feeling. It doesn’t feel that way. Not sure I know how it feels, but I know the feeling. It’s another podcast pillow that’ll never be made, because I forgot what it’s even…counterpoint? No, that’s not what it’s called. The old counterpoint pillows for debating. For couples, families, and more; counterpoint pillows. They’re pillows when you have a counterpoint. Or pillows…no, pillows too light to be used as counterweight. Also, pillows do not actually have points; they have rounded edges. Counterpoint pillows should not be thrown, but can be clutched in an iron vice-like grip, if needed. Counterpoint pillows. What was I…? Oh, ‘cause we can relate to what’s keeping you awake, maybe. That’s why we make the show.

     

    Now, the show does not work for everybody. Give it a few tries. That’s what hundreds of thousands…maybe a million people have said; took two or three tries to get used to the show. I didn’t like it at first. Or another one that comes up is I loathed the podcast the first time l listened, and then I came back and checked it out, and…years later and I said oh, wait a second, no, I love this show. I just loathe it at first. So, that’s some of the good news. Tell me more about your podcast. Sure. What I’ll do is I’ll send my voice across the deep, dark night. I’ll use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, and superfluous tangents. So, when you talk about good news, my voice is not traditionally soothing, and then…I never get to the point.

     

    I always get mixed up, then I’ll go back, then I’ll say wasn’t I gonna talk about newsprint or something? Then I’ll circle around, then I’ll forget, and then I’ll go off-topic…pointless meanders and superfluous tangents, all to keep you company so that you could fall asleep, because this is actually a podcast that doesn’t put you to sleep. There’s no pressure to fall asleep when listening to the show, no expectation that you’ll fall asleep, and…but also no expectation that you’ll listen. This is a podcast you barely listen to if you want. You could not listen at all. You could not pay…you could play it and not listen, but you can listen if you need some company in the deep, dark night, or you could just kinda barely listen. You say uh-huh, go on. Newsprint? I think you’re wrong. I say, you’re right.

     

    Newsprint and catalogs are two different things, maybe. But so, this is a podcast you don’t really listen to, it doesn’t really put you to sleep. I’m here to keep you company, to be your bore-friend, your bore-bae, your bore-sib, your bore-bud, your bore-bestie, your bore-bor, your neigh-bore, your friend in the deep, dark night to keep you company so that you could fall asleep. That’s my job. Yeah, that’s it. So, that’s a couple things. What else do you need to know? I have no idea. Sleep With Me is a podcast that’ll put you to sleep, barely keep you company, don’t really listen to me…yeah, I’m here to be your friend. If you can’t sleep, I’ll be here to the very end. If you need a break during the day, I’ll be here. If you want to run the show all night, you could do that.

     

    People use the shows in different ways, but let me explain to you a couple other things that throw people off in addition to all the other stuff I listed. In addition to the content of the show, my personality, my voice, the style of the show, structure of the show also throws people off. Now, the show is structured in a very specific way. So, it starts off with a greeting; friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, so you can say hm, I might check this podcast out. It feels welcoming. I feel kinda seen and I say yeah, maybe I’ll check it out. Then…now, this is the tough part; there’s support for the show which can throw people off, but it’s just that our goal is for the podcast to come out twice a week for free, and that’s the reality of how we do it.

     

    So, there’s support from sponsors and listeners who pay to skip the sponsor stuff and support the show directly. Then there’s support for listeners around the show and support for communities around the show. Then there’s the intro, which is separate from the support. Sometimes when people don’t like the support, they just lump it all together. But for most people, the support and then the intro is part of people’s wind-down routine for most listeners. Now, this isn’t to say there’s a right way to make…to listen to the show as you become a regular listener, but to say this is how the show is laid out. So, the intro goes on and on and on, and you say a normal podcast intro lasts like thirty seconds, man. I’d say, wasn’t I gonna talk about the smell of newsprint?

     

    Then I said no, it’s not newsprint; it was a catalog, because this episode is where we page through catalogs. Then I was thinking unfortunately I had to use a PDF, but now I’m imagining that feeling when you’re going through a catalog. That’s a nostalgic experience not really around very much. Maybe for the best, because you say, were those really needed? But it was very tactile. It had a feeling and a smell. Most of the time…I mean, I was doing it maybe in the bathroom or lying around on the floor. Not of the bathroom; of my house. But yeah, so…yeah, I don’t know. I was just thinking of…because this episode’s about catalogs of Sears and JC Penney toy catalogs. I mean, those things…I wonder what the deadlines for those were. They were probably done in June or July, I would think. I wonder how many people worked on it.

     

    I know my landlord one time, she worked for the JC Penney catalog. That was her career, and then I think she even had a pension from it. I hope; I’m not positive about that, but…and it could have been the Sears catalog. But anyway…and Los Angeles can let me know which one was made in Los Angeles. So, okay…oh, but maybe they were all made…oh no, they would have been…they…I wonder if they were printed locally or in a few distribution hubs. Interesting questions that won't ever be answered by me. Oh, so what was I talk…? Oh, so the intro goes on and on and on. Why does it go on and on and on? Is because most listeners are using it as part of their wind-down routine. So, the regular…new listener, you get introduced to the show and the style of the show and my personality. So you say, I don’t know.

     

    Or you say I’m not sure, and you say, but I’m willing to give it a try. It’s a free podcast and a couple people recommended it, and it’s different. At least the person that makes it and the people listening can understand how I feel. So, I’ll give it a try. So, that’s a new listener. But the regular listener ideally…or in design, the intro is part of their wind-down routine. So, they’re getting ready for bed or they’re doing another relaxing activity. There are 2% to 3% of people that skip ahead and start the show at twenty or thirty minutes, and then there’s some listeners that are falling asleep. We’re so happy for you. But for the majority of listeners, they use the show…the…with the intro part, the first twenty or thirty minutes, as a transition from being awake to getting to bed, and that’s just what’s been shown to work, is having a wind-down routine, a little twilight period, a little landing strip.

     

    So, that’s what I’m here to do, is barely engage you and kinda set the mood for you to drift off, and that’s what the intro does. So, that’s why it goes on and on and on. But it’s friendly, it follows the same structure every time, but it’s different every time, and that kinda goes from what…my experience and a lot of listeners’ experience, is if it’s the same thing every time, maybe whatever’s keeping you awake adjusts and says oh no, now he’s…they get confused by that, I believe. Now, maybe…they say wait a second, he’s right; he was wrong about newsprint, but I forgot what he was talking about, too. But I…yeah, okay. Yeah, no…most people have seen at least an IKEA catalog, so you say okay, I know what a catalog is. Yeah, I know what it feels like and smells like. So…oh, see how that just worked?

     

    Even my brain said I don’t know what’s next. But it’s familiar at the same time, where I’m kinda going through some things and I get…here’s a thing that’s familiar to most regular listeners…and their pets and fishes. What up, fishes? Is that I get mixed up and talk about strange things that pop in my brain. So, that’s the intro, then between the intro and the story, again, is support for the show so it can be free and come out twice a week, because believe it or not, a lot of work and effort and stuff goes into making this podcast. There’s no magic except for the magic of just keeping you company and easing you into bedtime. So, that’s the intro, then there’s support, then there’s a story.

     

    Tonight we’ll be going through some toy catalogs from the eighties, and me remembering things that after I recorded it, I misremembered my own memories. I said, I don’t think I…I think I shared with the listeners correctly. But in this episode, I thought I was sharing incorrectly because in the episode, I was. I was saying I thought I had this toy, and then I couldn’t remember having the toy. It turns out I was right; I never had that toy. I had another toy. So, that’s the structure of the show, then it ends with some thank-yous and goodnights. That’s why I make the show. I’m really glad you’re here. I really appreciate you coming by and checking this show out. I appreciate your time. Like I said, give it a few tries. See how it goes, ‘cause I work hard, I yearn and I strive. I really hope I can help you fall asleep, and here’s a couple ways I’m able to do it for you for free twice a week.

     

    Alright everybody, Scoots here, and this is a holiday toy catalog episode. We’re gonna be doing something slightly different than we did last year, which is I’m using one from Sears and one from JC Penney. I did slightly more prep this year because last year we kinda got bogged down by the bulk of the catalogs and by the time we got to the toys, it was like oh, the episode was at a close. So we didn’t do too much that I remember of the toys I played with and…thirst I had looking at these catalogs for toys I wouldn’t possess. But we can also do a little side-by-side of JC Penney and Sears to kinda see…well, I didn’t even think about it; we could see pricing, too, and their descriptions and their layouts. So, we’re starting…this is what year? ‘85, and one of the toy…so, this…I think I set this up before, but maybe not.

     

    So, when I was a kid, there was four…I played with a lot of toys, but there was four main sets of toys when…I wanted to play with and that I spent most of my time playing with. Everybody’s different, so that’s great. Whatever your experience is, you could say oh, okay, I could relate to your experience with your toys. One of the reasons I played with four different sets of toys was a gen…I was the oldest of six kids, so we shared toys and we had our own toys, too. Also, my parents had six kids, so they were really not…they weren’t completists. They weren’t like oh boy, I gotta…I really hope I can help you complete your Star Wars or your GoBot collection. They had a lot on their plate.

     

    So I would get different…I would ask for toys and I would get different toys, and then I would just play with them together…imagination, anyway. So, that’s one part of it. The other part of it, and I think this is people that aren’t of my generation, and even the generation before me. So, people…what’s that…? Like, younger Millennials and below, so anybody probably under thirty-eight, maybe? You might not know this, but so, we were raised by television, a lot of us, people my age. Most of that television was made to market either to…was a marketing vehicle. I didn’t even realize this, but it’s like oh, it was marketing toys and other consume…things…consumables.

     

    I’m setting aside the judgement of this a little bit even though you could hear it in my voice, but it’s just like, the way we were raised is like, I would get up Saturday morning and watch TV from the moment I got up until the cartoons stopped, and maybe hopefully there was something else on afterwards. But that was like, 11:00…11:00, 12:00. Then as soon as we got home from school, we watched cartoons. So, it’s just a different experience than being able to say huh, what do I want to watch or watch a…so, it’s just different. But I also didn’t realize…so, but that leads into…there was not a lot of rivalries ‘cause usually one type of character dominated. I will say that Transformers dominated over GoBots, but at the same time, there was two sets of robotic beings that could transform into vehicles; the Transformers and the GoBots.

     

    Now, they both had their own TV…animated programs, I guess ‘cause I remember the Transformers characters better. Maybe their stories and their character development were better, ‘cause I couldn’t name a GoBot if I had to. But now that I’m seeing…but we’re starting with the GoBots, ‘cause I did have some GoBots, because again, my toys were interchangeable. But let’s go through. This is from the JC Penney, ‘85. From the planet Gobotron, G-O-B-O-tron, come the GoBots. Now, GoBots I think is owned by Tonka. I don’t know if they were all die-cast metal, which would give them…but some Transformers were plastic and some Transformers were die-cast metal. Eventually I think they all became plastic.

     

    But I don’t think Tonka made Hot Wheels, but it would make sense for the Hot Wheels company to make this stuff, maybe. I don’t know. Okay, so they’re from Gobotron. They’re escaping from…oh, the Cycles, and the…oh, also those…the Cycles are out to get Earth. Friendly GoBots are on their way to capture the Cycles and save the world. But they have to disguise themselves on Earth, so GoBots turn into a vehicle, from helicopters to racing cars. Oh, all made of die-cast metal. Ages four and up. Now apparently one of the things GoBots could do is…Voltron and Mighty Morphin…is change into one giant thing. GoBot giant Puzzler…that has a star. Oh, it’s imported. Oh boy, it’s imported.

     

    It’s six mighty GoBots that can combine to form a giant vehicle; a Mercedes, a Porsche, a Lamborghini, a Corvette, a Datsun, and a Celica. Weighs a pound and a half. $32.99. But they come apart, I think, so that means you get one, two, three, four, five cars for thirty-two bucks. There’s also the warrior set. That’s a giant, fifteen-inch GoBots warrior. Four Power Suits to hold…oh, so maybe, I don’t know, these hold GoBots…and a spaceship that accommodates a GoBot in a secret compartment. GoBots not included. It has open and closing fists, includes Legend of the Power Suit storybook. Then they have a GoBot Mobile Command Center. Oh, okay; A and B show…yeah, so the A…the Puzzler, they show the cars. It turns into regular-looking, die-cast metal cars, at least in the picture.

     

    Then the Power Suit is more pieces. So, the GoBots would put those on. So, I wonder if A and B could be combined, too. Three-and-a-quarter-inch…huh, it doesn’t say. But yeah, the GoBot…that’s a battery…it has chromatic scanners to identify GoBots. You can deactivate enemy GoBots. It has two alien detectors. That could be useful without…outside of playing games. It has alarm…five different levels, remote-control elevator…refuel and maintain friendly GoBots in the station. Requires nine-volt battery, not included. But you can also order that right from…what is this, Sears or JC Penney? The Command Center…I’ve seen it before. It transforms into a transport or it can transform into something like a cheap-looking AT-AT walker.

     

    I guess part of the thing with the GoBots that I’m seeing — and I may be seeing a couple I played with — one, they were smaller, where Transformers were bigger, or larger. Then also, when they were robots, they looked a bit like…they didn’t look as cool. The Transformers looked like robots, where the GoBots looked like cars that barely…they don’t…they didn’t put in much effort into the…they wanted them to look like real die-cast metal cars. So that’s where they put their design focus, I assume. There’s a GoBot transport. This looks a little too much like the main Optimus Prime. It has Staks, a conventional cab truck that converts into a mighty robot, a heavy-duty trans-personal trailer. GoBots not included. That’s $18.99.

     

    Looking at the price points, I would say $18.99 is not a good investment unless you’re a fan of Staks. Here’s three packs of GoBots, assortments. Those are $12.99. Good and evil. You could get the good guy…good guy GoBots. It comes with a airplane, a helicopter, and a ambulance. I know we had the ambulance at our house, ‘cause I can recognize it, and maybe…not the helicopter, and…can’t tell if we had the aircraft. Then the bad guy GoBots…there’s Cycle. Either we had the cycle or the cycle was so…the main bad guy, then a jet. I don’t think we had that, and then a gold car. Then there’s also a gold…a GoBot purse. They call it a GoBot storage case. It’s durable.

     

    I guess I always wondered…I was like man, one day I’ll have…I guess I thought if I make it in the real world, I’ll have my own…I didn’t think that with GoBots, but it was like, with every toy I wished I could have enough toys to have a storage case to carry them around. Okay, it looks like that’s it for GoBots on that page. Now, I will say…we’re switching over to Sears. Sears…same year. Their layout is way better. It has things in action poses, a little more dynamic. It looks like it’s on ice. It’s GoBots, robots in disguise. More than meets the eye. GoBots, mighty robots, mighty vehicles. The enemy of GoBot…the enemy GoBots of Gobotron have decided they want a planet of their own. Guess what planet they’re after. With GoBot enemy headquarters on Earth, the friendly GoBots had to stop them. It’s even harder.

     

    So, this is the same base, but it looks a lot cooler. It’s zoomed in. It has the…you can’t get in, it’s got a trap door, a vapor chamber. Maybe it’s a different building. I don’t know. I don’t remember a vapor chamber in the other one. Yeah, ‘cause this one requires four AA batteries. $24.99. Around the same price as the other one. They also have the GoBot Zod. When his evilness gets out of hand, you can deactivate him by poking him in his vulnerable spot. $16.99. That’s number 2. I don’t…oh, number 2 kinda looks like…yeah, again, I can see why this…doesn’t look like…it’s tough to tell if it’s what it is. Then we had Scales, pop-up…oh, so this must have been the pop-up ones. These were when they moved into plastics, I think. That one pops up. Watch out. Then there’s Psycho, the demented robot, who’s a cycle.

     

    Then the head of the cycles…$8.99. What is that, five? Okay, yeah, that’s the one we saw on the other page in the three-pack. Number 4…oh, so Psycho…we might have had Psycho, actually. Psycho looks cool as a car, kind of a space-age car, but as a robot it’s like…it doesn’t look that great. These look like they’re larger, too. I want to see the measurements. Then they got…this is all the bad robots. Then there’s a piece of advice on the bottom; toys and kids…every school-age child enjoys stimulating games of make-believe and play-acting. Action figures offer a degree of realism that is appealing to children as they develop their imaginative worlds. Okay, then on Sears they have a second page. Okay, so that first page was the…they started out with the evil GoBots and now they’re into the good GoBots.

     

    That’s interesting. I wonder if these are the same year, ‘cause this seems like the GoBots are trying to step up their game. Okay, they have the Puzzler; $26.99. Power Warriors; $29.99. The Power Warrior suit. Then they have things that can transform from a toy, like a binocular set or a squirt gun. I think I remember wanting the binoculars. The GoBot water pistol is…eight-shot water gun. $3.99, though. That’s pretty cheap. Then the GoBot binoculars; $4.99. Then Staks, as we saw on the other page, and of course the GoBot base, Command Center. LCD eyes…GoBot detectors, doubles as a storage case for twelve GoBots. Go, go, go, GoBots. Okay, now we’re into Transformers. We’re still with Sears here. This one has a Hot Wheels layout, a couple watches. I think I had a generic GoBot watch.

     

    It wasn’t a…I don’t…I think it was generic. Like, it wasn’t GoBot or Transformers. Let’s see; they have the Autobot Defense Base, which is also…wow, that thing is cool. It comes with a Omega Supreme with a bobbing head and flashing eyes and robot form, and then it changes into something that could go around on a track. Wow, that’s cool. Wait, so it’s even con…more confusing, ‘cause Autobots…so there’s GoBots, which is a brand and a being, then there’s Transformers, who the good guys are Autobots and the bad guys are Decepticons. Each has a double identity; robot or plane or something else. There’s a Autosceptre watch; $14.99, Deceptor watch; $14.99. Thrust the plane…didn’t have that one. Or, we did have five, though, I think. Or, now I remember you had to put your own stickers on. Dirge.

     

    Pretty sure I had Dirge. $12.99. Yeah. You look familiar, Dirge. Then prehistoric Dinobots. There’s Grimlock; that…Grimlock was their leader, ‘cause I can remember Grimlock talking. Slag and Swoop…all $12.99. One’s kind of a tyrannosaurus, Grimlock, then a triceratops and then a…one of those flying things. I don’t know what they’re called. I want to say velociraptor, but that’s not it. Swoop. Then more Transformers; there’s the Autobot radio communicator. That’s all it’s called? Oh, these were the ones…I think they could play tapes. There’s a good one and a bad one. These were…another set I thirsted after. There’s the Decepticon radio communicator; $16.99 and $19.99. Autobot Corvette, Tracks, and then Autobot Inferno. We didn’t have either one of those.

     

    But I remember wanting these boom boxes, thinking all my problems would be solved if I had those ones. It’s weird that one’s cheaper than the other one. I guess…I don’t know. It doesn’t talk about their features. Optimus Prime; $23.99. But Optimus Prime came with its own base. Trailer opens to become the Autobot Command Center, and the cab into the Autobot leader. I gotta say I’m a big fan of Optimus Prime from riding that ride in Universal. Okay, you know what? I stand corrected. Now I’m seeing the plane I had coming up here. So, that was Optimus Prime. The problem is the pictures are on one page and then the things are on the other. But 14, 15…let me go back. I mean, ‘cause I don’t have the catalog in front of me. Okay, triple-changing Transformers. There was Blitzwing and Astrotrain.

     

    This year…me and my brother had one of those each, so my brother had Astrotrain. I had Blitzwing. Blitzwing changes from a plane to a tank to a robot. Astrotrain changes from a train to something else, which we’ll see in the picture, to a robot. Oh, then the…I bought with my own newspaper money the Autobot microscope; $13.99. There’s also Air Guardian, Hoist…Devastator’s $34.99, and Red Alert; $9.99. Let’s check these out. Again, these…this layout…I may stick with JC… or Sears, ‘cause they have…it looks like a alien planet that Optimus Prime’s on. Oh, train to a space shuttle, is what a Autotrain goes into. Then 23 and 24 are just really big ones. Triple-change…Wargon…oh, the…16? I think one of my brothers had that one. Yeah. It goes from a beetle to a robot. Is there three different ones? What is that?

     

    Multi-force…fourteen battle vehicles. That’s pretty cool. Triple-changer…three insects…so yeah, it’s a dragonfly and two kinds of beetles, it looks like. Multi-force; where’s that? 24. Oh, those are the really big ones. Those are kinda like Voltron, Autobots. Yeah, then eventually they copied each other. So then Machine Dolphin…25. Robot, race car, spaceship, and action figure. Then Rayga turns into supersonic jets. But there’s also 20, which I guess isn’t on this page. That was their construction equipment. Somebody in my family had that, and that changes into a big robot, too. It comes with one, two, three, four, five, six pieces. That looks very Autobot-esque or GoBot-esque. Okay, speaking of assemblies, then Matchbox owned Voltron, of all things.

     

    So we got a page of Voltron, which I never…I don’t think I had any Voltron toys. But Voltron was cool. I watched Voltron, and different incarnations of it, too. I think we went over these Voltron toys in the past. There’s a lot of different ones including the characters, ‘cause Voltron had action figures and robots. Voltron in super-tough plastic. Can come…become five lions. That’s $34.99. Then lions that could hold characters; those were $7.99 each, ‘cause there’s yellow, blue, black, red, and green. Castle lions, then some of the villains. I don’t even…oh yeah, there’s…those are action figures. But you get all these for $15.99. Zakron, Haggar, Lotar, Doom, and Scavenger. Ages three and up, you can play with Voltron. Then the Voltron Force.

     

    Then there’s some sort of tank, a remote-controlled Voltron that walked, $39.99. A deluxe lion set…I remember thirsting after this one, thinking yeah, this would solve my problems. $69.99; no wonder. Then there’s Voltron 3 Force. Where’s that? Oh, that’s that one? What was the one I was looking at ? 8. Wait, no, that’s the one. Oh, 9 is the pieces that make up…if you want to buy them. Okay, interesting. So you buy them separately. It adds up to $66…over…66 plus 3, minus…so, $68.97? .96? Then the Voltron warrior goes into…this one goes into fifteen vehicles. That’s $69.99, or you could buy it separately. Okay, and then…get into something else. Oh, it’s on both of these. Huh, interesting. This was a toy…I think it was a copy of He-Man. Didn’t work out.

     

    One of my family members did have one of these ‘cause there was flying puppets. On the planet Symbion, something has not worked out well, and the result, Secataurs, are warriors who also are like our flying friends. There’s the good warriors of the Shining Realm and the Dark Domain, telepathically bonded with insectatars. The Secataurs are doing it…there’s the hive, bio-control center scattered throughout the planet Symbion, where the ancients sealed their secrets of survival. Perfect play area for everybody. That’s $59.99, though. Looks pretty cool. Then these ones…I think these are the ones…the warrior figures…so, they’re the same size as He-Man and She-Ra, which were bigger action figures with muscles and stuff, maybe. These just look similar.

     

    But yeah, one of my brothers had one of these flyers, which is like a puppet you put your hand into and it’s a flying forest…a dragonfly, and you can have your character ride on the back. Those were like, twenty-seven bucks. Featured prominently in Sears and JC Penney, though in Sears it’s in black and white. Yeah, in the Sears one it’s far across the galaxy…thinking and feeling alike. Experience a strange world. They had the wisdom house and their sidekicks. You can make the flyers’ wings flap in the air or their legs move, ‘cause they’re puppets. So, again, someone in my family had one of those. Oh boy, here it is, the one thing I was the most jealous of, the G.I. Joe…whatever thing that I bought with my own money and at the…right after I almost hit puberty.

     

    So, I barely played with it and I have no idea what happened to it, because…never seen it again. But that’s a seven-and-a-half-foot aircraft carrier, the ultimate G.I. Joe creation. They have a boy playing with it with a G.I. Joe t-shirt. He also has a plane. He’s standing…it must be on a table. Then there’s also the G.I. Joe base…oil rig base. There’s a couple co…vehicles of the enemies of the G.I. Joes, there’s snow action. Then we got to the descriptor page. But again, the layouts are fake water, dirt…well, one of them is on sale; $2 off, number 20. That’s the big…foot, eight-wheel-drive vehicle. It was $6.99 last year; now $4.99. ‘Cause I’ve never seen it before. Okay, let’s run through some pricing in the Sears one and we’ll check it out on the JC Penney…okay, they have a second page with more vehicles.

     

    Oh, the hovercraft is the one I got. I don’t think I ever got…okay, never mind. No wonder; I was like, where would I have played with the G.I. Joe…? But I had the hovercraft. I’ve been wrong…I apologize, everybody. Holy moly. Or maybe I’m wrong about being wrong. I’ve never owned the G.I. Joe aircraft carrier. I did not buy that with my own money. I was confused when I looked at it, ‘cause I said where would that thing be? I played with that in the tub? It’s seven-and-a-half-feet long. The other thing is you need to be super-rich not just to buy it, but it doesn’t come with any of the vehicles, I think. But I remember being in the tub playing with something. Now, this makes a lot more sense, ‘cause I did play with this. So, good news. Oh, boy. Wow, this is a big problem we solved here.

     

    So, I bought with my own newspaper money number 13, which we’ll get to. So, now we have a little lead-up. Good times. Okay, so new at Sears…something Scooter never owned but imagined he would own one day; the G.I. Joe aircraft carrier. Seven…’cause I said holy cow, I owned that thing? I have no memory of it. I can remember being in the tub playing with something I paid for with my own money. Wow, breakthroughs. Sleepy breakthroughs. Okay…G.I. Joe is back for ages five and up. By the way, if you’re three, you could play with Voltrons. Don’t worry about G.I. Joe. Okay, it comes with a fuel…this is the aircraft carrier. Seven-and-a-half-feet long. Comes with a fuel trailer, towing vehicle…no offense, but boring. I mean, I guess you say well…deck elevator, radar, electric sound system, and much more.

     

    It comes apart easily for storage. Comes partially assembled. That was the other thing; you put G.I. Joes together, and some Transformers. Then the enemy of the G.I. Joes…airplane. That was a cool one. $13.99. Then…what is this thing called? 3…oh, that’s one of the G.I. Joe’s planes. $22.99. So, you’d have to buy all this stuff. You’d have to…so, if you really wanted the full experience of the aircraft carrier, you’d have to spend $109, $13.99…probably two jets you’d want. That’s $22.99 each. Six-pack of G.I. Joe figures…you’d definitely want that; $19.99. So, it’s getting…the price of…the battle platform; that was the other one. You probably want that, too. That’s $16.99. Radar screen, Command Center, adjustable legs…you’d also want a six-pack of action figures of the enemy. That’s $19.99.

     

    Then 7, which is on the other page, you’d want this, probably, too; AWE. That’s all-weather vehicle. Four-wheel drive. $9.99. Then a transport. This one was cool; this was one of the essential ones if you’re against G.I. Joe. That’s $22.99. The NBT. Then my brother had this, I think, and I played with it a lot, or maybe I had it. But I think he had it. The Snow Cat…driver and torpedoes. It was a snow vehicle. Then the Crimson Twins. They have their…do they have a boat? No. But they were the leaders of the Crimson Guard. They’re twins, mirror images of one another. Most-feared adversaries. $5.99 for two action figures. Okay, 11 and 12 are Sears exclusives. We gotta take a look at them. Oh, that was the one; the HISS, high-speed vehicle, and then the motorized tank.

     

    Let me just go to that…back to that page and take a look. I did like some of the colors the enemy of the G.I. Joe used. These are not them. I thought they used more pinks. These are bright red. I mean, they’re cool. They’re red. Neither one of them looks like I remember, so maybe my friends had the non-Sears exclusive models. Oh, 7 is what I had. So, my brother, one Christmas, got…what is 7? It’s like a dune buggy. Where is that? 7…oh, that’s what I had, the AWE. I thought it was a enemy one, but it’s the good guys. Then my brother had the one…whatever, the snow one. Or maybe it was switched around. I don’t remember. Maybe it was switched around, ‘cause I remember playing with the snow one more. Okay, hovercraft…so, this is the one I bought with my…now, this makes a whole lot more sense.

     

    One-and-a-half-feet long. Holds six figures. $24.99. Yeah, there’s no way I was spending $100 on my paper route, ‘cause I wasn’t even good at selling the newspaper. So, twenty-five bucks makes a lot more sense. Then there was a hydrofoil. Again, you would need that to play with the other one. That’s $24.99. Oh no, no, that’s the hydra…hovercraft that I had. That’s in the past when hovercraft was the future of everything. Came with the hovercraft captain, secret launch skiff…that was my favorite thing. Storage…then the hydrofoils, and then a bridge layer. I remember somebody had the bridge layer and it was like…maybe it was somebody in my family. I don’t think I had it, but…could put…make a bridge. $14.99. Remote-controlled helicopter; $9.99. Two-speed Jeep; $14.99.

     

    Remote-controlled tank; $7.99. A vinyl Footlocker carrying case; $6.99. Interesting. Okay, so let’s see what JC Penney has. Okay, again, they don’t really have as good a action layout. By land or sea, though…they have better copy, I would say, JC Penney, but the layouts are not as good. They pretty much have the same lineup. They have the NBT tank, which is pretty nice. That’s $26.99. Then the bridge layer; $14.99. It comes with a toll booth action figure. That was always the selling point for me. It’s like, comes with one of the figures. Sometimes you’d say cool, I got one more thing to play with. Then the AWE, I guess that was my brother — came with Crankcase, is the person’s name. Then, yeah, a storage collector case, vinyl case, center shelf. Crimson Twins; $6.99. The Snow Cat…one figure included.

     

    Yeah, it definitely had that…Frostbite was the character. Then they have the six-pack of characters. What a deal, man. The six-pack comes with interesting-looking…the bad guys. Teller, snow, Crimson…Eel and Torch. Then the good guys, BBQ, Airtight, Kick, Dusty, Alpine, and Footloose. Footloose? Does he kick off his Sunday shoes? Like, buddy. Okay, then they have a page with two kids playing with…and one of the kids is doing the sound effects. The kids look like they’re having fun. Not exactly the best lighting, either. Seven-and-a-half-feet long. But they start out with some descriptions from the other page…the Smasher…oh, that’s the bad guy’s…VTOL…low-flying jet. Pivoting wings, vertical takeoff. $16.99. Then the G.I. Joe Dragonfly. I like to hear the names of the characters it comes with.

     

    It’s a chopper. Press a button and its rotation spins. Wild Bill; I remember him from the shows. Then the jet…realistic 22-inch wingspan. It comes with Ace. It’s $23.99. Then D…what is that? Oh, that’s the…oh, the name of the aircraft carrier is the USS Flagg with two Gs. It has a six-room superstructure, multi-level, open-railing decks. It can transport the entire team. You had the towing vehicle, the taxi, your jets, or your aircraft, fuel trailer. They’ve got a lifeboat, davits…I don’t know what that means. We can lower the admiral’s launch. So, it comes with a little boat, I guess. Sound system, microphone…$129.99. Now there’s the hovercraft; it was a dollar cheaper here. $28.99. High-tech design. Quietly navigates. Front-loading ramp swings open.

     

    Yeah, that was…then a sixteen…the seventeen-inch-long craft can hold up to nine figures. Operating hatches, twin elevating squirt guns, push-button propellers, recon sized, six barrels. I forgot about those barrels. Assorted rockets, ball-bearing motion, man. It comes with a G.I. Joe figure, unnamed. Then the Cobra Moray. Does that have a named figure? It’s created by Destro’s Lab. $21.99. Okay, so that’s it. Oh wow, this is some Marvel stuff I just came upon. Got Wolverine, Captain America, Doctor Doom. Let’s see who else. Marvel superheroes…oh, from the Secret Wars, which is coming out. Baranzimo, Falcon, Iron Man, Magneto, Doom. The action figures come with Secret Shield with secret messages and a built-in key to open secret compartments.

     

    There was a Spider-Man vehicle, the Tower of Doom, which I go on in Universal, the Doom roller…I like this…oh, good guys can finish first. I thought it said last. Turbo-copter, Doom chopper, freedom fighter. Comes with a manufacturer’s rebate of $1.50. I didn’t have any of those toys that I am aware of. Then there’s a page of DC toys. Some people did have DC toys, maybe in my house. At least the Penguin, for sure, ‘cause the DC toys, they had motion built in. What else do we have here? Wow, they went back to convertible toys. So, JC Penney went back to Transformers for the more advanced Transformers. The triple-changers that I talked about, the Chrono form changes from rocket railer to strato-scrambler. Jet robot and time machine; holy mackerel. Look out for that one.

     

    Oh, a watch, but it’s a gigantic watch. I think I wanted that one so I could play with it at church. But A is the Devastator. That was the one I was talking about. It’s $39.99. Six-pack of bright construction ones…construction vehicles that makes…can become one giant robot. Then the Sectacons. Those were actually three different ones. The other place wasn’t as good as describing it, but you get all three for…it’s a three-pack set for $17.49. Oh, they have another page of Transformers. The Air Guardian. I think somebody…my brother had this, too. I didn’t have it but I remember playing with it, or one of my friends did. It’s really big. $37.99. Soars through the skies. Yeah, I remember playing with this. My brother must have had this one.

     

    It definitely wasn’t mine, ‘cause I can…can’t feel it in my hands, except occasionally. But maybe it was one of my friends’, that I went over to their house. There’s another watch…Transformer…they call them time machines at JC Penney. Then they…JC Penney goes into Voltron and then into robots. They have another page of Voltron and then some Robeasts, which is different, I think. I’m trying to find if there’s…Star Wars was still around back then. ‘85; I don’t know. Then remote-control vehicles. This is all JC Penney. I’m just kinda go…oh boy, what do we got here? Oh, another company; Fighterbots and Mag…Malagons. I don’t know…and Defenders. So there’s a third robot Transformer company? Oh yeah, here we go, here’s another page of them. Lightning League.

     

    Battle base…they don’t look like they transform, these ones. These are just Wheeled Warriors. I don’t remember Lightning League. Oh, then…yeah, then another one that had a cartoon. This one was different. They’re just weapon vehicles; M.A.S.K, M-A-S-K, where illusion is the ultimate weapon. I think I played with some of these, but I don’t really remember them. They’re plastic but look like they’re well-made. Then some more remote-control vehicles. Farm sets and die-cast vehicles, historical vehicles, Tonka Trucks…okay, I had a Tonka Truck as a kid. Now, these…my brother had something like E, which is a dump truck. $17.99. That thing lasted…those things last forever. It came with a $3 manufacturer’s rebate, so $22.99.

     

    So if you have a time machine…I think that’s probably the best one, too, ‘cause some of the other ones…well, I didn’t have them, but a dump truck, you can push it around, you can put stuff in it, put toys in it. My brother had something similar to that one. Wow, that’s a nice one. Oh, and then I had something similar to C, which is Digger Dan. $39.99. Oh, bull charger bulldozer. Mine did not have battery power. So, mine was 100% metal, except for the wheels, maybe? But I had that when I was littler, so…okay, then they’re getting into Hot Wheels play sets and more Hot Wheels. So, I didn’t play with a lot of Hot Wheels. My brother Dan did. Okay, let’s look at…let’s jump back to Sears. We got some Masters of the Universe stuff. Again, I watched the show…we had a couple of the toys, but not a ton.

     

    Some of my friends did when I was younger, ‘cause I can remember playing with them. 26 was…just when you thought it was safe at the beach, comes the land fish. They had Hot Wheels play sets and many different play sets. Oh, here we go. Okay, so we finally got some stuff. Not very much, but you could get 20% off. So, this must have been in the waning years of Star Wars, ‘cause it was 20% to 50% off. It was The Return of the Jedi. So I mean, I guess I don’t know the years, but this…so, this is pretty good stuff though, especially at that price. Think about it, if you had a time machine, how much money you could make. ‘Cause there’s the original Jabba the Hutt. $9.99. I guarantee…it was $14.99. Now probably…right now, three hundred bucks, probably, I bet. Then there’s the Sears exclusive Jabba play set.

     

    Comes with a couple figures, and it comes partially assembled. $7.99. Was $13.99. Then Sny Snootles and the Rebo Band. Comes with a Max Rebo, Sy Snootles, and Droopy McCool, and their instruments. $6.99. Then the Rancor, nine inches tall, $9.99. Then a TIE Interceptor. Now, this is cool; has a hatch, laser lights. The Star Wars vehicles were quality, out of all the Star Wars toys. TIE Interceptor; $9.99. You gotta be kidding me. That is the deal of the century. It’s 50% off. It was $19.99. Then a B-wing Fighter with gyro gravity cockpit; $19.99. I don’t know about that. But then an Imperial shuttle with fold-up wings, landing gear, sounds…$37.99. $27.99. What a deal. Holy moly. So, again…and these prices were good until August 31, 1985, unless otherwise stated. So, that’s good to know.

     

    Let’s just run through a couple more pages of the Sears one. So, they have the same M.A.S.K. toys that I don’t really remember, and those other ones. I don’t even know what they’re called. League of Legends? Then some remote-control vehicles that were fifty bucks. Oh, Sears brand. So, I wonder…they have the one I had…my friends all had. There’s was one high-quality Sears remote-control vehicle that I broke on Christmas Day that I got for Christmas, and afraid to tell my parents that I broke it and get it replaced. Yeah, there’s a lot of vehicles. Penny pitching…penny-power racing…oh, penny…oh, those things that you…they were like Micro Machines. Yeah, then you had some Hot Wheels stuff. So yeah, I mean, that’s a pretty good look at the holiday cat…oh, here’s the Tonka Trucks. This is the one I had.

     

    So, we will get a price here. Number 4…not…that’s the one I definitely had. Tonka number 4…Mighty Loader; $22.99. Pull-operated buck…it was $19…oh no, $19.99 after the rebate. So, get a rebate, everybody. Oh, there’s a Knight Rider. Pull string in KITT…KITT speaks. Knight Rider 2000. Six different messages. Michael Knight action figure. Requires one C battery. Then yeah…oh, RC cars. That’s cool, or stock racing cars. All slot cars…that’s what they’re called. Sears exclusive…yeah, a couple different…a lot of different slot cars. I think we had that once, maybe…and then train sets. Wow, Sears sold train sets, even. I just want to see…oh, remote-control airplanes. Okay, so I will say that I definitely looked at…when I was a kid, the one that created my thirst was the Sears catalog.

     

    Not to…the JC catalog could be a good supplement, but the Sears catalog has much more. Oh, rock…holy cow, this is one of the things we talked about, the rolling stones rock tumbler. You can save $5 if you also buy the stones. We’ll close with this one. Transform ordinary stones into gem-like treasures. $19.99, or if you buy a refill kit, $14.99. It comes with jewelry settings, glue, grits, polish. So that’s why; we bought it at a garage sale, so we didn’t have any of that. But yeah, so that’s a little bit about toys this holiday season from the past. Goodnight, everybody.

     

    [END OF RECORDING]

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