A note from me: I’m still in California having a ball with my sister! I thought I would leave you this, a fun, old school toy-inspired post for some light Sunday reading! 🙂 Enjoy!

It must have been a totally different experience growing up as a boy in the 1980s. There were pretty cool toys for boys! If you recall a week or so ago, I posted a bit reminiscing about my favorite toys from my childhood. If you happened to miss it, you can read it here.

Chris had mentioned to me that it was a fun idea to do a post about favorite toys and suggested that I do one for the guys – based on his favorite toy memories. Wow! I have sure learned a lot today! Check it out! And, if you are female and think your man might have similar memories, go grab him! I’ll wait! 

As far back as Chris can remember he has had cars – Matchbox, Hot Wheels, you name it!

In fact, he still gets a new one from his parents each year at Christmas!

However, if those cars weren’t enough cool, then these here were. I asked Chris to tell me about The General Lee and here’s how it went down:

Me: Why was having a car replica of The General Lee so cool?

Him: Because it was the General Lee!

Me: Anything else?

Him: As a kid, it was the fantasy of being Bo and Luke Duke and recreating what they did – like sliding over the hood and flying (in The General Lee) across the creek.

Before we go any further, this wouldn’t be truly about Chris if it wasn’t done up right to the utmost of cool. There for, from here on out, you will see a few “Nostalgia Bonuses” and they consist of a link to the theme song of the corresponding toy. Please enjoy – they are super fun!

Nostalgia Bonus #1 The Dukes of Hazzard Theme

Again, with the cool car from an even cooler T.V. show. K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Two Thousand) was every little guy’s dream car. Who wouldn’t want one with such intelligence?

Nostalgia Bonus #2: Knight Rider Theme

G.I. Joe was the toy that Chris played with the most. This was a huge deal for him as it appears that pretty much 90 percent of his daily life was spent playing it.

The greatest Christmas ever was the one when his parents surprised him with this G.I. Joe Hover Craft set.

Me: Why was the Hover Craft so special?

Him: I had really wanted it for such a long time. It was a huge set with a part that opened up and lots of guys could go in.

Me: How many guys did you have?

Him: A LOT!

Me: How many?

Him: Like 45 or 50!

One of Chris’s favorite memories of G.I. Joe are hanging these air borne crafts from the ceiling in his room.

He hung them using string and thumb tacks.

It was a way for him to recreate air battle scenes!

 Nostalgia Bonus #3: G.I. Joe Theme

Even I will tell you that authentic Transformers that came out of this era were of much higher quality than those of today. I feel sad for my sons because the Transformers they have right now are made rather poorly and break easier than I’d like.

Speaking of breaking, Chris’s most favorite Optimus Prime broke – but not because it was of poor quality. It was because of his brain.  He was evidently always curious about how things worked (not surprising considering his occupation of computer-geek today!). He always took things apart to examine them closer and Optimus Prime happened to be a casualty of that curiosity as he could never quite put it back together.

He wishes for a Delorian to take him back in time so he could smack himself.

There, there, dear. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Your curiosity has paid off in the long run!

Nostalgia Bonus #4: Transformers Theme

M.A.S.K. Mobile Armored Strike Kommand

Notice how Kommand is spelled with a “K” so that the acronym would work? Chris says these were a mix between Transformers and G.I. Joe. I had not heard of them before. But I’m a girl, so it’s o.k.!

Nostalgia Bonus #5: M.A.S.K.

These guys, too, a hybrid of Transformers and G.I. Joe! Never heard of them, either, however, the Centurions as well as M.A.S.K. were both based on pretty epic cartoons, from what I understand. I was too busy watching Care Bears and Rainbow Brite on opposite t.v. channels, probably, to know anything about them!

Nostalgia Bonus #6: Centurions

Now, we couldn’t wrap this up without adding two honorable mentions to the mix. They weren’t so much involving toys, as just great viewing pleasure from their cartoon show. Chris and I both loved these.

The Thunder Cats

Now that was the pinnacle of cool in the 1980s, according to me. Fantastic!

Nostalgia Bonus #7: Thunder Cats Theme

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Seriously, who came up with this one? Heroes in a half shell named after respected figures in art history with teenage attitudes to boot! No wonder they were such a success!

Nostalgia Bonus #8 TMNT 

What were some of your favorite toys growing up?