Favorite toys

[Judge]

Remco's "Barracuda". A big toy submarine that moved, made sounds and shot missiles.

Something this little boy who was very, very sick at the time received for Christmas, while visiting his grandparents. Having traveled some 1275 miles by car. Making a "pit stop" at a hospital just to enjoy a spinal tap. December, 1962. Air travel back then was only for the rich.

I was thought by doctors to have spinal meningitis. Luckily they were wrong. It was just a virulent virus. I could barely walk at the time.

Barracuda Motorized Atomic Sub from Remco (1962) | Toy Tales

 

[Crossbreed]

Spinal tap? Ouch!
(Could you put that thing in water...?*)
*I have had water-looking toys that did not do so well in the water.

 

[Lemon Zing]

G.I. Joe Stalker.

 

[Shevek]

I liked making things. Plain wooden blocks have informed masonry architects for centuries and educated me, but I loathe Lego. I had Meccano sets, and built models, some from kits, some modified, some scratch built, some static, some kinetic. I had a good selection of very fine pens and paint brushes, and some good tools. Do drafting instruments count as toys if you are having fun?

 

[Crossbreed]

Do drafting instruments count as toys if you are having fun?

I enjoyed drafting in my junior high wood shop class.
Nobody else seemed to get it.
I have a drafting table, now, but I have moved on to AutoCAD.

 

[Shevek]

Zenna Henderson wrote a SF story where the ability to understand blueprints was included in the list of magical abilities.
I made a big double-pendulum harmonograph, too. It makes graceful patterns, shifting the axis and reducing the size as it runs. Dad was impressed (very rare) that I'd done it with only two tiny holes in the ceiling.