As Christmas races towards us (yet again) at breakneck speed I thought it would be a good time to wallow in the nostalgic glow of some of the presents we received as kids back in the day. A big part of most kids Christmases in the 1960’s – 1970’s were the stocking fillers. In general these were low priced toys that were fun additions to the main present. Some of my favourites "fillers" from a time long gone are noted below:
Letraset Action Transfers were an extremely popular activity toy from the 1960s to the mid 1980s. They consisted of a printed gatefold cardboard background image and a transparent sheet of coloured dry transfers that featured figures of people, animals, vehicles, sound effects (explosions), weapons etc that you could apply to the background image in order to make your own action scenes. I still remember seeing my first set (Space Adventure) on a visit to the Lewis’s department store in Glasgow in 1966 (photo below). The above picture is the 1969 advert for Action Transfers (by Frank Bellamy) that appeared in comics like TV21 (issue 242) and SMASH etc.
Above: the Space Adventures transfer sheet.
Above: the Space Adventures cardboard background where you would add your transfer to create your own adventure.
Above: The "legendary" Lewis's department store in Glasgow from circa 1966.
Airfix M00/00 scale figures were a staple toy for kids in the 1960’s- 1970’s and they were one of my all time favourite toys as a child. Airfix produced hundreds of these sets (and still do) including Astronauts, cowboys, (Native American) Indians, Knights, WW1 and WW2 soldiers, Napoleonic figures, farmstock, civilians etc. Each box contained a set of carefully detailed and moulded characters in various poses that were attached to a thin plastic rod which you would simply twist to detach the figure. I had many of these sets but my favourites were the Foreign Legion (below) which my brother bought for me for Christmas 1967 and the Roman soldier and Scots Highlanders (sadly, I can't find a picture of these) which I also recieved as a Christmas present at this time.
Above images all taken from Ebay
Good Luck Trolls, sometimes called Gonk trolls in the UK were a worldwide phenomenon in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Originally produced by the "DAM Things" company (named after their creator Danish woodcutter Thomas Dam) these little characters were made in sizes ranging from just two-and-a-half inches tall up to 10 inches, with squat bodies and inset, brightly coloured hair that stood on end. Trolls were a big hit with both young boys and girls (of all ages) in the 1960’s and were another regular stocking filler. These fun characters had a revival a few years ago following the success of the DreamWorks “Trolls” animated movies, just proving that you can’t keep a good toy of the imagination down. Early 1960’s Trolls (with glass eyes and Icelandic sheep wool for hair) can cost upwards of £50. One of the most popualr "Trolls" was the pencil topper which seemed to be everywhare in the late 1960's to early 1970's.
Small puzzles were another of those toys that seemed to appear in my Christmas stocking. The most popular of these small puzzle toys was probably sliding number/ letter puzzle set.
As I swapped, gave away or threw out all my Action transfers, puzzles , Trolls and Airfix figures loooong ago all the above images are taken from the internet.
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I can remember when those Troll dolls seemed to rule the Earth. You stumbled across them everywhere. My toy soldiers were the classic green army men like those showcased in Toy Story. Thanks for the memories - except about the Trolls. Ugh!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit as much as I thought Trolls were cute I never understood their popularity. The clump of hair usually fell off leaving a bald troll with an empty cup shaped scalp. We had those "Toy Story" green soldiers, they were ( and still are) sold in large clear bags
ReplyDeleteI think the only tiny troll doll that I had was a spare given to me by a girl cousin, but I'm hazy on the subject. But your other recollections certainly rang a bell ; I had exactly the same numbers puzzle as the one you show, and I certainly had the Roman figures from Airfix. And I'd completely forgotten about the Letraset action transfers. I seem to remember getting transfers in cereal boxes which had an action scene printed on the back panel of the box upon which the transfers could be rubbed. I think they were Batman transfers, or maybe Thunderbirds...not sure, but you've triggered a strong visceral memory.
ReplyDeleteThose cereal box transfers ring a bell. I seem to remember a Superman and Star Wars scene ( or I read about them) . The Letraset Action Transfers had DC and Marvel scenes but these were produced after I had grown out of them .
ReplyDeleteI meant to add I haven't had time to read in full your last two excellent blogs due to work and then a rotten cold. Anyyone interested in the Legion of Superheroes and the Kung Fu TV , comic series should click on the Superstuff link on my blog
No need to hurry to comment on the last couple of blogs, McScotty. Your health comes first! It looks like Scotland has been hit by some severe weather over the weekend? I'm in London for a few days, and its colder here (and snowier) than Chicago, which is very unusual.
DeleteThanks Ian I'm feeling better now and will be on my blog replies later today. It's pretty cold in the central (Glasgow etc area) belt about minus 4 tonight, but we're used to it . Further north though is getting hit hard with lots of snow and already a minus 15 night . Enjoy your time in London it is strangely cold down south.
ReplyDelete