Best toy you NEVER had

[staffslad]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

Thanks. That is the first time I have seen anyone trying to use one outside a TV advert.

[George 1978]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

There were lots of them as far as I was concerned, mostly because my parents were never the middle-class "Ask the Family" sort who play Monopoly or the Game of Life after the turkey and trifle on Christmas Day. I was jealous of how the other half lived, I can tell you.

I was someone who "conveniently" forgot when it was Toy Day on the last day of term.

[Danniella]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

I wanted a Cabbage Patch Doll when i was growing up, i never got one though, i would get presents that were creative, like craft sets, plastering kits to make models then paint them, i did enjoy them though. I remember my brother got a chemistry set one Christmas and we tried to make stink bombs with it.

[DemonEyeX]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

It's not really a toy as such, but I desperately wanted to own a Raleigh Vektar.
Now I think about it, I still desperately want to own one.

[Richard1978]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

It's not really a toy as such, but I desperately wanted to own a Raleigh Vektar.
Now I think about it, I still desperately want to own one.

I wanted one too, even entering a competition once but didn't win.

I eventually got a Raleigh Styler Mag which was similar but more conventional.

[marc]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

There were lots of them as far as I was concerned, mostly because my parents were never the middle-class "Ask the Family" sort who play Monopoly or the Game of Life after the turkey and trifle on Christmas Day. I was jealous of how the other half lived, I can tell you.

I was someone who "conveniently" forgot when it was Toy Day on the last day of term.

I know exactly how you felt. Many of my class mates seemed to have very expensive toys/games. Top of the range bikes Etc. I used to dread going back to school after Christmas. I can't remember toy day.

[Arran]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

That Raleigh Vektar looks grotesque and gimmicky. A piece of 1980s kitsch.

Although it's a bike that almost nobody of my generation would want I can see the appeal to 80s kids on the snob factor alone.

[victorbrunswick]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

Must be the Darth Vader model.

[Arran]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

I don't know how true this story is...

A man in his 30s had a collection of over 50 Raleigh Vektar, Wildcat, and Streetwolf bikes that were stored in a loft conversion. He had started collecting the bikes back when he was a kid and had restored many of them back to showroom condition. An electrical fault in an upstairs room started a fire that spread to the loft conversion and all the bikes were completely burnt.

[Trickyvee]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

I wanted a Vektar, or a blue and yellow Burner but I never got any sort of BMX. These days I have my trusty mid-90's Apollo Kimera from Halfords (it's a metallic blue colour) with additional bright yellow tyres. A nod to the Burner I never had, in colour at least. I did think the Vektar was out of this world when it came out though.

[Arran]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

An engineer told me that Raleigh spent 5 years and over half a million pounds developing the Vektar. Work started on the Vektar before the Burner existed so it's possible that the first prototypes were not based on a BMX and could have more strongly resembled the Chopper. Even at the eye watering prices they sold for, it is questionable whether Raleigh made any profit from the Vektar although they might have made a profit from the combined sales of the Vektar, Wildcat, and Streetwolf. The electronic modules were developed in conjunction with a small electronics company in Derbyshire. The engineer then went on about how Raleigh hated BMXs but the Burner saved the company from bankrupty in the 80s so nobody can deny that it was a commercial success even if it wasn't the product that Raleigh wanted to sell. However, Raleigh never modernised the Vektar for the 90s after they started making mountain bikes and as no other company has made a bike comparable to the Vektar, it remains an eccentric oddity from an enginering perspective. I then mentioned the Sonic bikes with the plastic spoiler covering the frame. He was vaguely aware of them and said that they were developed in the early 1990s by Moore & Large in conjunction with a design house in Leicestershire. They were inspired by the Vektar but they didn't contain any electronic parts.

[Danniella]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

I always wanted a Mr. Frosty. And one of those games where little pensuins climbed a hill then slid down again. Then there were Wuzzles, which were hybrid animals. Really wanted a Tycoon Wuzzle (a raccoon/tiger hybrid) but mum said they were too expensive. I think they were £15 in the '80s. A couple of years back, I found a couple of Wuzzles in local charity shops. I found a Rhinokey, Bumblelion and Hoppopotamus. Only £1 each! Haha!

I had a Mr Frosty, they were pretty good, i'd make slushy drinks for my family. My brothers had Mecanno, i don't think that's spelt correctly, it was a set of metal fixtures and nuts & bolts, i think it was manufactured here in Liverpool.

[Donald the Great]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

I had a Mr Frosty, they were pretty good, i'd make slushy drinks for my family. My brothers had Mecanno, i don't think that's spelt correctly, it was a set of metal fixtures and nuts & bolts, i think it was manufactured here in Liverpool.

Gee Nugs I too had Meccano ( think that is spelling). It was basicly the Leggo of its day. I also had a chemistry set. Wonder I never wanted to be a doctor when i grew up as i had a lot of fun experimenting with it. Ever play doctors & nurses?

[Donald the Great]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

With that chemistry set it is a wonder I never blew the roof off our house ha ha. I recall my mother telling me to take it to the shed in case of explosions. Thanks mum.

[Danniella]

Re: Best toy you NEVER had

Gee Nugs I too had Meccano ( think that is spelling). It was basicly the Leggo of its day. I also had a chemistry set. Wonder I never wanted to be a doctor when i grew up as i had a lot of fun experimenting with it. Ever play doctors & nurses?

I was always playing Doctors and Nurses, my brothers were always my patients, it's no wonder i'm training to become a Doctor now