Robots and the like: My Top 10 favorite childhood toys

The time period that I grew up in was the best (aside from fears of nuclear war) time to be a kid, because there were toys for absolutely everything.

We didn’t have Xboxs and computers to pass our time with… we had actual toys. So for this week’s Top 10 list (in no particular order), I present to you Dane of War’s favorite childhood toys:

1. U-Drive-It - Schaper Toys’ 1974 battery-operated tabletop driving toy. You had to steer a car over a rolling road – it came with a foot pedal accelerator/brake and was the closest a kid could come to the real thing.
2. Mego - Mego had all of the great licenses. Superheros, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek… you name it.
3. Masters of The Universe - I didn’t start out getting MoTU for the brand that they were (I used He-Man as a barbarian like Thundarr), but for a few years this toy-line was an absolute money-making monstrosity.
4. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero - My first G.I. Joe was one of the 12″ “big ones”, but once these smaller ones were released, along with a kick-ass comic and cartoon series, I was addicted.
5. Shogun Warriors Godzilla - I loved Toho movies as a kid (and still do), and having a huge Godzilla toy to step on my Matchbox cars was a dream come true.
6. Micronauts - Mego Corporation released Takara’s Microman line in 1976 under the “Micronauts” name, setting the standard for action-figure sizes.
7. Transformers - The greatest toy line ever. Period.
8. LEGO - Denmark has dominated the world of toys for decades with the LEGO line, and it is a good bet that it will live forever.
9. Star Wars - It is really impossible for me to say how many items from Kenner’s line were in my room as a kid. It’s very hard for me to say how many I have now.
10. Stomper 4x4s - Put a AA battery in a truck and let it go. Simple, yes, but this simplicity led to hours and hours of fun. I still remember the funny smell that they gave off when they ran.

Honorable mentions go out to Tonka (particularly the 1972 Mighty Dump), Matchbox and Stretch Armstrong (as well as Stretch Monster).