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328dude

328dude

Still turning two
Joined
Nov 26, 2001
Posts
1,647
Someone mentioned the "Big Wheel" on another thread that got me thinking about all the great toys we had growing up. There was only two types of kids in my neighborhood, Big Wheel kids or Green Machine kids. The Big Wheels always won.

What was yours.
 
I only recall having one type of kids in my neighborhood, and we all had fun together. Older kids had bikes, all pretty much the same with fat tires and one speed, and the younger kids had wagons and trikes. I've seen every combination of the three tied together with twine, clothesline, and dog leashes. I don't recall there being too much difference between us and "the Jones'es" until they got one of those self-propelled lawnmowers and a new kind of grass trimmer. I was still trimming grass along the chainlink fence with hand clippers, and the nextdoor neighbor was whizzin' by with some new-fangled thing called a WeedEater. Boy, was I jealous.




.
 
i had a big wheel that had a place for this big, battery-powered squirt gun right up front between the handlebars. it even had a firing button on the handlebars so i could still hold on and squirt people. it was off the hizzy, fo sheezy.
 
whoa. regul8r. was your bigwheel mostly gray w/ red handlebars? and the gun was black?
 
The Green Machine kids were definately cooler. Those things were bada$$ with their lever-operated steering and all. I never had one. It didn't matter because I was the first one to get a SantaCruz skateboard with GullWing trucks. That was soon followed by a Jeff Bushman 5'7" thruster and my life was forever changed.:)

BTW- I still have a 2-inch scar on my face from when the paperboy ran over me and my big wheel on his bike.:smash:
 
OK, I'm trying to think of some of the toys I had....here is what I can come up with so far.

Sit-N-Spin
Hackey Sacks
Rubiks Cube
Slip N Slide (Dad was pissed when he saw how torn up the lawn was)
Weeble Wobbles
ATARI
Chinese Jump Rope
Evil Kneivel Stunt Bike
Play Doh
 
We used to make 5-6 foot tall kites out of lath and grocery bags, and use baling twine for string...had to use the Honda three-wheeler (am I dating myself with that one?) to get it airborne, but in a strong wind, it would just about lift one of us off the ground :)

David
 
SIT-N-SPIN!!!!!!!:puke:
Dukes of Hazard Big Wheel!
Pitch Back
Atari 2600
Atari 7200? or 7600? Still have it, still play it!
Super-Soaker (one of my first purchases with my own chore money)
Nerf Boomerang (split my chin wide open chasing it down...no, it didn't come back!...this was only about a year after I split my chin open in the same place, entire bottom of my chin, from my brother and I running in the grocery store. LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!!!!)
I know there were more cool toys.
 
I remember when the original Pong game came out. A friend of mine had one. We used to sit for hours and watch that stupid ball go across the screen. How far we have come......
I also remember the original Flight Simulator. That sucked.
 
328dude said:
Someone mentioned the "Big Wheel" on another thread that got me thinking about all the great toys we had growing up. There was only two types of kids in my neighborhood, Big Wheel kids or Green Machine kids. The Big Wheels always won.

What was yours.
Click to expand...

I had a green machine. Our Green Gang chased down and teased the Big Wheel crowd for being uncool because they were driving something with handlebars as opposed to levers. :)

Ah, those were the days. Everytime I see a Green Machine I get all teary eyed.
 
I remember I had a Tonka airplane that looked sort of like a Duke, with a handle and a trigger to make the props spin. Between that and my Millenium Falcon, I was fat, dumb and happy. Now I'm just fat and dumb...
 
HMR said:
The Green Machine kids were definately cooler. Those things were bada$$ with their lever-operated steering and all. I never had one. It didn't matter because I was the first one to get a SantaCruz skateboard with GullWing trucks. That was soon followed by a Jeff Bushman 5'7" thruster and my life was forever changed.:)

BTW- I still have a 2-inch scar on my face from when the paperboy ran over me and my big wheel on his bike.:smash:
Click to expand...

Nice my life changed when neighbor gave me his 6'2" Arrow. Its cold and big up this way so I didn't get started until I was 14.
 
BushwickBill said:
Nice my life changed when neighbor gave me his 6'2" Arrow. Its cold and big up this way so I didn't get started until I was 14.
Click to expand...
Arrow? I used to see those boards all over the place. That's a NorCal brand, right? When I was 14 I used to surf that beachbreak in Carmel underneath Pebble Beach Golf Course. Oh man, was that cold! Ice Cream headaches suck! :crying:
 
Dude, I use to ride my big wheel down the biggest hills I could find. I took some pretty nasty spills and hit my head a couple of times (that explains alot!). But, the only important thing was that the chicks digged it. I also had the coolest sand box in the town with the big TONKA TRUCKS, so you and your green machine crowd can EAT IT! :uzi:
 
dangerboy said:
I remember I had a Tonka airplane that looked sort of like a Duke, with a handle and a trigger to make the props spin. Between that and my Millenium Falcon, I was fat, dumb and happy. Now I'm just fat and dumb...
Click to expand...

Was it Yellow with working landing gear?

What about transformers? Optimus Prime? What was the guns name?
 
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I had every transformer...every single one of them. My mom sold them all...I could be rich right now!
We had a descent sized sandbox and I also had the big metal tonka trucks, front end loader, etc. Those rocked!
I remember my first speedometer. A big round dial, it went up to 55mph. My bike didn't have gears but we had a few big hills around that we would all go to and see who could go the fastest. That was scary stuff. I got it into the red arc at 35mph a few times. Who knows exactly how accurate it was, all I know is that it was wicked scary at that speed! I also loved doing the huge skid with the bike wheb you slammed on the brake. My dad and I changed a lot of bike tires!
 
:p Too funny! You BW and GM guys will always be little kids in my mind. In my day, the only cool toy worth having was a Schwinn Stingray bike. The Big Wheel was, well, a tricycle, and only fit for toddlers and below.

They did seem to cause carnage, though. Hardly a day went by when some kid on one of those didn't go screaming down a hill and into a curb, flipping a$$ over teakettle and usually landing on his head.

No one wore helmets... that would have been totally dorky. I paid for it when I wiped out, got a concussion, and was puking sick for 3 days after. :puke:
 
Schwinn Crate & Peel bikes with the springer front end, 5 speed with a stick shift, rear hand brake. I envied those lucky guys.
 
Lawn Darts


Crossman 760 bb/pellet rifle


A 4' long plastic aircraft carrier with foam jets that it would "launch"


A big tub of smoke-less powder that I found in the basement.


The go cart that my neighbor and I built from an old riding lawnmower.


It's been previously mentioned, but the Atari 2600 was the cat's ass at the time. Pong...Combat...Blackjack...[irish accent] I'm gettin all emotional 'bout it. [end irish accent]
 
aw, man, lawn darts!!!!! my aunt was a nurse and had 2 kids come in w/ lawn darts in their heads. grandma had to throw her lawn darts away after that :( that meant i actually had to talk to them when i visited....
 
My son just tuned 1 on Oct 10th. I have been surfing Ebay to find some of the toys I remember as a child. I was just looking at the Little People Airport I had as a child. When I find a good one it is his (or mine).

I have also come across the new version of the Green Machine on Ebay

( http://cgi.ebay.com/GREEN-MACHINE-TRICYCLE-HUFFY-NEW_W0QQitemZ6008986438QQcategoryZ11746QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem )

Same idea but made out of metal and with rubber tires. Pretty cool and it can support 180 lbs. I think I will have to cut out the donuts and drop a few pounds.
 
HMR said:
Arrow? I used to see those boards all over the place. That's a NorCal brand, right? When I was 14 I used to surf that beachbreak in Carmel underneath Pebble Beach Golf Course. Oh man, was that cold! Ice Cream headaches suck! :crying:
Click to expand...

Yeah Pearson Arrow out of Santa Cruz. Back in the day S.C. was the closest place to pick up a decent board. Ocean Beach is starting to get good. I cream headaches are worth it if the waves are good. Do you still get to surf as a pilot now?
 
BushwickBill said:
Do you still get to surf as a pilot now?
Click to expand...
I live at the beach in SoCal (just made a cup of tea and walked down there 15 minutes ago). I only fly 3-5 days a month (corporate) so I have alot of time for beach activities.:)

I've noticed a number of pilots in my neighborhood getting into kite surfing. Looks fun!
 
HMR said:
I live at the beach in SoCal (just made a cup of tea and walked down there 15 minutes ago). I only fly 3-5 days a month (corporate) so I have alot of time for beach activities.:)

I've noticed a number of pilots in my neighborhood getting into kite surfing. Looks fun!
Click to expand...

Yup kiteboarding looks like its on the list of new toys. Good for all those blown out days during the summer. Sounds like you've got a pretty good surf set up. Thats my goal for aviation.
 
dangerboy said:
I remember I had a Tonka airplane that looked sort of like a Duke, with a handle and a trigger to make the props spin. Between that and my Millenium Falcon, I was fat, dumb and happy. Now I'm just fat and dumb...
Click to expand...

I've got the same thing only mine is in FedEx colors. I guess you could say I've been livin the dream since Fred's Air Force was truckin around in purple Falcons............

p.s. for the guy looking for the little people airport, I think I've still got mine in my parents basement. If you're interested shoot me a PM and I'll see if I can find it............
 

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