Firecrackers. Really.

Really wanted one of those Mattel Vac-U-Form kits . . . the prehistoric version of vacuum bagging CF parts.

Doesn't that kid look happy?

I had a really neat-o chemistry set "and" an Erector set

Probably a bike (bicycle), which is the only toy i first got as a child, and which i still use, tho i don't use the same one.

put the two together . . . Ciallis!

Man, was I the king of the neighborhood when I was packing my father's set of Fanners. Cartridge belt and all. With those on my side, and an external hammer side-by-side (From Disneyland no less, before they got all green and orange), no rustlers dared show their hides. The shotgun eventually succumbed to a barn stairs incident, but the Fanners are still around. Come to think of it, they're probably why I've always got an eye open for a single action...

Despite the above, I might have to go with Legos. A giant drawer of them, and I could build anything.

I also had a stick. It was my stick. And it was actually a length of leftover closet pole from a nearby construction site. If I recall, it was 28" long. It was a rifle, a bat, a submachine gun, a rocket launcher, controls to a fighter jet... I wish I had a stick like that one today.

MV

^You reminded me, that we used to play with toy guns as kids. I had a shotgun and also pistols that were both cap guns and which fired wimpy bullets that also had caps in them.

I recon if someone saw some 5 year old kids running around with what looks like a rifles and guns now a days, SWAT teams or mebby the national guard may be called….

Hey folks, he'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your waitress and try the veal.

__________________

1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Chemistry set, an Armatron, and a 160-in-One Electronic Project Kit...the last two items coming from Radio Shack. I spent many afternoons there, finding new ways to improve the electronic kit, and making different transmitters and receivers. It got to the point that I began to pick up cordless phone transmissions from houses a few blocks away, and could transmit my voice to them, so my parents took it away from me.

Like other kids my age, we also had Erector Sets and Capsela kits, which added to my interest in how things worked and why. Those lead me to my former career as a toolmaker specializing in designing and building special machines and automation equipment.

Imagine where my career path would have lead had dad not caught me playing with old fireworks, black powder, and the electronic set...I could have gone into being an explosives expert...or an arson.

__________________
1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Gummi Worm...

__________________

1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

I had an Armatron and RS Electronic Kit. Great fun! Radio Shack was my paternal grandfather's go-to place for gifts. Until he remarried, then the fun stuff stopped and we got clothes and crap. That douche.

__________________

1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

When I was very young, I had an AMF (yes, the bowling company) "Big 4" green pedal tractor with a chrome V8 engine that had batteries and would spin. I rode the wheels off of that thing!

I also had a slew of construction toys: Erector Set, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, Toggles, Lego's.

Also can't forget the Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars!

As an early teen, I had a 60-in-one electronics project kit from Radio Shack that was a huge help in learning electronic theory.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

True, but at least I'm not a hack. Stealing from Rodney, really?

LOL

Dad caught me with a bunch of model rocket engine matches, an ABS box with circuits I designed, and a can of his black powder (white powder, actually) that I was playing around with with the RS Electronic Kit. My backside still hurts when I think about the trouble I got in that day. I was setting off small charges in the neighbors back yard wirelessly from my bedroom. I'd build the kit box, load the powder and electronic match, and toss it over the fence. I learned how to set them to different frequencies so that they didn't all go off at once.

Thinking back now, it was stupid of me to do that, and would land me in jail now....but it sure was fun.

__________________
1987 560SL
85,000 miles

I'd forgotten about the 160-1 kit and Capsela, those were pretty cool. I also had a kit for building stuff, gray plastic, press together hex connectors, sort of future/spacey themed, motors you could control... Don't remember what it was called, but I remember combining all of my parts with those of a neighbor and building a fully functioning/moving arm. It was slow and awkward, but some days, so are my arms now...

MV