80's Christmas

[waynedoodle]

Ok PC-fx'ers,
This is for the kids of the 80's growing up in the best dang decade ever and a sears wish book out in front of you.  Video games aside, what was your best 80's Christmas gift and why.  We are in our 30/40's now with life bitch slapping us every single day with Mortgages, car payments, rent, car payments, kids, yada, yada.  Looking back to our totally awesome childhood, what did Santa bring you that still resounds with you today!  Rather it be He-man, Transformers, gi joe, Atari, video games, what was that magical Christmas day for you?

For me it was 1982 in Kindergarden and getting Castle Grayskull.  15 years later in College, 1995, it would re-spark a passion that would 5 years later result in a complete MOTU MOC/MIB collection.  I learned once you get everything its like me, now what.  The whole damn thing takes up closet space in storage containers but I love all of it. 

Now, I have a compulsion for Retro video games.  Getting caught up in the craze like toys were in the 90's.  However, that 1982 Christmas was unbelievable.  If only I had gotten Voltron or Optimus Prime who knows.

So, spill your nogasaltigc love for Christmas!

WD

[RyuHayabusa]

Aside from video games, it would have to be He-Man. I got Castle Grayskull for Christmas right there around 82-83 as well, and ended getting every figure up to about 86. My interest waned then and I got more into Transformers and GI Joe. The movie was the final nail in the coffin, lol. Talk about a disappointment. Tragically, my mom sold all my figures during a yard sale so all I have are the memories.

[Corredor X]

Oh, the one that I got the Atari 2600 was amazing... Our bundles were different from the USA ones, so mine came with Frogger (one of my all-time favorites till this day) and Space Tunnel, which in reality is Spacemaster X-7 - why Polyvox changed the name is anyone's guess, I only discovered the mess when I download the ROM of the real Space Tunnel and found it was another game. Aside from that, GI Joe, my favorite toy series ever; still have every figure up to 89 in storage, just missing the two gliders, Skystriker and Night Raven for the vehicles.

[esadajr]

for me it was that faithful morning Dec 25 1988 when I got the NES. Lots of fun, all family played that day. My dad made it all the way to 1-4

[Nazi NecroPhile]

As a young robot my favorite gifts were Legos and 2600 games.  Legos never really went away (I got a full set of Simpsons figures last year), but the games progressed through Gameboy, Turbob, PC, PSP, and Vita games.

[grolt]

I was seven and my brother five as the 90s rolled around, so our 80s gifts were of the generic rocking horse, inflatable clown punching bag, Duplo variety. It wasn't until Christmas of '91 where shit got real and my parents bought us a SNES. I wasn't really believing in Santa at that point but faced with the prospect of getting Super Mario World I was willing to play along if it meant Santa would bring me a console. We played that system like crazy that holiday and had some amazing times. I'd eventually save up for a Genesis and then a Turbo the year after, and while I prefer those two systems today to the SNES, there's no better nostalgia for me than working through those Tubular special levels in SMW during Christmas.

[johnnykonami]

I'm having a little trouble thinking back to what I got in Xmas past that _wasn't_ a video game, the two most memorable ones I can think of were the year I got the TurboGrafx-16 and the previous year or so where I got Pool of Radiance for the C-64.  Necro's Lego memories reminded me of the time I got a set of Lego Technics though, those were very cool and I remember having a ton of fun with those.  I especially liked that set because you could do different mechanical things and build stuff with moving parts.  I got a couple of other lego sets here and there, I remember a medieval themed one and one of those space ships (a smaller kit) which featured the pilot/astronaut who was in the Lego movie - mine even had a crack in his helmet in the same place - a detail I commend them for in the movie.

What I remember more vividly perhaps is my sister's sneaky plans to check out Christmas in the the middle of the night, of which I was often included.  I distinctly remember army crawling past our parents bedroom door so we'd be lower than the height of their bed (when in retrospect, if they had been awake we would of course have been perfectly visible) so we could sneak out to the living room and check out the loot.  Nobody opened anything of course, but we'd inspect the boxes and everything else sitting out.

[EvilEvoIX]

Besides He-Man (Yes I got Castle Grayskull) but for me it was the Tyco Bandit.  My god that was the coolest RC Truck and with 9.6V Turbo power and the two way speed joystick I loved that Tyco Line up.  I got the Bandit, (Actually I remember it broke, like wouldn't move and my Dad brought it back to the store and I got a brand new one no questions asked) Tyco Hammer, Tyco Typhoon, Tyco Hi-Jacker  I loved me some Tyco.


   I still have a bandit to this day, needs a new tall gear as it is stripped and missing one rear shock.

[johnnykonami]

Oh nice!  I remember getting a Tyco RC car one Christmas too.. Not sure what model it was, it was like a red and maybe orange sorta dune buggy like thing with a roll cage..  I tried looking it up, I think it was a "Hopper."  Tons of fun.

You know what else?  Not a Xmas memory but speaking of RC vehicles - I love RC speedboats.  Whenever I'm in an amusement park that has them I always have to play with them.  I need a big ass pond or something so I can buy a couple to get out in the summer time.

I also spotted these while Christmas shopping.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NIGO59A/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1C671HSQV6JMC&coliid=IO19RNHC1SQ8M

They look awesome and I think they have a really cool feature.  You can "shoot" your opponent with a line of sight cannon and it disables the other tank.  Not only does it power down, you actually have to flip the thing over and manually reset it to make it work again, almost like you had to do some repairs on it!  It really adds to the interaction level I think.  You basically have live action Atari Combat at this point.  All sold out at Amazon, but I might snag some in the future.

[EvilEvoIX]

Oh nice!  I remember getting a Tyco RC car one Christmas too.. Not sure what model it was, it was like a red and maybe orange sorta dune buggy like thing with a roll cage..  I tried looking it up, I think it was a "Hopper."  Tons of fun.

You know what else?  Not a Xmas memory but speaking of RC vehicles - I love RC speedboats.  Whenever I'm in an amusement park that has them I always have to play with them.  I need a big ass pond or something so I can buy a couple to get out in the summer time.

I also spotted these while Christmas shopping.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NIGO59A/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1C671HSQV6JMC&coliid=IO19RNHC1SQ8M

They look awesome and I think they have a really cool feature.  You can "shoot" your opponent with a line of sight cannon and it disables the other tank.  Not only does it power down, you actually have to flip the thing over and manually reset it to make it work again, almost like you had to do some repairs on it!  It really adds to the interaction level I think.  You basically have live action Atari Combat at this point.  All sold out at Amazon, but I might snag some in the future.

Tyco Turbo Hopper.  That is what made me want a Tyco so bad.  Before that I had RC cars with the Stupid wire attached to the rear or the stupid "Goes Forward, Spin Reverse, Go Forward, Spin Reverse".  That Bandit changed my life.


Commercial right here.

[johnnykonami]

Tyco Turbo Hopper.  That is what made me want a Tyco so bad.  Before that I had RC cars with the Stupid wire attached to the rear or the stupid "Goes Forward, Spin Reverse, Go Forward, Spin Reverse".  That Bandit changed my life.

Commercial right here.

Yeah, pretty sure that was it, remote looked familiar too.  I have a dog now, I think I need a remote control thing of some kind to mess with her, I should look into it.

[CGQuarterly]

I was supposed to get an NES for Christmas in 1987.  One day in (I believe) October, my dad comes home from work, gives me his keys, and tells me he needs help getting a box out of the trunk.  I go out to the garage, open the trunk, and find a TRU bag with a NES control deck set and The Legend of Zelda.  Turns out he didn't want to wait until Christmas to play it himself.  Even though isn't *technically* a Christmas story, it was even more awesome because it was completely unexpected.  I don't even remember what, if anything, I got on Christmas day because I was already all set.

The fall of 89 rolls around, and I'm sticking a bug in my dad's ear about the Game Boy, to which I am receiving lukewarm feedback.  Finally he tells me that I better think of something else, because he had just bought me an NES a couple of years prior and they can't afford to spring for a Game Boy.  I don't remember acting bratty about it or anything, but I also don't remember asking for anything else (I don't know why I couldn't just give him a list of NES carts to choose from).  Anyway, Christmas morning shows up and you can guess what was under the tree.  Right after we opened our presents at home, we had to drive to Marin County (maybe a 2 hour drive) to go to my aunt and uncles's house.  I made myself carsick in the back seat because I was playing Tetris non-stop.  I ended up asking my mom for a couple of GB carts when I got back to her house, and got Super Mario Land and I think Solar Striker.  SS is a piece of shit, but SML is still probably my favorite OG GB game.

Since we're talking about He-Man stuff, Christmas of 84 I got Snake Mountain.  I already had Castle Greyskull and some action figures, so this really completed the package.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

SS is a piece of shit....

Aww, I loved that shewty when I had a GB.

[johnnykonami]

I remember being underwhelmed by SS a little when I tried it out, but I want to give it another shot one day.  I'd like to eventually get all the original 1st string Nintendo games, including stuff like Alleyway again which I had and strongly disliked (I had breakout on the 2600 already, plus then Kirby's Block Ball existed, so...).  Plus, I love the Japanese sticker art on both of those games.  In the same way that Atari 2600 artwork needs a book (I know there is one coming, "The Art of Stella" last I checked), early Nintendo artwork needs a nice book with all of the early arcade, game and watch, and game boy illustrations.

[SignOfZeta]

This is the best collectard post ever. Noobs, this is how it's done. Don't burden us with your psychosis, bring us in on it with you.

Best gifts...for me...probably the Capsella 500 set when I was expecting a smaller set. Also, the Starriors Armored Battle Station. I loved Starriors and this came from my mother, who normally avoided the militaristic Japanese robot stuff totally (my grandparents always bought the Joes and Transformers) but surprised me with the Battle Station that year for some reason. Looking back that was a particularly shitty year for us so maybe she felt bad for me. I don't know, as a kid you don't always pick up on that stuff, sometimes you figure it out later. She also might have just bought it because it's really really fucking cool and anyone can see that.





In general my adult life, as complex as it is, kicks my childhood to the curb. Maybe that's why I never get sucked into these "craze" things as deeply as other people do. I have my own life now and I'd rather do my radio show or build a race car or a model of my race car than Hordac (!) a bunch homoerotic fantasy figures or sealed NES crap that can't actually be used for anything at all. I bet a lot of people would enjoy an actual life if they gave it a shot.

[johnnykonami]

Zeta, I wasn't aware of your radio show, mind sharing a link?  PCE, game related or other?

[SignOfZeta]

Zeta, I wasn't aware of your radio show, mind sharing a link?  PCE, game related or other?

Since having a kid my regular freeform show is on hiatus. I still occasionally do a rotating spot on Crush Collision, Thursday nights from 10-mid. This is, maybe, probably, the longest running continuous dance mix show in the world, or at least it will be some day. I can't say for sure since nobody ever writes this shit down...it's been going since 1987, but only became continuous mix at some point in the 90s.

You can listen at WCBN.org, the best radio station in the world.

On Jan 7 we are going to do a special show, 10:00pm-3:00am, all CC DJs, all live. I'm hauling all my drum machines and synthesizers and shit down there, even my bass guitar. It's going to be INSANE.

No PC Engine though, sorry.

[gusmoney]

Not sure of the exact year it was but the GI Joe USS Flag aircraft carrier was the little kid go ape shit Christmas morning for me. 

The thing was over seven foot long and took up most of my small Philadelphia row house bedroom.  Most GI Joe toys of the time had some stickers to apply.  This thing had pages of stickers.  So many so that my Pop and I gave up applying them at some point. 

Anyway, it was the bomb. 

[johnnykonami]

Since having a kid my regular freeform show is on hiatus. I still occasionally do a rotating spot on Crush Collision, Thursday nights from 10-mid. This is, maybe, probably, the longest running continuous dance mix show in the world, or at least it will be some day. I can't say for sure since nobody ever writes this shit down...it's been going since 1987, but only became continuous mix at some point in the 90s.

You can listen at WCBN.org, the best radio station in the world.

On Jan 7 we are going to do a special show, 10:00pm-3:00am, all CC DJs, all live. I'm hauling all my drum machines and synthesizers and shit down there, even my bass guitar. It's going to be INSANE.

No PC Engine though, sorry.

Woah nice!  I will have to check it out.  I love dance/electronic music, actually a big fan of some of the Chicago style House music from WBMX back in the day, Italo Disco, and a bunch of other great stuff in the same vein.

In fact, I've been pouring over Sonic State on youtube for months now drooling over various bits of equipment I can't afford, but I did get a Korg littlebits kit last year that I love, this year I asked Santa for an iPad or an Arturia Microbrute for it to interact with.  I'd really love to check out Korg Gadget, Thumbjam, and Genome.  If you've been collecting this stuff since 87 I'm sure you've got a lot of really cool gear I'd be insanely jealous of.  One of these days I'd love to get a Mini Moog of some kind (sub 37 would be fine also, even though I love the older ones), and an Akai EWI (Kinda waiting to see if the next model improves some of the issues but I used to play sax so I thought it might be cool to use with other midi gear).  I also have a Chapman Stick which I'm still trying to learn.  Love noise making.

[SignOfZeta]

Sorry to misrepresent myself, but I was not involved with the station in 1987, it was other guys' shows long before mine. I've only been there like 5 years or so. Currently there are four of us, and one, Tyler, plays pretty much old Chicago stuff. Dave plays a lot of Detroit. My mixes are usually Europe or UK based, assuming I'm not trying to be overly ambitious with hugely disparate styles. Since getting Traktor Pro a few years ago, which can do almost anything you can imagine, I've started to get really aggressive with my mixes. Abba plus Helloween plus Beasty Boys plus Autecre. It doesn't always work, but it's fun.

I highly recommend the Microbrute, btw. It's the best deal in synths I know of, possibly ever. It does kinda need FX or outboard oscillators to sounds %100 incredible, but most people who are in the target audience probably have that sort of stuff too. I would recommend it over the Minibrute simply because of the patch bay and the sequencer.

I've got a small modular (~96HP worth) and when combined with the 'Brute and something like a Kaos Pad the sound is as big as anything you've ever heard. It will straight up shred your face off.

Chapman stick...way beyond me. I guess it would be cool to never run out of range, but it's probably more than I can handle...well, more than I can justify, I guess. I got to see Tony Levin play his on the Peter Gabriel tour that came through here in 2012. That was a site.

[johnnykonami]

Abba plus Helloween plus Beasty Boys plus Autecre. It doesn't always work, but it's fun.

That sounds nuts!  Yeah, I am going to pick up the Microbrute eventually even if it doesn't show up here Xmas day, for sure.  The patch bay is what originally sold me, like I said, I always wanted a Moog so that stuff is right up my alley.  It's a much smaller patch bay of course, but it does give it some more potential to be connected with other gear and I love that.  I might also try to get a MS-20 mini one day too, my music wishlist is out of control though.  Trying not to fall victim to G.A.S. any more than I already have (that's Gear Acquisition Syndrome for anyone unfamiliar!).  For sequencing, I am gonna try out Genome on the iPad.  I had picked up a BeatStep Pro but I sent it back for now while they iron out some issues with it freezing up and putting out rogue notes.  As for the Chapman Stick, I haven't figured it quite out myself yet.  I fell in love with it years ago, but in practice it's just turned out awkward.  I still have hopes to be able to use it properly one day.  Need to get some FX pedals or something for it.

[waynedoodle]

Why does it seem we only got the good stuff for Christmas back then?  So many adults still want the nostakgic effect, have somewhat of jobs, and can buy back some of these memories if we so choose.  I got my NES a full year after all the other kids because the year NES came out I got a Motorcycle.  That dirt bike allowed more fun in 87 or 86 than toys.  We all seemed to have "grown" up as a kid at some point, but if we had the love for TG, wound back up on this board.

My son plays with my Castle Grayskull with a chest full of MOTU.

[EvilEvoIX]

Not sure of the exact year it was but the GI Joe USS Flag aircraft carrier was the little kid go ape shit Christmas morning for me. 

The thing was over seven foot long and took up most of my small Philadelphia row house bedroom.  Most GI Joe toys of the time had some stickers to apply.  This thing had pages of stickers.  So many so that my Pop and I gave up applying them at some point. 

Anyway, it was the bomb. 

I asked for that thing EVERY YEAR!!!  I was ignored.  Finally I open a gift about the size of a Shoe Box and it was a Model of an aircraft carrier.  I smiled and put it together.

[waynedoodle]

Where would you store a USS Flag? Under your bed with the boogy man.  That playset was as big as MOTU Eternia, the ultimate battle ground!

[esteban]

I can't choose one Xmas, so, best Xmas gifts were:

(early 80's) G.I. Joe Generic Green Jeep. This was early in the toy line...there were only a small number of vehicles.  The jeep had two removable gas cans in the back. I don't know why I loved the gas cans so much (they were so insignificant). I loved having Cobra Commander drive this jeep. BECAUSE COBRA. 

(1985) Radio Shack Reverb.  I had so much fun with this damn thing. I think it supported at least two 1/4" mics...my brothers and I made "radio shows" and created weird music with the BEST XMAS GIFT EVER.

(???) robot dinosaur motorized construction set.

I can't believe I forgot the name of the latter...it was a really popular toy. Plastic beams and gears and a robotic tyrannosaurus jaw (?) that was motorized.

(???) Legions of Power
Legions of Power was a simple construction system that offered some motorized pieces (I loved the rubber tank tracks and the plastic shields/armor you could add to anything you were building). Cute, tiny little soldiers were very basic...representing two warring factions).

[SignOfZeta]

The Jeep was the Vamp. I also had this and loved it. The Cobra version that came out later was pretty rad too, but there is something about first wave small scale GI Joe...

Robotix was the other thing you were thinking of.

[jtucci31]

(early 80's) G.I. Joe Generic Green Jeep. This was early in the toy line...there were only a small number of vehicles.  The jeep had two removable gas cans in the back. I don't know why I loved the gas cans so much (they were so insignificant). I loved having Cobra Commander drive this jeep. BECAUSE COBRA. 

Was that for the 12' Joes? If so, my uncle (still) collects GI Joes and he gave me a few of these. The gas cans were awesome, one in the back and one underneath the jeep. It was awesome and I would drive it around my house all the damn time. It got actually dirty and I started to like it with dirt on it even more. Then when I got older I threw one out the window to see how well it could take a hit. It didn't and I was stupid lol

[esteban]

(early 80's) G.I. Joe Generic Green Jeep. This was early in the toy line...there were only a small number of vehicles.  The jeep had two removable gas cans in the back. I don't know why I loved the gas cans so much (they were so insignificant). I loved having Cobra Commander drive this jeep. BECAUSE COBRA. 

Was that for the 12' Joes? If so, my uncle (still) collects GI Joes and he gave me a few of these. The gas cans were awesome, one in the back and one underneath the jeep. It was awesome and I would drive it around my house all the damn time. It got actually dirty and I started to like it with dirt on it even more. Then when I got older I threw one out the window to see how well it could take a hit. It didn't and I was stupid lol

No, it was a tiny modern GI Joe Jeep (VAMP, as per Zeta) I did have an old HUGE doll, from my uncle...but I never had any fancy accessories, just the clothes + boots + canteen + standard gear (knife, backpack, poncho, etc.)

Lots of neat little things I can't even recall now.

If only he had had more stuff to pass on to me!

The Jeep was the Vamp. I also had this and loved it. The Cobra version that came out later was pretty rad too, but there is something about first wave small scale GI Joe...

Robotix was the other thing you were thinking of.

Ha! What a ridiculous acronym! VAMP...I can't even figure out what it would mean with looking it up:

Vehicle and Man Pursuit
Vehicle Armor, Please
Vehicle .... Military Personnel

Of course, I had no idea what "vamp" meant when I was 5-7 years old.


I had the COBRA Jeep...it had all the kool armored plates covering the cab? It was black? Or maroon + black?

I can't remember.

ROBOTIX! That was it! Holy cow, I can't believe I forgot that.

[Corredor X]

I had the COBRA Jeep...it had all the kool armored plates covering the cab? It was black? Or maroon + black?

I can't remember.

Dreadnok Thunder Machine   

http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/86/thundermachine/

[EvilEvoIX]

I had the COBRA Jeep...it had all the kool armored plates covering the cab? It was black? Or maroon + black?

I can't remember.

Dreadnok Thunder Machine 

http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/86/thundermachine/

This thingy?

[esteban]

I had the COBRA Jeep...it had all the kool armored plates covering the cab? It was black? Or maroon + black?

I can't remember.

Dreadnok Thunder Machine   

http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/86/thundermachine/

Ha! Not the Dreadnok craziness.

The COBRA Stinger:

http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/84/stinger/


Holy crap, I haven't thought about this GI JOE stuff in decades.