A scaled-up version of my remote-control car.
When I was just a little Deartháirling, my parents surprised me on one Christmas morning with a present I was only barely able to comprehend, never mind fully appreciate. It was a remote-controlled Porsche 944 race car, and it was almost as big as I was. Granted, I was about 4 years old, so that wasn’t all that enormous, but the very concept of a remotely-controlled toy was damn near unheard of at that point. It required something like eight “D”-cell batteries as well as two 9V’s for the transmitter and receiver, so once it was fully equipped it weighed… quite a lot, and those batteries certainly didn’t last long. They especially didn’t last long because all my aunts, uncles, neighbours, friends, cousins and passing acquaintances simply had to try it out. None had ever seen anything like it.
I realized how little I had actually used it when the car had spent a couple hours being passed around a family gathering a few days after Christmas, and everyone had proven they weren’t very good at driving it. Finally one of my uncles passed the controls to me, and asked me to “show everyone else how it was done”. I tried driving the car, and was no better than anyone else. When my uncle asked how come I wasn’t a master with it yet, I replied, in the perplexed bluntness of a 4-year-old, “I haven’t used it yet. You’ve been using it, I haven’t had a turn yet.”
I seem to recall getting more dessert that evening.
What’s the all-time coolest toy you ever received as a Christmas present?
A Smith & Wesson 586 .357 Magnum. I got it when I was 13.
It was also cool to get the Lego Ferrari F1 car when I was about 32.
I went "gun" with my first thought also. At 10 years old I got a .410 single shot. I was in heaven. Still have it. Was a joy to see my son shot it this Summer.
I have no idea what either of you are talking about. But good for you!
/kidding, kidding
When you invade Wisconsin be careful around the little guys.
[youtube E7XlvvJq2Ps&feature=g-upl&context=G25e68c3AUAAAAAAAWAA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7XlvvJq2Ps&feature=g-upl&context=G25e68c3AUAAAAAAAWAA youtube]
As a kid this was the greatest thing you could get when your family took alot of 5 hour road trips.
<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Nintendo_Gameboy.jpg/175px-Nintendo_Gameboy.jpg">
My version of Gameboy was made by Tiger Electronics.
My niece and nephew are getting these for christmas this year. Diffterent generations, different tech.
<img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41kJ84Hzi2L._SL500_AA300_.jpg">
Not really a toy, but I got a shiny, new alto saxophone from my parents for Christmas when I was 11.
Hmmm, kind of a toss up. One year I received a chemistry set, which was great fun, and an electronic circuit experimentation kit that had breadboards and a power supply. That one didn't last so long, but it was fun while it did.
Dear Professor,
Off topic: Package received intact and in perfect condition.
Showing great restraint, Randy and I will not unwrap until X-mas (but I read the enclosure, so I am in eager anticipation).
Many thanks and Happy Holidays!
You're very welcome! Thanks for letting me know that it arrived, I always worry about that.
5-speed bike with wide rear slick, banana seat with a sissy-bar, and boy-parts endangering "console" shifter.
Fender Chorus Twin 2×10 guitar amp.
I was a big fan of The Cure in high school, so my entire arsenal was Cure-ish in some way. The amp was the staple of the whole thing.
Fender Chorus Twin, Danelectro 6-string baritone (I could emulate Pictures of You like a Mofo!), Ovation 12 String Acoustic and eventually I picked up Semi-hollow Les Paul when I started getting my own loot.
That amp made me Robert Smith.
Tyrrell P34 R/C Car which promptly got carpet fibers in the front wheels and ceased to function. It was just fabulous to look at anyway.
Also a Montgomery Ward StingRay knock off that I rode for nearly 10 years. I will have the real thing since I will be able to afford it in the not too distant future because it just looks damned cool.
And one year I got some Aurora slot snowmobiles, I think it was 1972 or so. The track was white and there was a light blue "ice track" that weaved back and forth in it's section. I don't know of anyone else who ever had that.
If you still have one of the snowmobiles, looks like they go for $100+ on ebay if they are in decent shape. I have learned many of the less than popular toys I got from Sears and JC Penny outlet stores as a kid are now highly collectible due to their rarity.
Not to be too sappy about it, but the lovely hand made barrel pen The Professor sent me (along with some of his wife's toffee). I'm a total dork, but I don't recall being that excited about a gift in a long time.
When I was a kid, the 16-bit "Super" Nintendo wasn't going to make it here to Socialist North Canuckistan for the Xmas season; my parents had an in with some shady but well meaning Iranian consumer electronics dealers (I think they were a Radio Shack franchise at the time) who managed to get their hands on some gray market units. For only 150% markup, we were able to get a shiny SNES under the tree, along with the thrill of owning a unit that said "For sale and use in the USA only" on the box.
"…some shady but well meaning Iranian consumer electronics dealers…"
Ah-ha…! So NOW we know how the Iranians obtained forbidden computer tech to get their nuclear weapons program underway…!
Probably the single one, that I use to this day, would be the Craftsman tool chest and mechanics tools to fill it. I may have carried several phases of tools through the days, but it still serves me well.
Best gift for a 10 year old ever.
Ha, there's a similar story in our family. One year I got a ColecoVision for Christmas. I must have been around five years old. My family let me open it Christmas Eve. I really had no idea what it was, but I liked it, had not asked for it or anything. I got to play DK once, they they told me it was my bed time. They stayed-up most of the night playing it. Years later my mom told me that they put me to bed early so that they could play!
The gift that got the most use was a huge Erector set,wish I still had it.
12 years or so ago my mom in law got me a Big Briar (Moog) Etherwave theremin. It's still my primary instrument among a large and ever growing hoard.
I'd like to hear you play that. Love me some Theremins.
The one I remember most was a
"Space 1999" Eagle (the big one).
Lots of play outta that one.