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| 1968.12.04 Schenectady NY Gazette Page 22 |
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| 1968.12.04 Schenectady NY Gazette Page 22 "Toy Manufacturers Place Emphasis on Space, Realism and Action Games" by Donald E. Mullen |
Toy Manufacturers Place Emphasis on Space, Realism and Action Games
By DONALD E. MULLEN
NEW YORK (UPI) Dear Santa:
Remeber (sic) in 1968 when you brought me my Buddy-L dump truck with the headlights that really worked? (You forgot the batteries, Santa - you always, forget the batteries.)
And you brought my big sister Rosemary a Shirley Temple doll dressed in a skating costume and wearing genuine little roller skates, and my baby sister Sue a dolly that closed its eyes and said "Ma-Ma" if you jiggled it right?
Those were really groovy gifts, Santa, considering the Depression. But let me tell you, you wouldn't believe the stuff your American branch of elves is turning out this year.
When you asked me to do this report, considering how busy you are with your public relations men and all, I thought: "Gee, what a snap assignment." Now that I've looked at what's available, I'd better warn you to check the condition of your reindeer. Don't trust any of them over 30.
Anyway, according to people who figure such things, American parents probably will spend $2.75 billion on Christmas toys. Some of them will probably buy their kids guns. But I'm not going to go into the psychological aspects of gifts or the natural animosities of junior. After reading through a stack of comments on juvenille (sic) frustrations I figured the heck with it and remembered on Christmas morning and say with a resigned smile: "Destroy, destroy."
This year the accent is on space, realism, action games and "things that do something." The Vietnam War is old hat among the younger set.
Dolls
You could write a book about them. They can do everything! except reproduce themselves. Besides the regular drink, wet, go to sleep and cry dolls, there is one called Baby Cut a Tooth, (Remco). All you have to do is stick a pacifier in her mouth, pull it out, and voila a tooth! No fever, no nights sitting up thumbing through Dr. Spock.
"Tippee-Toes" (Mattel) can ride a toy horse or pedal a tri-cycle. "Little Lost Baby" (Ideal) can change expressions. "Tippy Tumbles" (Remco) can turn somersaults and even stand on her head. "Randi Reader" can hold a book and recite 15 nursery rhymes, as well as hold 15 different conversations (which is a lot better than some dolls I know, Santa).!
Now this year are Negro dolls with authentic features, designed for Remco by artist Annuel McBurrows. Offered in all lines, they also come as "Winking Winnie" who can blink both eyes, or wink just one.
Then - and I know you won't believe this - but there's something new for Barbie and her friends. They talk. All you do is pull a little ring in back and Barbie will say, among other things, "I haven't a thing to wear to the prom!" (which is a downright lie, of course): and Stacie, Barbie's English friend, a cute little mod bird, will clip out: "I think mini-skirts are smashing!"
Space
This is the big one for boys this year. One of the hottest ideas is a sort of accessory counterpart of Barbie. Captain Action, Action Boy and Dr. Evil (Ideal) start out with the barest necessities to survive in space. Then they can be equipped with things like a communicator set, power pack weapons arsenal, jet mortar, survival vests, etc., etc., etc. There's even a "Dr. Evil gift set" complete with Oriental and Caucasian masks, since the evil doctor himself looks like an ad for a hangover cure.
Major Matt Mason, Sgt. Storm and their friend Capt. Lazer from outer space (Mattel) may also be equipped with everything, including a "fire bolt space cannon."
"Astro Train (Remco) is a self-propelled spacemobile that rides an elevated track and comes equipped with a helicopter and a neat little robot that hops off the back and scurries around.
For the younger spaceman, there's Billy Blastoff - Space Scout (Eldon) who comes with space car, lunar crawler, exploration tractor and, of course, a space gun..
Robots are also in this year and include Remco's Big "Rudy the Robot" who can stroll along, swing his arms and back away from obstacles. The "Zeroids" (Ideal) have magnetic hands and ride space vehicles.
Games
Popular with the kids this year are action games where the loeser (sic) pops a ballon (sic), breaks a camel's back or gets a squirt in the eye in a high camp rendition of roulette.
There are also balance games like "The Big Sneeze" in which a little plastic man blows down a loser's house of cards, or "Kerblunk (sic)," galloping pickup sticks in which the sticks are stuck through holes in a plastic cylinder and marbles are piled on top.
Then come the board games like the ever-popular Monopoly as well as Parker's nifty "Yacht Race' in which one can be an America's Cup sailor without getting cold spray in the face. One that really fol lows the American Dream is called "The Game of Life" (Milton Bradley) in which the "players begin with $2,000 and a car. If your neck holds out, you may land in Millionaire Acres, with money to burn-or - you could end up in the Poor Farm."
Cars
The biggest attractions this year are small racing cars with almost frictionless wheels. They come with flexible plastic tracks which can be attached to a table, chair back or anything high for gravity racing. Aurora's is called "Speedline," and Mattel's "Hot Wheels."
Also tops are the never-ending Matchbox car series that include just about every vehicle known to man, including a hay trailer and a 1929 full-blown Bentley.
Model raceways are still going strong, with Ideal coming up with some grimly realistic accessories this year, like a "slow down oil slick," with a race car crushed against a stump, and a "terror tum with crash sounds."
Planes
Here, too, is everything in miniature. For boys who yearn for simpler times of warfare, there's the Golden Eagle Air Combat Game (Kusan), in which two players dogfight a Spad and a Sopwith Camel, complete with sounds, to the death, The Kennedy Voice Control Airport (Remco) includes airstrip, control tower, jetliners and a recorded voice that gives instructions for landing under different conditions (but doesn't keep you circling for 3 hours like the real one.)
One fast selling item is in a class by itself, Santa. It's called. "Spirograph" (Kenner). By plastic wheels, kids can draw arranging a series of geared intricate geometric designs. For the more affluent, there's Spiroman, who can be maneuvered to do it for them.
For the little homemaker or food-oriented types, there are any number of cooking outfits that really work, including the Easy-Bake Oven (Kenner) that bakes dozens of preparations from ready mix packages. Chilton has a line of portable soda. fountains, coke dispensers and soft drink coolers in which reality is total.
Junior scientists can hope for everything from telescopic to microscopic kits, along with a complete geology lab with rocks, picks and chemical testing equipment (Skillcraft). For the young archaeologists, there's a do-it-yourself tyrannosaurus (Marlin) with easily assembled plastic bones. It stands almost five feet high. (Why is Mommy lying on the floor?)
For baby's first toys, Kenner has come up with a "Peek-a-View." Baby pulls a large ring and gets the lighted picture of one of a dozen animals. The bathtub boat has also gone musical, with a Mississippi river boat that chugs along to a waterproof tune (Marlin).
Favorites
So, Santa, that's just a little off the top, but it should give you an idea of what to go on. Oh, and by the way, I didn't tell you about my two favorite toys which, as a parent, I think are the ultimate in 1968 realism. One is a large Laugh-in "sock it to me" vinyl gavel (Doleco) with which the kids can bash each other over the head in joyous flurries of sibling rivalry.
The other is a neat little box called "The Instant Refund... the world's first anti-bank." When you put a coin through a slot, the lid opens and a hand throws the coin out. Merry Christmas, Santa... and please, don't forget the batteries this year, okay?
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