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Toys, Toys and yes, more Toys!
13 Plays1 month ago
What was the most you ever spent on a collectible toy? Josh spent a whole lot on some dolls, but what secret is Tyler hiding? You'll have to listen to find out in this episode of show n' tell. And just so you don't feel left out, you can see all the visuals on genx4life_podcast@instagram.com. And while you're there check out the Speakpipe link to let us know with your own voice! Have a Yabba! Zonkers! Zoinks! Saturday!
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
They ended up closing it over a thousand dollars. Yeah.
Introduction & Podcast Premise
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to Yabba Zonker Zoinks, the Saturday morning podcast where your host, Josh Downing, that's me, will yap with guests about their awesome Gen X childhood. You know, in front of the TV, in pajamas, eating bowls of crunchy sugar.
00:00:19
Speaker
I'm a Gen Xer, toy collector, theater creator. Well, and now I'm a podcast host with a series on pop culture stuff from the 70s and 80s, like cartoons and toys and TV shows. So if you remember the Jetsons or HR Puffin stuff or even...
00:00:33
Speaker
the Groovy Ghoulies, while you're on the right channel. So put on your fluffy slippers and your cowboy pajamas and join us on a Saturday morning ride through our childhood.
Spontaneous Topic Surprise & Season Excitement
00:00:45
Speaker
So welcome back listeners. I'm so excited to be here today. We've got a great topic to talk to. My name is Josh Downing and I'm the host of Yabazonker Zoinks and I'm really, really happy with the season so far. I think I've learned a lot and there's some really fun things going on.
00:01:00
Speaker
And joining me as usual is my best bud, Tyler. Hi, Josh. Hi, everyone. So we're we're excited. um Tyler doesn't really know what we're going to talk about today. i just kind of sprained this.
00:01:12
Speaker
ah Sometimes I give him a bit of a heads up because I think it's more fun to just surprise him. But we never talk about me. we yeah We talk about all of you because you're the one who remembers everything. i have like such a terrible memory. I'm like, what?
00:01:28
Speaker
I don't know.
Toy Spending Stories
00:01:31
Speaker
So I want to, I want to, okay, first of all, just in the theme of what we're going talk about today, we, we post a question way back in episode one. And I think it was episode one or maybe episode one, part two.
00:01:42
Speaker
And the question was, what is the most you've ever spent on the toy? So I'm going to ask you that question now.
00:01:49
Speaker
Oh gosh. It's a really good question. i don't know that. I would still own something I spent a lot of money on.
00:02:00
Speaker
Maybe these Gacha Man vehicle imports. There's two box sets. They were probably like 500 US each ago. was...
00:02:11
Speaker
if i yeah I love the question. Maybe one of my Funkos, like maybe the Funko Funky Phantom.
00:02:22
Speaker
Oh, yeah. 500 US, which is a million dollars Canadian. Yes, that's that's the current rate. Gosh, it'll come to me later tonight. I can probably think of a couple of things that are too embarrassing to mention, but I don't own them anymore.
00:02:36
Speaker
What about you? Well, it's funny because after you said that, I was thinking, well, I haven't really spent a lot of money. but I mean, I said a lot of money, but not on one or two things. Right. I actually did. And I don't know if you remember this. So way back...
00:02:49
Speaker
when I was still working on my my Power Rangers Super Sentai collection, which we'll get back to one of these days. So one of each other the thing that I was so freaking excited about owning was the Changeman dolls.
00:03:07
Speaker
So it was the pink and the white Girl Rangers. Yeah, I remember. Yeah. And they were on eBay. And I just, ah they were probably at the time, they were probably ah I want to say like $500 US. So it was a freak load of money.
Nostalgia & Toy Value Reflection
00:03:26
Speaker
That was in the pair? Sorry? That was for the pair? Yeah. Yeah. They were they were together. They ended up closing it over $1,000. Yeah. Okay. I just remembered what the most expensive thing is I bought. Anyway. out for All right, we'll come back to you. are You own those, right? Yeah, still have them. Did pay that?
00:03:47
Speaker
That was you? That was your winning? That was me. i have no memory of them being that expensive. and No, seriously. That was a paycheck. Wow. I wonder who you were bidding against.
00:03:58
Speaker
I couldn't even tell you. it was just It was so long ago, and there wasn't probably a lot of bidders on that one. I just know that all of a sudden I won it over $1,000. you know over a thousand dollars i was like,
00:04:11
Speaker
like god Well, now the burning question we all have is, do you still own them? I do, actually. Oh, good boy. zoer still have them. They're going up for auction for at least $1,000. was so i was so freaked out because I'm like, i don't have $1,000.
00:04:29
Speaker
So I reached out to the to the seller and they said, look, I was a little surprised by how much they went for. would you be willing to let me pay them off over, you know, a few paychecks kind of thing.
00:04:42
Speaker
And they were really super nice. And they were like, absolutely. No problem. oh Yeah. So, yeah. So I sent them payments over like, days over yeah no such thing back then.
00:04:56
Speaker
ah So, yeah. So that, that is my most expensive. collectible Well, they're super cool. I remember them. Oh, they're absolutely amazing. do not I wonder if you never told me the price.
00:05:08
Speaker
I don't know. i I think I probably would have, but maybe not. and Wow. That would not be a surprise.
Childhood Toy Memories
00:05:16
Speaker
And that's back in the day when like the seller would get hit with fees based on the value of the sold item, right? Yes. Wow.
00:05:25
Speaker
Wow. Wow. So they made $30. Yeah. And I was out of food for eight weeks. Yeah. yeah That's okay. I had my Eaton's card. Yeah. Oh God. there's ah There's an episode right there.
00:05:41
Speaker
Tuna sandwiches from the Eaton's Deli. And the shortbread cookies. Oh yeah. Those were amazing. So good. So yeah. So that was my most expensive toy. So what did you just remember?
00:05:52
Speaker
Oh, it's not important. Anyway, carry on. But i will I will, this won't mean anything to you, but you were the one that had to bid for me because I was at work. And for some reason, i feel like Nesta had to too. Like there was two auctions closing at the same time and you were bidding on one for me and he was bidding on the other.
00:06:10
Speaker
And I won them both and was like, uh-oh, now what? But I was so happy. So happy that I sold them years later. Oh, it happens, right? Yeah. some Some toy collectors keep everything until the day they die. And some of us are like, yeah, you know what?
00:06:26
Speaker
Getting old. it's time to know get rid of this big, giant storage locker on my back. Yeah, they were customs, and I was noticing the faults more and more than enjoying them, even though there was a real love that went into them, but i' kind of like, not perfect. So, you know.
00:06:47
Speaker
Anywho... So one of the things I wanted to i want to talk about today is I'm digging deep. And it's so funny because i think about i think about the things. yeah We talked a lot about toys for the Christmas episode. But I think about some of the things that I i cherished when I was a kid.
00:07:03
Speaker
And i I guess I've just always I've had the hoarder gene on my life because My grandparents, of course, you know, had garages full of stuff that they used to buy at swap meets. So it got passed down to me. And I also had storage lockers full of toys at one point in my life.
00:07:19
Speaker
But i strangely enough, kept a lot of the toys that I had from when I was a kid. And I don't know how it still managed to be with me after all of these decades.
00:07:31
Speaker
And people need to know that Josh moved every 12 months for decades. That is not a lie. That was not a lie. That is ADHD at its best. I'm like, oh, I'm tired of this apartment. Got to move.
00:07:45
Speaker
that What? A dollar increase? I'm out of here. yeah I'm going to find a more expensive place to spend my dollar. So, yeah. So what what is, do you have anything that you've kept from when you were a kid?
00:07:59
Speaker
ah The honest answer is actually yes, although i dumped everything when puberty came along. I got rid of everything. But I did keep the plush Winnie the Pooh that I had as a baby.
00:08:15
Speaker
And then... When I was maybe six or seven, we were in Florida and we were in a toy store and there was a plush Scooby-Doo and that did not exist ever, ever, ever before that.
00:08:29
Speaker
And like I treasured that thing. and It was one of those moments where my parents knew, yeah, that's a big deal right there. And We went back to, we were saying this motel was really super cool, like very mid-century.
00:08:42
Speaker
And I took pictures of it, like around the pool and everything. And i i just loved it. And I don't have the heart to give it up. It was the first, you know, plush Scooby. And...
00:08:59
Speaker
ah to to To donate him would be tragic for me. To sell him would be tragic. so And I don't keep him on display. and I only think I know where he is right now. you know Everything else I gave up. And and some of it I regret and some of it I don't.
00:09:15
Speaker
but But yeah, it's it's quite something to hold on to. Something for a long time. you know and At this stage of our lives, it is a long time. Yeah, it is. Absolutely.
Cherished Toys & Surprising Discoveries
00:09:26
Speaker
Broken back time.
00:09:28
Speaker
So when i when I was thinking about this topic and and what you know those early toys meant to me, i i had a very distinct memory. And it's funny, I just related it to my mom because I was i was out in BC recently.
00:09:42
Speaker
And when I was two, so that would have been 1968, I was in the hospital for a surgery of some sort. I don't even know what it was.
00:09:53
Speaker
It was hoarding everybody. Yeah, they were trying to remove the hoarding gene. It didn't work. It got doubled instead. We lost him, doctor. That's my superpower. And I just remember I have very specific, distinct memories of my parents bringing me a gift, I guess, on day one. I think I was in there for two days.
00:10:15
Speaker
And it was Hot Wheels cars. So I was so excited, opened these cars and it wasn't even so much the car that I was excited about. Cause I don't remember the cars that they actually gave me, but it was the little tin wheel pocket clip.
00:10:34
Speaker
So it was a, it was just a little, it would look like a tire with like a Hot Wheels logo across it. And it just was made of like a tin and it just clipped over your pocket of your pajamas.
00:10:46
Speaker
No way. Yeah. And i just, I remember that little, that little disc. was like the size of a quarter. Yeah. and ah my parents like clipped it on my pajama pocket when I was in the hospital and I was so excited.
00:11:00
Speaker
wow that's And then the next day they brought me another one. So I had two of these cars with these little tire tin um badges. Yeah. And that is my first toy memory. Wow. So I was like, well, I got to look this up because when did Hot Wheels, you know, actually come out? And maybe I'm like totally making this up in my head. And they were like Corgi or something.
00:11:21
Speaker
They came out that year. was all a fever dream in the hospital. It was totally a fever dream. But Hot Wheels came out in 1968. So my parents had bought something that was brand new. They just, I guess they just went in and, you know, spent their 40 cents on it and brought these to me in the hospital. And it was so cool. It was such a great memory.
00:11:41
Speaker
Yeah, that's really, really nice story. Yeah, isn't that great? Yeah. The other thing that's really cool, and I'm going to show this because I'm recording. See this? Speed Racer vehicle?
00:11:51
Speaker
Okay. So Speed Racer was one of my number one favorite shows. We're going to talk about Speed Racer in an upcoming, but Speed Racer was everything. Speed Racer and Marine Boy.
00:12:03
Speaker
ah can't forget Marine Boy because most people don't even remember Marine Boy, but they were on Saturday mornings really early. Like for me, they were on like five and five 30 in the morning. So to get a Mach five,
00:12:17
Speaker
was a dream. Oh, sure. Absolute dream. Like, oh my God, there it is. I'm holding the Mach 5. Because there wasn't anything else. There wasn't any other kind of toys. yeah It wasn't until late in my ah adult and in my adult years that I flipped it over and read Second Wind.
00:12:40
Speaker
This is not the Mach 5. It is a knock off. Oh, no. It's a not official. It's narc six.
00:12:52
Speaker
Totally. It's called second wind. Isn't that like a fart? But wait, a second witness. But like, is it, is it, is it really a knockoff or it's just, just happens to look like it?
00:13:04
Speaker
No, it even has, um, it has weird. Most of the paint is peeled off from me playing with it for the past 50 years. But um it has yellow markings on it.
00:13:15
Speaker
There's no yellow. Narc, go, go, go. Yeah, seriously. Seriously. I was so disappointed. Wow. So happy that I still have this car. it is so old.
00:13:29
Speaker
It is so old, I need my glasses to read the bottom of it. But... but I'm not even going to say, I don't even know. I can't even read the year anymore because it's so old, but yeah, it's, it's not the Mach five. It is the second wind.
00:13:41
Speaker
Did he race against racer l no racer rain. It was a nature story. I don't know what it was. was crazy, but I was still not disappointed as a kid. That was one of my favorite, favorite toys of all time.
00:13:55
Speaker
Yeah. That's very cool. And I still have it. So I'm going to continue with my show and tell. Cause you know what else I have? but say The Monkey Mobile. Oh, that's beautiful.
00:14:06
Speaker
Yeah. Loved this car. Yeah. Loved it. It is made by Husky Toys. It's actually an official Monkey Mobile. Came from Great Britain. Mm-hmm.
00:14:18
Speaker
And I tried to do a bit of a repaint on it at one point, probably when I was doing my model kits in the 70s. But I couldn't finish it because I couldn't paint over the decals on the side because I would have been devastated.
00:14:33
Speaker
yeah But yeah, they're all still in the car too with a lot of dust. it's it's
00:14:40
Speaker
There's a joke there, but I won't make it. I don't want Mickey Dolenz to ever die. Yes. Yeah. it's It's amazing how the UK pumped out so much of that, but so did America.
00:14:52
Speaker
And all those incredible cars you can still buy today, but they're just expensive. like Yeah. expensive And the second market is crazy. Otherwise, I'd have all those, you know, like,
00:15:03
Speaker
what's the scales at one sixteenth? Is that what's the size when it's like half a foot or a foot long? Oh yeah. Yeah. That's right. right that's yeah enterprise right I would have everything, but like they're so expensive. So no, they're crazy expensive.
00:15:17
Speaker
But when you see them, it shows and they're all lined up. It's like, Oh you'rebi in the count chocula car and la and it's like oh man, you're killing me. yeah yeah totally the mystery machine well yeah Yeah.
00:15:31
Speaker
Yeah. So, so more show and tell this little pink and green Jeep was also one of my favorite toys. I don't know who the company is that made this one. I can't even read it. It's not a hot wheels or a Corgi.
00:15:46
Speaker
It's a matchbox. No, it's not matchbox either. It's, it's got another name on it. It's really small and I, and it's, it's really kind of flattened. It just says toxic toxic lead paint car.
00:16:00
Speaker
It used to have a little windscreen that flipped up and down, but obviously I bent that right off. But I just, I loved it. It was pink and green, like seriously nuts. It had the engine sticking out. And this was one of my favorite die-cast cars.
00:16:14
Speaker
That was the one of the cool things about the 70s was all the exposed motors everywhere. yeah And they were real too. Even the school buses has had exposed motors. Exactly. Just because they could go faster. Yeah.
00:16:26
Speaker
So I still have my original barrel of monkeys. i did have that. They're all still in there. Did you have barrel monkeys? Yeah. the The barrel of barrel of monkeys. Yeah. I know why though, right? Like why was it so fascinating?
00:16:40
Speaker
Because you didn't have to do anything. You just dumped it on the floor and then you just play it. Yeah. And then you could just make strings of monkeys. Two monkeys. Did you see that? Two.
00:16:51
Speaker
Why is everybody smoking and not looking at me? Exactly. Stop smoking on my monkey. Yeah. No, seriously, I loved that game. um And this is my original one. This is the one I had when I was a kid.
00:17:03
Speaker
Also toxic. Yeah, very toxic, I'm
Nostalgic Toys Discussion
00:17:06
Speaker
sure. So here's another classic, and a lot of people recognize this. This is my Very Dusty Viewmaster.
00:17:14
Speaker
yeah And still have all the original reels too. Actually, I have some of mine. Yeah. it So obviously when my parents got it, it came like it was a starter pack.
00:17:27
Speaker
So it didn't have like reels one, two, and three of anything. It had reel three, reel six. So I have reel five of the Hardy Boys, but nothing else. There's a reason why he's bringing that up, folks. Do you want to share, Josh, why you need to share that particular item in your collection? Yeah.
00:17:45
Speaker
No, why? You tell me. oh ah Tyler is so bitter because Josh has the Filmation Hardy Boys view last year.
00:17:55
Speaker
and I've never had them. It's right here. Oh. I tried photographing the cells. I got out my my camera and I tried to photograph them.
00:18:08
Speaker
It didn't turn out It didn't. but i was little and i think something happened to my scooby-doo view masters and my mom took me to fairview mall and we went to simpsons or the bay or eaton's to replace it i remember they had that huge counter display of all the view masters you know like it tiered down and the gentleman was like well we don't have that one he kept pointing at pebbles and band band Give him that one.
00:18:36
Speaker
I was like, no, that's not the one want. I'm like, no, that's not the one I want. Oh, that one was really cool. But it's like, no. So it took a little while to get the Scoopy one. Yikes. Yes.
00:18:48
Speaker
Yeah, we we never really got any extra reels with our Viewmaster. So we spent our formative years looking at the same Bugs Bunny, number one, Casper the Ghost, number four.
00:18:59
Speaker
I'm wondering what really happened in all those stories. And what really happened to Casper? Yeah, what really happened? How did Casper get to be Casper? died in the first reel. but i think But we'll never know that. it was recalled. you know, kids can't see that one in 3D.
00:19:16
Speaker
Exactly. And Bullwinkle, like seriously, they so amazing. I loved that, view Viewmaster. Did I ever tell you about the story of the Gold Nugget? No.
00:19:28
Speaker
So if you took the reel out and you just looked in the Viewmaster, and it just has the little white screen. One time when I was playing with this when I was a kid, I held the trigger down partially, and I could see this thing in the bottom corner, and it looked like a gold nugget.
00:19:45
Speaker
So I was convinced there was a gold nugget in my Viewmaster. So your parents were like, smash, damn. Yeah. No, luckily they never got to it. I still have it. My gold nugget is safe.
00:19:58
Speaker
it is that funny It's still there. i don't know what it is.
00:20:03
Speaker
It's just a piece of dust or something, but man, oh man, I just i was so convinced. and i would like Once again, i don't know what it was, but I would just walk around with this thing and just look at everything. That's so funny.
00:20:16
Speaker
I didn't need a lot to to have an imagination when I was a kid. That's good. Your parents like that. Keep things cheap. Totally. Exactly. So my last my last show and tell I'm going to talk about today is Do you remember Wizards?
00:20:31
Speaker
Not by name, no. They were a Mattel toy that came out in 75. Okay. They were these spinning tops. Nope. So you basically...
00:20:42
Speaker
ran this little rubber tip really hard across your mom's good floor and then it would spin. And then they would just, they would spin. They just float around on the floor for a few minutes. And in the TV commercial, you could, you know, put them on a tight rope.
00:20:56
Speaker
They came with little stands so that you could stack them. You could put them upside down, all these kinds of tricks. None of those tricks ever worked for me. ah Trust me. I tried everything.
00:21:07
Speaker
But I still have all three of my original spinner Wizards that I purchased. Yeah, isn't that crazy? Wow, that is crazy. Not literally crazy, folks. No, no, it's it's literally crazy. Literally.
00:21:20
Speaker
So, yeah, that was my that was my ye olde toy journey. Very cool. Yeah. Okay.
00:21:30
Speaker
You know what that means? Uh-oh. Uh-oh. The furniture's on. Yeah. So i've got I've got what I'm calling. Here, I'm going to pull it out and see what I get. Awesome. Okay, here we go.
00:21:44
Speaker
this is a um This is what I'm calling the Cereal Box Memory Trivia.
Trivia and Toy Purchases
00:21:51
Speaker
Okay, so you've got to think about this. This was something that... Sorry?
00:21:55
Speaker
The answer was Captain Crunch. You just held it Yeah, no. no sir And that Captain Crunch getting really stale, by the way. hello So the question is... What toy line did I purchase at Toys R Us for like $1.90 each? I
00:22:17
Speaker
may ask a question? Yes. Which Toys R Us location? It was Weston Road.
00:22:26
Speaker
Oh. You worked at Weston? No, I didn't know. This was way before I worked Codras. Oh, you purchased it at Weston. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry. Yeah, it was earlier. You may want to edit that. Okay. Oh, so you weren't with the company yet. No, not yet.
00:22:39
Speaker
Oh, my gosh. We're $1.90. Whoa. I
00:22:48
Speaker
i like the question, but that's, like, how many things did you get? I want to say probably like five or six. yeah Yeah. Pretty much, purchased almost the whole collection.
00:23:03
Speaker
See, it's funny should say that because I scored like almost the whole Inhumanoids line at Weston Road, you know, one boxing week and everything was like two bucks. And I don't know why i got rid of them. That was dumb. But anyway, okay, Josh, I do not know the answer.
00:23:19
Speaker
Okay. So here it is Something made in the ninety s Oh, actually, it's funny because i did a bit of research on this too. It is visionaries.
00:23:31
Speaker
Oh, I remember that. Remember, right? i mean i I mean, I remember the the events. Of course, it yeah but I remember the events. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So Visionaries. Right, right, right. So I bought, and it's funny too, because i'm looking through the little catalog that came with it.
00:23:45
Speaker
So Visionaries came out in 86, 87, right? That's when the show hit. Hasbro didn't make the toys until the next year.
00:23:55
Speaker
The show was already canceled. Way to go, Hasbro. Yes, that's some good planning. But what a freaking cool toy line. Now, the funny thing is i i I was elderly by that point. So I wasn't really a cartoon kid, but I was still watching cartoons sometimes. Cause I did a lot of shift work. I worked in restaurants and things. So I was constantly, you know, I had time to do stuff like that.
00:24:18
Speaker
So I loved it. I loved watching the show and I thought visionaries is really cool show. So when we went into the Western road, toys are us. And we walked by the clearance tables Pretty much one of everything was on that table.
00:24:33
Speaker
And it was the the Dagger Assault, which is like two feet long. Like that toy was huge. It was designed to hold like 11 action figures. $1.90. I got the Skyclaw.
00:24:46
Speaker
dollarll ninety spectral na saol dollar ninety Spectral Knight Chariot $1.90. Josh, are you reading the receipt? My what?
00:24:57
Speaker
Yes, I'm reading the receipt. I still have the receipt. No, seriously. like and i i I remember I got a couple of the figures as well, but there was also a couple of figures with the ships, but yeah that was every vehicle in the line.
00:25:11
Speaker
and they paid $12 total. Yeah, that's crazy. It was so crazy. so I'm like, okay, so Was that a reissue? Was that something where like, you know, Hasbro's like, well, let's put it out again for nostalgia sake, like 10 years later.
00:25:26
Speaker
No, those toys. So Toys R Us opened in 84. This toy line came out in 88. So four years later, I bought them in, I want to say 97. Does
00:25:40
Speaker
does that seem about right? Well, sometime between 95 and 97. Yeah. Yeah. So somewhere in there. So that means these toys sat in that Toys R Us for seven years.
00:25:54
Speaker
Well, yeah, because you got not you have to remember, but you have to remember nothing was ever discounted back then. No. You know, it shock to walk into, well, really any retailer, but Toys R Us especially, and see something on sale.
00:26:07
Speaker
That never happened. So no it would have been full price until the week before you walked in. yeah And then years later, when I when i worked at Toys R Us, I understood that things got discounted after a certain discontinued time period.
00:26:23
Speaker
After a certain decade. Yes. After nobody wanted them anymore. um And then they would they would finally clear out their overheads or finally go into their back room and pull a box out and go, oh, look at this from the eighty s And ah then everything would be like $1.90 because that was the way their their pricing structure went. So they knew it was final final clearance item.
00:26:46
Speaker
So yeah, that's how I got the Visionaries toy line. you still have those? No, I sold those a number of years ago. Yeah. They were Knights of the Magical Light.
00:26:56
Speaker
They were. but now that light is not with us anymore. Oh, dear. Well, not with me. and i'm sure it's with somebody else. Yeah, who's peeled off all the holograms and stuff. ah Don't say that. That hurts.
00:27:10
Speaker
That's awesome. Okay. So you know what time that is now, right? Nope. No, it is now. It's now game time. oh ah Oh, this is fun. This going fun.
00:27:22
Speaker
Josh says this is fun. And I always say that. And then I laugh because I'm having, I'm having fun.
Power Rangers Collection Game
00:27:29
Speaker
So um one of the things that I have, and because listeners, you might not know this, but I am a toy collector.
00:27:36
Speaker
And for many years, I had a massive Power Rangers collection. And I still have a couple things left. But one of the things that I haven't, and it's going to help us play our game today, is I still have the Power Rangers Trivia game.
00:27:50
Speaker
Trivia. Trivial Pursuit. So I pulled out one of the... Legit Trivial Pursuit? Yeah, it's legit. Oh, I don't remember that. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's totally legit.
00:28:02
Speaker
So I pulled out one of the cards and we're we're going to see if we can answer some of the questions on the card. Okay, well, the first answer is Ernie. um ah No, it's wrong. Oh, sorry. Okay, so here we go. um No, no, no, no. The first answer is teamwork.
00:28:17
Speaker
Teamwork. ah Morphin. It's always morphin. Which ranger from Power Rangers Ninja Storm is an avid skateboarder? Red, yellow, blue, or green?
00:28:30
Speaker
and just store Yeah, that was a good one. I liked that too. But I wouldn't actually know that answer, so I'll just say green. a It was Ernie.
00:28:42
Speaker
It was Ernie. Yes, Ernie. I don't think Ernie was around. No, he wasn't. No, red. That was Shane, the red wind ranger.
00:28:53
Speaker
Windu. So I was going to say blue because that would be the the dolphin ranger. But like did all that stuff reminds me of that window on Queen Street.
00:29:04
Speaker
Anyway. Oh, the window that I did? Yeah, yeah, Young Street. Young, actually. Yeah. um toys That's Toys R Us, by the way. We're talking about Toys R Us on Queen Street in Toronto, which I helped open.
00:29:18
Speaker
yes Yes, which is now a home sense, which makes no sense. No, no sense. OK, next question. Okay, the next question. What is the name of the parallel dimension where the Nightlock live in Power Rangers Samurai and Super Samurai?
00:29:38
Speaker
i don't know. I don't even know this one. ah the That's the Gamma something. Oh my God, you got it right. No, I'm just kidding. it's it's the It's the power of friendship.
00:29:49
Speaker
ah no Netherworld. Oh, wow. What a clever name. Right? Totally. down I'm not putting it down. No, of course you are. All right. Here's the last. Here's the last of our Power Ranger Trivial Pursuit questions.
00:30:05
Speaker
Who says... Everybody's rooting for me. Sorry, what was that? Everybody's rooting for me. Yeah, they totally are. They love it when you win. Yeah. Who says, this isn't exactly the mall, is it?
00:30:16
Speaker
While exploring the command center in episode one, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season one. Well, I'm going to put my money behind Kimberly. Ha ha ha.
00:30:26
Speaker
No, it was Trini. No, I'm lying. It was Kimberly. I wouldn't. Yes, thank you. Thank you, folks. That's where you put in the applause sound of effect. The applause soundtrack?
00:30:37
Speaker
ah i should have I should have done it better. This isn't exactly the mall, is it? No, Kimberly. And I'm sorry, Amy Jo, if you're listening to this, please don't take offense to that.
00:30:51
Speaker
No, exactly. I would just be very excited if you listen to my podcast, but you don't have to. That's okay. No, you should. Yeah, you should, but. Because he spent a lot of money on Power Rangers. Oh, you're welcome. You too much. Amy.
00:31:04
Speaker
we'll we'll get around to We'll get around to the Power Rangers one of these days, but yeah, if you want to see my collection, and go to Instagram. It's thepowerdome.com. um and That's actually my website still.
Collecting in the Early Internet Era
00:31:16
Speaker
I'm still running it, and yeah, I'm on Instagram as thepowerdome.
00:31:20
Speaker
And when Josh says he had a massive collection, that's an understatement. Like, It is an understatement. like He could have been world's record holder. And I probably should have, you know? we had reached out yeah If the internet had been invented by then. Yeah.
00:31:36
Speaker
Right. Because the and the internet was so new back when I was like at the height of my collection. Yeah. Yeah, totally. So I i often i try to explain to people just how much stuff I had. And I will say for the first 15 years, and yes, Power Rangers has been around that long. it's actually It actually 30 years recently.
00:31:57
Speaker
ah For the first 15 years, I had, i want to say, 99.9% of everything that was manufactured for the North American market in every color. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:32:10
Speaker
Yeah, it was a little it was a little crazy. Plus, i was getting the Japanese versions of a lot of things as well. So I had a ton of stuff. I had at one point two lockers.
00:32:21
Speaker
ye Yeah. And in an apartment full, just full. If you want to see pictures, there's pictures on on my Instagram, the Power Dome, or thepowerdome.com. Go check it out.
00:32:32
Speaker
um But yeah, that's that was my Power Ranger collection. It was fun, though. Oh, my God. It was a riot. It was a riot. We had Power Ranger christmas Christmases all the time. Yeah. yeah And then and then we we started our business, and we had all of the other Japanese stuff that we were doing, like Sailor Moon.
00:32:49
Speaker
Like right before the internet. Yep. Yeah. So yeah, it's good times. We got lots to talk about. yeah So awesome. Was there anything else you wanted to to to mention about early toys, Tyler?
00:33:01
Speaker
and I know kind of, I kind of yapped through this. No, no, that's totally fine. um Like for me, it was mostly about puzzles and coloring books and sticker books and magic slates because all I cared about were the characters that I loved on TV.
00:33:15
Speaker
There were no action figures and plush and, you know, so it was just, those paper products were what i worshipped. you know Later it would be the Fisher Price toys, you know Big Jim, $6 million dollar man, the Micronauts, Miko and you know And then the last thing that I truly cared about as a child was the Black Hole action figure your line.
00:33:40
Speaker
So you know the action figure is on the 12-inch. So You know, it was, they were wonderful years, you know, and I think kids are so fortunate now because if they are into licensed characters, then the choice really is endless.
00:33:57
Speaker
And it must just be mind blowing to a kid who can literally wear, eat, surf, play, you know, everything with with characters that they care about.
00:34:10
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. and And I know that because I worked in i worked at Toys R Us for 15 years. And I saw it. I saw it happen. I saw the kids' excitement. I saw parents you know battling each other in the aisles for you know those those specific dolls and action figures and vehicles and stuff. So, yeah.
00:34:32
Speaker
Yeah, it's really grown a
Toy Evolution & Licensed Characters
00:34:33
Speaker
lot. crazy Yeah, yeah. Gone are the days of generic toys on the shelves like Peter Bates. brady helping save that little girl from pulling them down on herself
00:34:47
Speaker
where toys were just a ball a boat a bear a doll top yeah exactly a skip rope and that built for toys and roller skates yeah oh yeah and a hoop yeah yes and a hula hoop that's right and a frisbee and a football oh my nose yeah exactly Speaking of that, really quickly, before we wrap up, I don't think I have my trivia book anymore.
00:35:13
Speaker
Isn't that sad? Brady Bunch trivia book? Yeah. I think it went in my my last big book haul that we got rid of. Well, there's nothing that we don't remember, right? so That you don't remember.
00:35:26
Speaker
Well, yeah, but you don't remember. I'll just have to watch the entire series. What family's last name, Josh? Oliver. Oliver. ah Oh my God. Okay. Please end it here. Cause that was a perfect answer.
00:35:42
Speaker
Awesome. I will do that. Okay. Thank you so much, listeners. Tune in next Saturday. We really want to see you. um Some exciting things on the front for me. I will be setting up a website. So if you're looking for a place to kind of just land and check out who the heck this weirdo is, um I'll have some some stuff there. And glad you're enjoying.
00:36:03
Speaker
um And reach out on social media if you've got questions, thoughts, comments, things you want to see, and things you don't want to see. Have a Yabba Zonker Zoinks day and we will see you next week.
00:36:16
Speaker
You've been listening to Yabba Zonker Zoinks, a Gen X for Life podcast. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any exciting episodes. You can reach out on Instagram at Gen X for Life podcast. That's Gen X number four life underscore podcast or send an email at Gen X for Life podcast, all one word, at gmail.com.
00:36:38
Speaker
I'd love to hear about your favorite Gen X Saturday morning memory, maybe a favorite toy or the cereal you just couldn't wait to tear into. Until then, have a Yabba Zonker Zoinks day, and I'll be back bright and early next Saturday morning.