Flashback time!

[First of Two]

I, too, remember Playmobil.

I had four sets: Knights, Cowboys, Construction Workers, and Hospital.

In the hospital set was one Nurse. She was the only female in any set.

That poor girl... the things she had to do to earn a living...

[The Tatterdemalion King]

I had Lego.

And spaceships made of cardboard.

[Tobian]

I had Lego, and I built my own spaceships! I also used to model a lot in card, but mostly I just do it on the computer, it's less messy

[The Tatterdemalion King]

I had Lego, and I built my own spaceships! I also used to model a lot in card, but mostly I just do it on the computer, it's less messy

Well, the only computer I had at the time was one of those Mac Classics, and i'm not sure an eight-year-old had time for CAD programs...

[Tobian]

Well I had a Commodore Vic 20, so trying to write my own 3D application would have been hard

[Sarge]

I didn't have any fancy Lego pieces, just plain square ones, and lots of 'em. That's the best kind to have, because you can build anything with those.

[Cut]

My older brother (11 years in the lead) had build some pretty amazing spaceships in his day and I felt like happy camper, when one day I discovered a box of LEGO stuff that had not only some cool LEGO bricks, but three complete spaceships of my brothers design, that I thought hadn't survived to the day when his LEGO became officially mine

LEGO Space was the best. I even build an Enterprise with it

[tonyg]

LEGO sorta sucked when I was a kid. All they had were the standard brick shaped ones, so everthing ending up looking square.

They did start to improve it, especially when some competiors popped up with round wheels and people.

I aslo remember playmobile, but it was after my time.

Hard to pick a favorite toy, espcially as that changed over the years. I also had a habit of taking stuff apart to "mix n' match" my own toys. I even made my own Dalek out of a glass, half a rubber ball, some toothpicks, and some othello-like plastic pieces.

[Liquidator Queeg]

Lego was also one of my favourite toys as a kid. So too were these girder and panel sets by Kenner:

eBay links:
Girder and Panel set #1
Girder and Panel set #2

Note that I'm not shilling my own auctions here, I just found these as examples! I think I got a picture of me playing with one of these, I'll see if I can dig it up and scan it for posting.

Tada! Queeg circa 1978 playing with panels and girders.

[Tobian]

yeah I had Lego Space, I had a few of those, so I had all the girder bits What I never had was... enough.. I always ran out before I could make anything interesting

LQ: Cool pic, I wish I'd had that much when i was a kid!

[The Tatterdemalion King]

Every once in a while I walk through the Lego aisle and sigh wistfully...

[First of Two]

I had this bucket of bricks I called the "poor man's Lego." I believe the brand name was "Brix Blox."

Strangely enough, I always had an easier time fitting them together than I did my Legos. Once I got Legos to stick sufficiently, I could never pry them apart again with my little kidfingers.

Also Erector Set, Lincoln Logs, and Tinkertoys.

[spyone]

I had a friend who had the Mego figures when we were in elementary school. He had them all, even the Gorn (who wore a Klingon uniform).
My brother, OTOH, had the Mego Marvel Super Heroes figures. Which allowed me to discover that Dr. Lizard was the same mold as the Gorn, just green instead of brown. And that Iron Man looks pretty cool in a Klingon uniform.

[tonyg]

I had quite a few of the MEGO figutes when I was a kid; most of the Star Trek ones, Galen (from Planet of the Apes), and Spriderman, the HUlk, Captain America, the Thing (Marvel).

I found out a few years ago why the Iron Man didn't look quite right. It was orginally supposed to be a Dr. Doom figure, but was dropped as too complicated/expsensive.

Most of the figures were the same with differnt heads, differnt colored plasticparts, and clothing. Something that came in useful when you broke your favorite toy. I think I used a spare Klingon to fix my Iron Man when the rubber bands broke.

[C5]

Ah, LEGO and Playmobils... years and years of fun. LEGOs were beginning to specialize a lot when I grew too old to properly enjoy them (though I had some fun with the LEGO Technics), so I missed most of the space ones (and of course all the Star Wars, pirates, and so on...).

Still, I know what you mean when you talk about sighing in the LEGO alley in the store...