Army Toys

I remember my Army toys! Seeing these again is like a trip back into yesterday. If you were a kid growing up in the early 60's, you will recall that the fun that you had depended mostly on your imagination. You could easily spend your weekly-or monthly allowance on a great selection of cool toys at even cooler prices. I used to buy many of my army toys at the 88 cent store on 82nd and Foster.

I also bought alot of toys in Newberry's toy basement. I had a sturdy collection of these plastic army men and vehicles. With a bit of imagination I could set up elaborate battle scenes for long afternoons of fun. When it rained, or was too cold outside, I just set up in my bedroom, or in friend's basements. When playing with them outside, mud puddles became lakes, Grass became jungles, and bushes were deep forests. There was absolutely no limit to what could be done.

Helmet with chin strap....88 cents
Remember the feel of the plastic strap under your chin? It was usually uncomfortable and awfully sweaty. I always had to hold on to my helmet when I ran because I wouldn't fasten the strap.
Circa 1962

Plastic Grenade....49 cents
These grenades were great. The only downfall: they got lost easily when thrown. When we would play army, we often used pine cones instead. This is how it worked: You pulled your plastic grenade, pretended to pull the pin, pretended to throw, then at the last minute, you threw the pine cone hidden in the palm of your hand.
Circa 1963

Plastic Bazooka....Cost:unknown

"Requeim for a Bazooka"

A kid in our neighborhood had this gigantic bazooka that fired huge shells. I remember being so impressed with it because it was expensive and way out of my meagerly financial reach. Unfortunately, the thing broke very quickly, bringing this big bad bazooka to an early retirement. Another black eye on the face of toy technology.
Circa 1965

In all of his blazing glory, there were very few toys to compare to ol' Tommy; this was the gun to die for. In the early 60's, it sold for around $7.95, which were big bucks at the time. In my household, that kind of cash was way beyond any sort of extension of allowance, or small parental loans (at the usual interest rate, i.e, extra household chores, lawn mowings, etc.).

For christmas of 1963, I got one! MIne was the camo "Guerrilla" model as shown aboe. This weapon was carried by my beloved hero "Sgt. Saunders" of the immortal television program "Combat." This gun also had a shoulder strap. (Technically, Sgt. Saunders carried the brown version but, what the heck).

On a sad note: this gun wound up missing in action on the battleground of a gravel pit near our house, circa 1964.

The brown Tommy Burst shown here is the "Dick Tracy" model. I actually found one of these in a mud puddle near our house. It belonged to the spoiled kid next door whose parents bought him whatever he wanted. The gun had mud and dog crap all over it. I took it home and cleaned it all up like new. Sure enough, the kid sent his mom over to our house to reclaim it. He was lucky that this toy wasn't the real article!

I actually had all the gear that's pictured on this page-especially the army surplus stuff. In the 60's you could buy it cheap. I had authentic backpacks, ammo belts, canteens, mess kits, and jackets. I even had a real army tent. One day cold winter day when out playing army, a bunch of kids from the neighborhood along with myself and my brother, actually made a camp fire and cooked oatmeal in the mess kit. Naturally, it never tasted better. It was January, and very cold outside.

That was one of my better army-playing memories. I suppose my favorite times of playing army were on colder days. Maybe it was because I could comfortably wear all the gear, or perhaps it felt more the black and white ambience of television's "Combat!" It was great to actually wear the jacket with ammo belt and canteen rattling as you walked. Playing army was the best fun to be had. The guys and myself would often venture off to the local field where there were plenty of trees and have the time of our lives.

My parents shopped at a local grocery store called "Tradewell". On the very top shelves above the food items, giant toys were stored once christmas time was near. Well, I remember this gigantic remote control tank called "Tiger Joe." It was very expensive at $24.95. It was also very, very huge!

The tank measured 26" in length, and actually fired shells. My mom would put a bit of flour into the barrel so that whenever I fired a shell, it would look like smoke was coming out. I got this tank for christmas of 1962. My dad would wrestle with us kids a lot on the living room floor. One time when he was resting, I drove the tank over his legs just to see if it would go over them. It did.