Retro Toys Most Popular Christmas Searches

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A look at some of the toys from our past, they don’t make them like this anymore.

A recent survey by online data company Hitwise has revealed a dramatic increase in searches for classic toys from nostalgic childhoods.

Danish building block Lego was the most searched for toy brand, and model construction kit Meccano has made a comeback as the fastest growing toy brand for November 2008.

Hitwise’s UK director of research Robin Goad said: “Established toy brands, many of which have been around for decades, dominate the list of most searched-for toys this Christmas.”

Whilst the top brands such as Lego have had to reinvent themselves by being accessible to major movie franchises, it’s the classics we love and revere most strongly. Here’s a trip down memory lane of some of the old-school retro toys from yesteryear.

Transformers

One of the most lucrative and ingenious toy brands ever designed. Transformers, the robots in disguise brought together the two things every boy loved – cars and robots.

Toy makers Hasbro designed the range which involved multiple moving parts in order to change the shape of the toy from car to robot form and back again.

By far the most popular toy was Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, inspiring a generation of kids to believe that big HGVs could be the coolest vehicle in the world.

Thundercats

This remarkable toy took the classic Action Man figure one step further than the revolutionary roving moving eyes.

Both Lord of the Thundercats Liono and ultimate baddy Mumra the Ever Living had eyes that you could light up with the aid of a ring with a battery inside.

Toys took a big step forward with this simple introduction of LEDs which was the beginning of battery operated action toys.

Lego

Lego today relies on fewer pieces and more ornate shapes. One of the biggest and best unisex toys ever is now linked with huge movie franchieses like Star Wars, Batman and Indiana Jones.

Back in the day Lego was simpler and all about how inventive the designers could be with a limited set of blocks. The pinnacle of Lego came with Lego Pirates, a beautiful and brilliant battle between the soldiers of Governor Broadside against Captain Roger’s pirates.

The galleon ships Seahawk and Darkshark became definitive classics of the range.

Scalextric

The ultimate boy-racers toy, Scalextric was Hornby’s answer for people who couldn’t get to grip with model trains and wanted more variety in their tracks than a basic circle.

The key success of the slot car racer was the fact that the interchangeable track parts had so much variation and were infinitely scalable that the options for the creative enthusiast were limitless.

The Guinness World Record for the longest Scalextric track stands at over 1 km, 1,105.57 metres of standard two-lane track to be precise.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Turtle Power was rife world wide in the late 80s and early 90s.

The Turtles franchise has evolved today and been reinvented with a much slicker more Japanese feel to the animation and action moving away from its US roots.

Back then however, the toy of choice was the hero with a half shell set, where the action figures actually popped the back of their shells for storage space of weapons, ninja paraphernalia and of course – pizza. Cowabunga Dudes!