Top 10 Toy Lines of the 1970s

Top 10 Toy Lines of the 1970s

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Top 10 Toy Lines of All Time

The sound of disco filled our ears, and these things filled our toy boxes! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 toy-lines from the 1970s! For this list, we’ve looked at those toys that dominated the children’s market in the 1970s. It doesn’t matter if they existed before our decade, only that their main era of popularity was within it. This is part of a series of videos ranging from the 1960s to the 2000s.

A game that probably rests within many 21st century toy boxes as well, these Hungry Hungry Hippos were definitely not starved starved of success in the ‘70s! A toy for up to four players, this was the highlight to many a sleepover, and a major reason why your friends were clamoring to ‘stay for dinner’! Set your trigger finger, release the marbles, and then enjoy the chaos! It’s one of those wacky ideas that toy makers often have that really, really works!

For some strange reason, there were few things in the ‘70s that satisfied quite as much as the thrill of getting to punch your favorite cartoon character square in the nose! Punch-Me’s put Fred Flintstone, Popeye the Sailor Man and many more onto an inflated piece of plastic - and invited you to pulverize them! Of course, we all too often got a little carried away, body-slammed Barney Rubble and put an irreparable hole in his head... But hey! He was probably asking for it!

A concept that was first patented in 1891(!), the modern Pogo was officially invented in March 1920 by Hans Pohlig and Ernest Gottschall. It was in 1978 that these spring-yourself somethings really took off within the world of toys, however! The thrill of catapulting into the air for a few seconds made all the painful falls and near impalements worthwhile! A risk element that’s recently led to the creation of Xpogo as an extreme sport - if you had one of these, you were ‘rad’ before your time!

Next, to a toy that the modern generation couldn’t possibly understand! Before the smart phone, we had the walkie talkie (or the transistor radio if you were trying to sound posh), and it was the height of toy technology in the 1970s! Available in a range of different designs, from Batman to Star Trek, if you had these then everyone wanted to be your friend! Just remember to press the button before you talk! Too often we forgot, and too often valuable information was missed!

A toy aimed at a slightly younger age group next, as Fisher-Price did what they did best! The company was a favorite with parents and children alike because of their bright block colors, and simple, safe and satisfying designs. And their garage toy was perhaps their most popular of all! A three-story service center complete with functioning elevator, spinning show-area and gas pump - this thing never got old! Car goes up, car comes down... Car goes up, car comes down... Car goes... Well, you get the point!

It was one of the decade defining movies, and it was one of the decade defining toy lines! When “Star Wars” was released in 1977, the intergalactic saga mounted an assault on the merchandise market like nothing else before it! With its range of action figures, vehicles and specialist items, ‘Star Wars’ topped many a Santa list that year! Setting a film industry trend for generations to come, these toys brought ‘a galaxy far, far away’ into our playrooms!

This toy had been around long before the ‘70s, but it was during this decade especially that kids couldn’t get enough of it! The idea that you had some form of control over the image that was being shown before your eyes was novel enough, but add into the mix your favorite movies, shows and characters, and perhaps an audio upgrade [Talking View-Masters], and you’ve got a must-have accessory! Another retro toy that would be entirely lost on the modern generation, it looks simple now but it was something special then!

Even if ‘making lots of pretty pictures’ wasn’t really your thing, Lite-Brite was a toy that everyone wanted to try out! Created in 1967, each set came with a load of light-up plastic pegs and a blank canvas of peg-shaped holes. The challenge was to arrange the pegs in the right holes to create something artistic. Then all that was left to do was to turn out the lights, turn on the canvas, and marvel at your masterpiece! Or, in most cases, muse over where it went wrong...

Another toy for which light and color is key, Simon was perhaps the greatest 1970s example of a product that crossed over from kids to adults and back again! A game that could be played on one’s own or with company, the point was to press the right buttons in exactly the right order! Working on the ‘Simon says’ concept, it was a memory test and a whole lotta fun! Its jolly jingle of victory ranks up there with the ice cream van, in terms of sounds we loved to hear! Before we pull our top pick out of the toy box, here are a few honorable mentions: - Silly String - Erector Sets - Evil Knievel Toys - Space Hopper - Silly Putty

#1: Hot Wheels

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Top 10 Toy Lines of the 2000s

Die-cast toy cars were a very big business throughout the ‘70s, but Hot Wheels were the absolute must haves! A sturdy toy in which the quality compared to its competitors was clear, by the end of the decade car manufacturers would be lining up out the door to get their latest designs done in miniature! Kids could race ‘em, crash ‘em, collect ‘em... Do anything they wanted with ‘em! A combination of imaginative autos and real-life roadsters, for today’s number one we had to ‘Go, with the winner!’ Do you agree with our list? Which toy did we leave behind? For more childhood reliving top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.