Category Archive: Toys
Farrah: Gone, but lives on…
More Farrah Fawcett skateboarding action. Toys from the past. I’d seen the officially licensed “Jill” doll from Farrah’s Charlie’s Angels days, as seen above left. Reader Hung Chang also found this knockoff “Sport Girl” doll that features a cartoon drawing of Farrah.
It’s a fad that’s grown into a lifestyle…
Traveling across the country in their van, the Pepsi-Cola skateboard team prepares to visit another city and show them what skateboarding is all about. Careening down the concrete; dodging in and out of man-made obstacles; letting it all hang out; pushing it tot the edge and back again… that’s skateboarding! It’s a fad that’s grown into a lifestyle for millions of young people nationwide. Pepsi-Cola has been instrumental in skateboarding’s growth, as their team of professionals have introduced skateboarding at cities everywhere across the United States. Well, how could I refuse this, even if it did come from an eBay auction put up by a member with the dubious name of “boneite?” Best part was, he turned out to be an S&A reader by the name of Tom, who also lives in Portland. Concretin Nik, this one is for you. 10 pictures of the Revell Models Pepsi Skateboard Van from 1979.
Vintage Goofy skateboarder
Goofy has a history of appearing on skateboards. In Extremely Goofy Movie, Goofy’s son goes to college and enters the “College X Games.” It doesn’t seem that absurd now, actually. Goofy misses his son so much that he goes to college too, and ends up skating for the evil frat boy team against his son. There’s also a toy Goofy figure on a skateboard that was made a few years ago. The shot above is a toy that may date as far back as 1977. It’s from an expired eBay auction, but becasue I love you, and have a problem, you can look at more shots after the jump.
Microsoft poaches Tony Hawk Ride?
Microsoft demoed a motion capture camera controller today at E3. Basically a camera that sits under your tv and watches how you are moving. It’s up to the XBox to turn that movement into meaningful game play. Included in the demo was a skateboarding game “replete with a young man ‘air’ ollie-ing,” which I am interpreting to mean that it kind of negates the the need for the expensive board controller used in Tony Hawk Ride, the theory (and marketing slogan) being that you can “use your own gear.” Still, that’s going to have to be some sophisticated hardware to be able to deal with the subtleties of a skateboarding footwork and hand grab variations. What if you could combine the two? Well , then you’d just have, you know, actual skateboarding. In any case, Microsoft’s Project Natal won’t be shipping in 2009, so Tony’s crew still has a good year or so head start, more so if you take into account Microsoft’s infamous sliding launch dates. This will go over well with parents, I ‘m sure. I’m already yelling at my kids for all the time for skateboarding in the house, and they aren’t even hooked up to a…
Tony Hawk Ride
There had been rumors a year or so back that the next Tony Hawk game was being developed with a prosthetic skateboard device a la Guitar Hero, but it’s finally been confirmed. The game trailer is up on the official site – THRide.com, after the game’s official name, Tony Hawk Ride. There aren’t any details on pricing, or anything else, really. Game Trailers TV has has the, uh, game trailer and a super short interview with Tony and the new developer, but the trouble is it’s split into two chapters with some unrelated stuff in between. Chapter one is where you watch Tony sidestep the popularity of the competitor “Skate.” Chapter three is where you watch the developer sidestep the popularity of Skate. Whatever, unless they kooked the game play completely, this thing has the makings of being a huge, huge hit. The board senses motion, whether or not you have a hand over it, etc… It’s free standing and not connected to anything. Pop a wheelie or a 180 and it’s reflected on screen. I’m just wondering what the aftermarket options will be for peripheral add-ons, like, say, trucks and wheels? Oh wait… The game comes out June 2,…
Extreme Fingerboards
OK, definitely lamer than the title these guys came up with. Illusion Labs, The company that developed the Touch Grind game for the iPhone has demoed their touch screen games on one of those massive table top touch screens, and it looks pretty damn fun. The tiny size of the iPhone screen is the main criticism of this game, but hte table top display brings it to a whole new level, provided you can shell out 10k for the display. The game would also work on a laptop or notepad computer with a multitouch display. Watch the video after the jump.
Socket Poppers
This is another great find from WeirdoToys.com. The The Ertl brand released a series of toys called Socket Poppers in 1991. Socket Poppers are little action figures with completely interchangeable body parts. They were packaged with multiple figures in one pack, already partially mixed up. In our case, The Skateboarder came with Pterodactyl, as shown above.
California Freestyling Slot Car
I found this a site that sold scale model electric railroads and slot cars. I subscribed to their print catalog in hopes that they would feature it with more pictures, but they haven’t yet, and it’s been a couple years. I was hoping to be able to read the descriptions under the inset photos on the top of the box. It’s supposed to be HO scale, but I think that would make those skateboarders something 12 feet tall in real life. The product name is a throwback to the time when skateboarding still was inextricable from the state of California. Slot car racing still appeals to me, but somehow I don’t think It would be as fun with goofy looking tiny skateboarders instead of little muscle cars. Yours for anywhere from $96 to $26.
Cool Times Ken
I don’t know about you, but I always had Ken pegged as more of the rollerblade type. Vintage 1993 Cool Times Ken outfit with skateboard accessory on sale now for a cool $36.99. “Skateboardin’ fashion and skateboard!” Ken is all mixed up. It’s 1993, and he’s sporting mid-80’s skateboard fashion and mid-70’s skateboard technology. I think that’s the same binding system that Daddy Yo uses. Barbie optional, because she wouldn’t be caught dead hanging out with you in that getup.
Metro Cross
Speaking of pixelated, it’s been a year and a half since we tackled bad skateboarding video games from the 8 bit days. It was called “Seven days of bad skateboarding video games” but apparently I abandoned the concept after only three ( 1 – 2 – 3) days. Metro Cross has the honor of winning the worst video game box cover in a PC World article. – Thanks to Bobcat for the tip.











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