Retro toys

The Odyssey video game used overlays that were secured to the TV screen to display the background pattern needed for different games.


https://collection.sciencemuseumgro...reen-overlays-for-magnavox-odyssey-video-game

 

A toy company as far back as the early 70's sold an inexpensive Spirograph-like toy that had a thin metal base plate, a number of interconnected plastic gears, and a drawing arm that connected to the gears and held the pen.

Each end of the drawing arm could be connected to an array of holes in the gears to which it was attached, creating a plethora of design combinations. The toy came with a number of different color magic marker pens. A square piece of paper was placed onto the largest gear.

Patterns were drawn by simply turning the crank, as opposed to Spirograph where the pen had to be held and rotated carefully by hand to follow the motion of the gear.

The ones shown in the website below are similar versions to what was sold in the early 70s, although the website seems to talk like this was a new invention in 2016.

Today, people can make their own version of this type of toy using 3D printing.


Sketch Intricate Designs with A Hand-Cranked Drawing Machine


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The late 70's saw the advent of handheld games that used discrete LEDs and repurposed red 7-segment calculator LEDs.

Entex Baseball 3 was introduced in 1979 and had a removable control panel for the player who was the pitcher during an inning. Pitch type, such as curve, could be selected and the speed controlled on the fly during a pitch to trick the batter.


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"PONG"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You could NOT get my two nephews (nor their dad!) away from the set when THIS came out, like 45 years ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

"EVIL KNIEVAL" (action figures, cycles, etc!)

"STEVE SCOUT" (action figure)

"JOHNNY EXPRESS" (HUGE remote control tractor-trailer)

"TRICKY BUSY SCHOOL BUS" (this toy school bus responded to whistle "commands"; I have mine displayed.....BIG bus!)

American Flyer's "ALL ABOARD!" (S-scale sectional train set with landscaped panels)