There’s nothing wrong with boys playing with dolls! But just in case there’s the slightest chance that doing so could turn ‘em a bit… y’know, make sure the dolls are butch soldier types who look good in a buzzcut and military uniform. So went the thinking, we assume, when Palitoy imported America’s GI Joe and rebranded him Action Man for Brit kids in the - ahem - swinging ’60s. ... more>>>

Where to start? Barbie had been knocking around since the arse-end of the ‘Fifties in one perma-tanned form or other, but we’re most interested in the so-called “aspirational” late ‘Eighties when manufacturer Mattel realised they could sell the dolls as collectors items as well as mere playthings. ... more>>>

You have to hand it to some genius at Mattel; once they’d hit on the brilliant consonant-swapping simplicity of the name, the Boglins story must’ve written itself. Essentially near-relatives of the Finger Fright family, these fist-powered fuckers sprung seemingly full-armoured from the ground and onto toy shelves back in the late ‘Eighties. Packed into caged boxes which doubled as display cases (replete with faux bent bars and plenty of “do not feed” warnings) Boglin lore borrowed quite heavily from that other mischievous monster hit of the era, Gremlins. ... more>>>

If ever there was a warning about genetic experimentation then it was Stephen Gallagher’s 1982 debut horror story, Chimera. A prophetic tale of a half-human, half-primate creature developed by scientists for use in slave labour and organ harvesting, the titular creature went crazy-ape bonkers in the Lake District and killed everyone. ... more>>>

This late Seventies Denys Fisher range beats later incarnations developed around the same theme (including Timanic Cyborgs and Micronauts) by virtue of being constructed to a larger scale (meaning they could be pitched in inter-species war with Action Man) and by being not widely owned or affordable. ... more>>>

So we’ll take it as read that everyone had at least one Star Wars figure, because otherwise this is just going to be an uphill struggle - the card-mounted Kenner character was the standard unit by which all collections were measured and/or founded, whether you owned just Luke Skywalker or a whole squadron of stormtroopers. ... more>>>

Although the 1960s had seen impressionable young viewers bombarded with all manner of Dalek merchandise, it was not until 1977 that a toy manufacturer realised that there was mileage in producing an entire range of action figures based on children’s programme, Doctor Who. ... more>>>

You won’t get anyone like Evel Knievel again. A mid-western bike shop owner with a taste for self-publicity, Evel somehow managed to hold great swathes of the international media in his hand, as he set up ever more elaborate stunt jumps with his trusty bike. ... more>>>

Another one of those somewhat macabre girls’ toys destined to lie around the house and strike fear into the hearts of visiting relatives who didn’t have their glasses on. You’ve seen that bit at the end of Se7en, haven’t you? That’s the sort of thing we mean. Oh, sorry, have we just spoiled it? ... more>>>

While the males of the species were busily trying to cover every available surface in their bedroom with the massed ranks of Zoids and Transformers, what was it that girls were supposed to be doing? The answer, of course, is playing horses, albeit it in the most nauseatingly candy-coloured fashion possible. ... more>>>