One word. Decals. It’s hard to imagine a time when we hadn’t heard of them; a time, perhaps, when we could see or think of RAF livery without immediately picturing one; a time before we soaked one in a bowl of warm water, slid it off its backing paper and placed it on the wing of a Spitfire or a Wellington Bomber. But that was in those elusive and pre-evocative days we tend not to concern ourselves with here at TVC Towers. So there it is: a word that only exists for us in the context of one thing, Airfix models. ... 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>>>

Only one word for this Palitoy production - inspired. The original Ricochet Racer set took the two things closest to the heart of every ten year old boy - cars and guns - and combined them with an effortless genius West Coast Gangsta Rappers. can only dream of. The high-tech white-and-red rifle, resembling a failed auditionee for the part of Starbuck’s fighter in Battlestar Galactica, was breech-loaded with “cartridges” containing a miniature car, which could be fired at great (theoretical) speed along the floor. ... more>>>

Here – in reverse order - are our top three spurious claims made about this, the self-proclaimed “most complete model motor racing system in the world”. ... more>>>

Let it be known that the law of remote controlled toys of any sort must adhere to these commandments… ... more>>>

An improvement on the old Scalextric, Ideal’s Total Control Racing, the ’70s “upgrade” of the doughty original, liberated vehicles and led to more tactical play, and indeed fun. ... more>>>

No prizes for guessing Transformers’ gimmick. They were, the ads reminded us, robots “in disguise” – i.e. figures which could transform; into a car, truck, aeroplane, or (at the less sane end of the spectrum) cassette tape. Stupidly collectable, these die-cast anthropomorphs had an in-built “double the value” argument for kids eager to pressure a parent into parting with their hard-earned. It’s a model VW Beetle! And it’s a robot reconnaissance soldier! It is not a rip-off. ... more>>>