Mattel’s 1972 Toys and Hobbies catalogue introduced new and updated product lines ahead of the annual Toy Fair trade show.

Released by Aurora in 1967, The Rat Patrol hobby kit drew inspiration from the World War II television series of the same name, which aired for two seasons on ABC in the mid-1960s.

“No motor and no batteries but something really moves that thing.”

Hubley Toys’ 1965 catalogue featured the company’s line of Mighty Metal toys.

Toy companies have long created products that let children imitate the activities they observed in their parents’ daily lives. A great example of this was the line of pretend shaver sets that Hasbro released in the 1960s.

“Hey guys, look. It’s Tammy’s diary.”

In the 1940s, Chicago’s D.A. Pachter Co. introduced Bild-A-Set, a line of paper-based premiums designed for children.

“Play it fast for fun. Think it out for a challenge.”

Released in 1979, the Electronic Detective game from Ideal required one to four players to match wits against a “fiendish computer brain” to solve an imaginary crime.

“Why just zing ’em with water when you can zap ’em with colour?”

It’s Ring-A-Ding fun for everyone with the Slingin’ Slot from Mattel!

“Watch out for the other guy; he can blow your bridges to smithereens!”