Toy Tales | Page 2 | Vintage Toys & Games, History and Exploration of Play

Play is the foundation of teaching kids how to navigate the world.

LEGO Life Magazine

LEGO Life Magazine is a free quarterly publication for kids ages 5-10. It resembles a comic book, full of adventure stories featuring LEGO characters and playsets.

Johnny Seven from Topper Toys (1964)

The 1964 Johnny Seven toy line of playsets and facsimiles of military equipment from Topper Toys was marketed exclusively to boys.

Tom Devlin’s Monster Museum – Boulder City, Nevada

Tom Devlin's Monster Museum is dedicated to preserving the history and craft of horror movie props, prosthetics, and special effects make-up.

Toy Tales Weekly: Star Trek, Furbies, The Monkees, and more

A new visual encyclopedia documents every ship that’s ever appeared in the Star Trek universe and 7 other things we wanted to share this week.

Collector Spotlight: Jim Blaine

Jim Blaine is a Pez collector. We asked him about his collection and why Pez is more than a simple plastic toy.

The Dukes of Hazzard Figures from Mego (1981)

"You can pretend she's stuck up in a tree. Luke and Bo gotta set her free."

Sony PlayStation Classic

Sony's new PlayStation Classic is the newest retro console on the market, in a form factor 45% smaller than the 1994 version.

Toyland: The High-Stakes Game of the Toy Industry

This book uses the two-year development process of the Dino-Riders action figure line by Tyco Toys as a springboard for discussion on history, advertising strategies, politics, and the sobering economic reality of seasonal sales cycles in the toy industry.

Gnip Gnop from Parker Brothers (1971)

Released in 1971 by Parker Brothers, Gnip Gnop isn’t one of those games you could play quietly with a friend in the wee hours of the morning while your parents were sleeping – a fact I can attest to from personal experience!

Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy – Toronto, Ontario

Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy is the former personal collection of science fiction writer Judith Merril, now under the care of the Toronto Public Library.

Toy Tales Weekly: LEGO Minifigs, Scrabble, Battlestar Galactica, and more

LEGO House celebrates 40 years of LEGO minifigures and 7 other things we wanted to share this week.

The Friday Five: Chris Bensch

Chris Bensch is Chief Curator at The Strong in Rochester, New York. In this interview, he provides insight into the acquisition, conservation, and archival process, as well as sharing his advice for storing collectibles at home.

Beetlejuice Action Figures from Kenner (1989)

From 1989-1990, Kenner released a series of 6-inch Beetlejuice action figures that tied into the Tim Burton movie starring Michael Keaton.

The world's largest driveable Cozy Coupe is just over eight feet long and is based on a modified Daewoo Matiz.

… an hour a day playing our favorite games will power up our ability to engage whole-heartedly with difficult challenges, strengthen our relationships with the people we care about most…

Jane McGonigal