10 great vintage toys from 1980 that you wish you still had
 |
| 10 vintage 1980 Toys |
A list of vintage toys that only kids from the 80s will remember. And what they would be worth today if you still had them.
Not only will you wish you still had them because they're awesome but because of how much they are selling for on eBay today!
10. Colorforms
Colorforms is a creative toy named for the simple shapes and forms cut from colored vinyl sheeting that cling to a smooth backing surface without adhesives. These pieces are used to create picture graphics and designs, which can then be changed countless times by repositioning the removable color forms.
How much do you think these vintage Colorforms are going for today?
💰 Here are the current prices they are going for. You might be surprised 😲
9. Shrinky Dinks
You would place Shrinky Dinks pieces, colored side up, on a tray or cookie sheet covered with foil or brown paper. Heat in the oven for 1 to 3 minutes and watch your Shrinky Dinks drawings... shrink.
That's it. They get small. And we loved it!
💰 What do you think one of these 1980 shrinky dink kits goes for today? You might be surprised!
8. Glow Yo Ball
The Glow Yo Ball. Someone decided an actual yo-yo was too complicated. And so they created a ball with a retractable string. It was all the fun of a yo-yo without all the effort. They even made it glow in the dark so you could practice tricks in a darkened room with a friend and possibly conk each other on the head! 😄
Of course, this was more innovative than what Duncan was doing with Yo-Yos at the time.
These Glow Yo balls are actually pretty rare and not many show up online for sale. So if you find one consider yourself lucky!
7. Muppets Hand Puppets
In the late seventies into the early '80s, Jim Henson started producing hand puppets of his Muppet characters. People at home were able to reenact different scenes from The Muppets as the characters themselves.
The late '70s started with Muppets from the actual Muppet Show. And then starting in the '80s Muppet characters from Sesame Street were released.
For as many people that got these hand puppets as kids, very few still have them. So if you are one of the lucky ones that do - they go for quite a good price these days.
💰 Do you think these are worth more or less than the other toys on this list? Here is the going rate on eBay
6. Inflatable Bop Bag
Inflatable "Bop" Bags. This vintage toy was a 4 ft inflatable punching bag with an illustration usually featuring the face and body of a well-known action figure or cartoon character. The bottom was filled with sand and you could hit it again and again and it would fall down and stand back up again on its own.
They were called both, bop bags or inflatable punching bags.
Understandably as an inflatable toy, there aren't too many left in existence.
💰 But on occasion one or two can be found and sold for a nice profit. See how much that would be on eBay
5. Cap Guns
The '80s were the last decade where it was acceptable to give toys that not only look like weapons but sounded like weapons. Sure you can still get these today sometimes but the '80s are when the paper caps gave way to reloadable disc cartridges.
And I will always remember that gunpowder smell. See! Right there... gunpowder in a children's toy? 😆 Not going to ever happen again.
4. Flip Pocket Comb
In the same category as the cap guns were a vintage fashion item that suddenly everybody had to have. A flip-pocket comb that looked like a switchblade.
Boys and girls alike throughout Middle School were all obsessed with combing and feathering their hair. Then an item came along to make it even cooler and kind of show people that you were tough.
3. Etch-A-Sketch Action Pack Screens
Etch A Sketch in the late 70s where a popular mechanical drawing toy. With its two knobs and gray screen you could awkwardly draw things or right messages. And for the most part that's perfectly fine for this vintage toy.
But eventually, someone came up with the idea that was so simple in nature that it's amazing they didn't think of it right away. I'm talking about the etch A Sketch action pack screens.
These action pack screens for the etch A Sketch were clear cellophane sheets that had mazes and other activity book-type line games.
(Related post: Etch a sketch, magic slate, and US spies?)
The screens sometimes even featured popular cartoon characters like the Looney Tunes.
The overlays allowed for children to do solo play games or pass back-and-forth type games for two players.
💰 How much do you think these Etch A Sketch accessories go for today? See the latest values on eBay
2. Rub n' Play magic transfer set
Colorforms also produced several sets of Rub n' Play Transfer Sets in the 80s.
The sets came with laminated cardstock playboards which could be decorated with transfers of the featured characters and props.
It seems the re-usability of Colorforms was too convenient? So they created these decals and with a "rubbing tool" adhered the characters permanently to the objects that came with this vintage Rub n' Play Transfer toy.
💰 👉 Just look at how much these Rub n' Play toys go for today on eBay!
1. Rubik's cube
The Rubik's Cube, a simple-looking cubed puzzle, has stumped millions of people around the world and become an icon of the 1980s.
Rubik's Cube had become a craze, everyone wanted one. It appealed to kids as well as adults. There was something about the little cube that captured everyone's full attention.
The Rubik's Cube had six sides, each a different color (traditionally blue, green, orange, red, white, and yellow).
It is estimated that in the period from 1980 to 1983 around 200 million Rubik's Cubes were sold worldwide.
💰 So how much do you think an original Rubik's cube still in the box is worth today? Here are what people are asking for them on eBay!
