Before the internet came along, the only way kids could keep track of what was new in the world of toys was brief visits to the shopping centre, or shop-at-home catalogues. And Dinosaur Dracula recently took a nostalgic romp through the toy section of a 1984 Consumers Distributing catalogue and highlighted some of the many reasons it was awesome to be a kid growing up in the ’80s.
Consumers Distributing has long since gone under (it could have never competed with the internet) but decades ago it was one of the most reliable sources of toys news for kids hoping to stay in the know. It was incredibly cheap, too. Adjusted for inflation that $US12 G.I. Joe Cobra Rattler would still only about $US27 in today’s money. And every kid knew that the best way to maximise your birthday or Christmas haul was to include lots of bargains on your wish list.
So head on over to Dinosaur Dracula and spend a good chunk of your day revelling in ’80s toy nostalgia. For maximum enjoyment, we recommend printing out the article and circling everything you still want in red pen. [Dinosaur Dracula]