Cool recollection! So you went in for one "aeronautics" toy and came out with 2 types of sky-flying fun. Nice.

I know why. Lots of Dad's love playing, errr, testing things out to make sure they work properly.

We used to visit my grandparents every summer for about 3 weeks. (Dad would drop Mom and my little brother and me off and head back to work.) Well my mom's brother and one of her sister's lived in the area. Grandpa was a hard guy, a tough old immigrant who would make my brother and I slave doing chores to give us a nickel or two. But he was always good for ice cream.

Aunt Marge (on the other hand) liked to take us out shopping. She took us to K-Mart or another discounter, She would buy us something when we went. I remember her buying my brother and I Zartan with his skier. And we didn't have to share, she got us each one!

When we got them open she sat with us and put them in the sun to change their colors and then she even popped them in the freezer for 5 minutes to see how that did with the color.

Good times with Aunt Marge.

That's ironic - because I got my Zartan from a Fays Drugs in Gloversville, NY when we went there to visit my Dad's mother one time (also summer I think - or early fall). It was one of those "just cuz" gifts from Mom - not a birthday or anything even - maybe just to keep me occupied while the grown-ups "talked" - translation to a 7 year old - borrrrrr-ing!

I had three more recollections:

1.) It was early fall of 1984 and we had gone to the mall on some Friday night after school - specifically Bradlees in New Hartford NY. Back then they had a great toy department all the way in the back of the store (I can still picture it). Anyhow, I was told I could pick out one Joe, so I was looking through the pegs of Joes hoping to find a Storm Shadow - but not really expecting to much, because everywhere else I had looked recently didn't have him. I was almost to then end of searching through maybe 20-25 pegs of maybe 8-10 Joes deep each, when I saw the white of his outfit and almost had to do a double take! He was actually there for the plucking!! I couldn't believe it - I just stared at the package art all the rest of the way through my parent's other errands in the store and when we got up to the checkout I kept a close eye on it as it was rung up and then grabbed the bqag that he was put into - it was a seemingly long wait, but i had gotten him and was very happy and felt quite lucky! I was always intrigued how he was a "bad guy", but wore white - the opposite of all of the old western TV shows that I use to watch because my Mom had them on ion the background when i was really little.

2.) Christmas 1986 - got the Tomahawk, HAVOC and STUN. Lots of fun that day!

3.) Christmas 1987 - got the WOLF, Maggot, and Persuader - really like playing with the WOLF that afternoon!

I think I told this story here before, but I'm an old geezer now, and I don't think anyone will go through my 4,000+ posts to check.

I think it was Christmas 1986 and I really only wanted the Tomahawk and nothing else.

We got through the clothes and some small packages and I didn't see anything under the tree of that box size. Oh well, it was still a good Christmas.


And then there was one more gift.

It was small, about the size of a Hot Wheels carded car. I opened it and it was a little police helicopter with a blue plastic blade.

It seemed like a cruel hoax to pull on me. "Well, we knew you said you wanted a helicopter..." Mom said. "Thanks..." I replied quietly, trying to bite my tongue.

But on the back of the card there was a little yellow sticky note.

It said: "Go check in the front coat closet."

And there it was!! The Tomahawk!!

That was a great moment.