# Why is it only models that get repopped?



## Matthew Green (Nov 12, 2000)

I have noticed in this hobby that model kits get repopped but no other toy does. I would like to see original toys on the shelf I had when I was a kid. The Krusher from 1979. Kids would STILL play with that today. Why can't it come out again? I noticed at the store the other day that there are new Weebles...Is it really necessary to change the design on them? If you came out with the Weebles haunted house today it would still sell. 

Why are model kits so special that they get repopped? Don't get me wrong, I like it alot but I would also like toys of my youth to be done too.


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## Facto2 (Nov 16, 2010)

I hope by repopped you mean reissued and NOT recast. There is a difference.


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

A few toys from the 60's have been reissued, original style Gi Joes, Marx 12" action figures, Captain Action, probably a few others...


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Yeah ..I'd like to see a re-issue of the Green Ghost Game :thumbsup:
Mcdee


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

mcdougall said:


> Yeah ..I'd like to see a re-issue of the Green Ghost Game :thumbsup:
> Mcdee


 yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes.........and Glow Globs and Glow Juice and Kooky Spookys and and and....

Chris.


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## geoffdude (Mar 31, 2009)

mcdougall said:


> Yeah ..I'd like to see a re-issue of the Green Ghost Game :thumbsup:
> Mcdee


Green Ghost game was re-issued.

And many, many toys have been, and are still, being reissued.

Here's just some recent retro re-issue toys:
- Evil Knievel
- GI Joe 12" figs
- 50's/60's Barbies
- Rock em Sock em Robots
- Vintage Star Wars figs
- MEGOs Super Heroes
- Capt. Action
- Playschool toys (many various kinds)
- MEGO Star Trek / Planet of the Apes
- Masters of the Universe
- Thunder Cats (later this year)
- McDonalds Figures (Mayor McCheese, etc.)
- Lunch Boxes too (lost in space, green hornet, etc.)
- Green Hornet die-cast car (few years back)

And on and on... some are exact copies, others have significant differences.

They are out there though.

Regards,

Geoff
-


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

mcdougall said:


> Yeah ..I'd like to see a re-issue of the Green Ghost Game :thumbsup:
> Mcdee


 
Actually, Green Ghost Game was repopped in 1997. An investment group bought out the holdings of the bankrupt Marx company, and reissued some of the classic toys from them, as well as others where the molds were available from Trans-O-Gram. The propblem with the Green Ghost reissue was - it didn't have all the parts.
There are a LOT of old toys redone, just maybe not the ones you want. Look at the multiple reissues of the old Marx classic Universal Monsters. The Uncle Milton company reissued them in glow plastic. And they have been available in other colors on and off for years. There are many old tin toys that have been redone as well. The Schylling Company built their company on reissues of classic tin and wooden toys.
As far as not being reissued, more stringent safety regs would put the kibosh on, say, the classic Thing Maker.

Ooops - I see Geoffdude beat me to listing reissues. But that's the point - they're out there.


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Thanks for that info guys...I'm on the outlook right now:thumbsup:
Cheers
Mcdee


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## MEGA1 (Jul 18, 2000)

Some board games have been in the line for almost 40 years, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, that is some run, How many kits have had runs like that. The Revell 5600 currently 15 years I think. Guillows has many. Testors 3501 tube glue orange maybe 65 years?? I have to think about this.


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## Solium (Apr 24, 2005)

Repopping the Fireball XL5 Space Station play set would make my brother extremely happy. :wave:


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## Stu Pidasso (Apr 5, 2008)

I played the HELL out of this toy when I was a kid. Now I have a kid, and I want him to have one!


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## SpaceCrawler (Mar 22, 2010)

Stu Pidasso said:


> I played the HELL out of this toy when I was a kid. Now I have a kid, and I want him to have one!


I thought this was being reissued, but in a smaller scale? I know I read that somewhere a year or so ago, with photos and everything.

Ah, Googled it, here it is:
Bigtrak is Back! 80s Robo-Toy Resurrected

Sean


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

If Tom Hanks is still on fire for the Major Matt Mason Film...we would be so lucky to see authentic re-releases of that line up! WOW!!!


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## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

WOW ! Could I have a Hula-Hoop ??? :woohoo:


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

please dont forget that modern safety regulations may be keeping some of these toys from being re-issued. theres no way that mattel would do the "thing-maker" or "vac-u-mold" again with their built in hotplates (iirc, another company has reissued the molds and resin for the thingmaker. but they are aimed at an older audience than the original version.
to reinforce what mega said, just this past holiday season i noticed the game "operation" at dollar general. looks like they improved the electronics, but other than that, same old, same old.


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

Because there is no labor in putting the model together........


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## Rondo (Jul 23, 2010)

Yeah, I don't suppose Lawn Darts will ever be back. What we did with those things is scary... A buddy had a Vertibird helicopter. I was fascinated and could have flown it for hours. Now, you can get a full RC helo for not much money.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Mattel put out a new version of the Thingmaker about 15 years back. I bought one at TRU. The new molds are different from the old ones, and now they slide in through this little slot sort of like an easy bake oven. BUT I could rig my old molds to fit in the new machine and the new goop worked fine in the old molds too. 

A lot of the good old toys that I remember as a kid are still around, albeit in limited numberes. But they are around if you look. Like the Mego action figures. Most of the Marx stuff is still available as recasts or remakes. Even the Marx big action figure knights are back.


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## Rob P. (Jan 26, 2004)

If by thing maker, you folks mean the creepy-crawlers, then yes it has been redone. However my Wife and I bought our reissue in the early 90's before we had kids. And have been using it since our first was about 5 years old. In fact my youngest and I just used it a couple weeks ago. Goop is still available on ebay and amazon too. 

What I would like to see is a Haunted House game I had when I was 6. My Mother got it when I came home from the hospital in a cast that encompassed nearly my whole lower body from a broken femur bone. It was a board game that seperated into 4 rooms with some walls. It was storming outside the day we 1st played it and was just before holloween. Some great memories of that game. Also enjoyed Vincent Price's shrunken head maker, and Creature Feature cards about that time. 
If anyone recognizes the haunted house game I am talking about please chime in with its actual name or any other info.

Thanks, Rob


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Sounds like this game ...right here...
http://cgi.ebay.com/Ghost-Castle-Ha...63?pt=UK_Toys_Games_Games&hash=item35affbdf33

Scroll down for lots of pictures!

Check it out
Mcdee


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Yeah I had a Vertibird. They still sell a toy just like it actually. I had an electronic game called Sub Search that was sort of like Battleship but it stood upright and acted as a screen between the two players. The buzzing it made (sonar) would make the TV set go fuzzy LOL


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## Rob P. (Jan 26, 2004)

mcdougall said:


> Sounds like this game ...right here...
> http://cgi.ebay.com/Ghost-Castle-Ha...63?pt=UK_Toys_Games_Games&hash=item35affbdf33
> 
> Scroll down for lots of pictures!
> ...


That is basically the same game, but the board/box, graphics/pictures is changed somewhat. The version I played was from about 1972 or 73 and had a creepier look. I may keep looking around, even though my 6YO just said "awsome...we need to get that game Dad!" 

Thanks for the heads up!

Rob


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## mrmurph (Nov 21, 2007)

mcdougall said:


> Yeah ..I'd like to see a re-issue of the Green Ghost Game :thumbsup:
> Mcdee


Yes on that, McDee. And remember "Which Witch?" 

I picked up a Monster Old Maid game on ebay a year or so ago. I can't wait to play it with my grandkids. We used the cards for a kind of Concentration game too. Lay them all face down, pick two at random, and if you got the same monster you got to go again. Who needs video games when you've got a good set of Monster Old Maid? :thumbsup:


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

I wish they would reissue King Ding & all the Ding A Ling robots!
Way too much $$$ on evil bay.
http://www.prestonmarketing.com/toys/dingalings/dingaling.html
-Jim


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## armymedic80 (Aug 11, 2010)

I wish they would reissue Major Matt Mason. Now that was a cool 1960's astronaut with lots of neat gadgets/accessories. But, guess it wasn't that popular that anybody would do it again now.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I miss my Odd Ogg.


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

Anybody but me remember a Marx (I think) toy called the Shop King? It was basically a lathe, circular saw, jigsaw, etc. for cutting and working on styrofoam instead of wood. Most of the blades were plastic. but I think there might have been a single metal one for tough cutting jobs. Gotta wonder how many trips to the ER those things caused. I bought the new Creepy Crawlers for our daugher a few years back. The new one works with a light bulb. The old ones often turn up on ebay with the hotplate still working.

On the longevity thing, Lionel's been in business (albeit in different guises) since 1900.


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## machgo (Feb 10, 2010)

I'd give an eye for "King Arthur's Castle." Along with the Marx 12" knights, the best toys I ever had.

KAC was a playset, that fit army men sized knights. It stood on a stone base, had four towers, a working draw bridge, portcullis, well, and dungeon.

Anyone have a picture, please post.

WooHoo! Here it is: http://good_old_toys.homestead.com/playsets.html

Odd, it's different than I remember......


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## Kitzillastein58 (Jan 27, 2009)

John P said:


> I miss my Odd Ogg.


Yes, Odd Ogg, and Great Garloo! Two favorites I would love to see re-popped. :thumbsup:


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## Facto2 (Nov 16, 2010)

If they ever rereleased this, I'd be standing in line to get one...










Or these guys...


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

machgo said:


> I'd give an eye for "King Arthur's Castle." Along with the Marx 12" knights, the best toys I ever had.
> 
> KAC was a playset, that fit army men sized knights. It stood on a stone base, had four towers, a working draw bridge, portcullis, well, and dungeon.
> 
> ...


The tan table and chairs and other odd bits,originally went with the marx playset. This castle came with 6 foot knights and five mounted, it was a random assortment of figures from the 16 poses available. ( 8 mounted and 8 foot) I've had a few of these over the years. They really were great playsets. They often turn up on ebay at reasonable prices. Mines packed away right now, as I'm getting ready to move in a few days.


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

Anybody remember King Zor, I think that was the name, a huge battery powered robot dinosaur, You shot a target on the end of the tail with a dart gun and it would change directions and fire ping pong balls out of its back at you.


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## SpaceCrawler (Mar 22, 2010)

otto said:


> Anybody remember King Zor, I think that was the name, a huge battery powered robot dinosaur, You shot a target on the end of the tail with a dart gun and it would change directions and fire ping pong balls out of its back at you.


Yeah, I have one (and his counterpart, Odd Ogg).

Sean


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Marx sold various King Arthur/Prince Valiant/Shining Knights playsets for nearly 30 years. You can get most of the original stuff fairly inexpensively off eBay. I collect Marx playset pieces. I have nearly all of their Cape Canveral/Cape Kennedy space stuff. I also have a nice 50s tin farm with all the animals, figures, etc. 

If you check out eBay you can piece together a whole original Marx set usually inexpensively. If you dont want the box, and are willing to buy it piece by piece you can come up with a castle, figures, accessories, etc. Nice thing with this is that it is more painless price wise and if you want more knights, more catapults, etc. buy what you want for your own custom set. Original boxed, complete, sets turn up but they always bring some good $$$. 

Much of the Marx stuff is still in production. Hobby Bunker owns and runs many of the molds. Classic Toy Soldiers sell a lot too. I used to buy some Marx recasts from Michigan Toy Soldiers, although I would no longer do business with them since their owner was just convicted of credit card theft from one of their big customers (Peter Jackson the movie director). There are repro castle sets with card walls instead of tin used in the old sets.


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

Otto (and JohnP) King Zor and Odd Ogg share a space of honor above the cabinets in my studio.King Zor was my hands down favorite as a kid.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

razorwyre1 said:


> please dont forget that modern safety regulations may be keeping some of these toys from being re-issued. theres no way that mattel would do the "thing-maker" or "vac-u-mold" again with their built in hotplates (iirc, another company has reissued the molds and resin for the thingmaker. but they are aimed at an older audience than the original version.
> to reinforce what mega said, just this past holiday season i noticed the game "operation" at dollar general. looks like they improved the electronics, but other than that, same old, same old.


I definitely wondered about that. I got a Vacuform for my birthday around 1964 as I love to build things. Then when the Creepy Crawler molds came out to fit in the hot plate I got those too. I can still remember making bugs from the Plastigoop and later Gobble-di-**** which was edible. I don't recall ever burning myself either!!! But a toy with a hot plate would either be banned or simply not released as the law suits from stupid kids with burns would probably make the product go into the red financially. Funny how things changed isn't it. Everyone is looking to see how they can screw it to a big company and set themselves up for life these days.

But I think the toy that got the most workout with me and my two brothers was Legos. However they were not in sets like today. They were just basic Legos but we built gobs of things from that set of blocks which were kept in a straw basket. I never had a GI Joe or any of the guy dolls. A buddy had a Fort Apache set we liked to play with. But our bikes got the biggest workout and back in those days were simply fat tired, single speed, coaster brake bikes. We even stripped the fenders off and painted them and then applied hand painted doodads on the frames. And we had a load of fun doing it.

Bob K.


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## Scary Terry (Jul 8, 2009)

I'd like to see a reissue of Battling Tops. My dad and I played with that game for hours at a time. It's a simple, fun game that would still entertain kids, despite the lack of electronic gizmos. I still have my original -- but the "keys" that you use to launch the tops can wear down and break -- and I'm left with only two (of four). Would love to have a new version to play with my son and grandsons. 

Yup, you read that right -- I have a 24 year old daughter who has two boys, 2 and 3 years old -- and a son who's not quite two -- how's that for a sibling age difference?


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Scary Terry said:


> Yup, you read that right -- I have a 24 year old daughter who has two boys, 2 and 3 years old -- and a son who's not quite two -- how's that for a sibling age difference?


Now that is scary, Terry!!!


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

Hope I'm not boring everyone with this, but I found a pic of the Marx Shop King. Brought back a lot of memories. Now I'll be haunting ebay looking for one.

http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/ShopKing.html


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

Facto2 said:


> If they ever rereleased this, I'd be standing in line to get one...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I loved the Hamilton's Invaders! Had the whole set when I was a kid. I'd get them all again too if reissued!
Steve


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## spacetrader2000 (Jul 19, 2009)

Check out www.storehorseman.com for reissue style of the Outer Space Men in your picture.


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## machgo (Feb 10, 2010)

otto said:


> The tan table and chairs and other odd bits,originally went with the marx playset. This castle came with 6 foot knights and five mounted, it was a random assortment of figures from the 16 poses available. ( 8 mounted and 8 foot) I've had a few of these over the years. They really were great playsets. They often turn up on ebay at reasonable prices. Mines packed away right now, as I'm getting ready to move in a few days.


I was almost certain the furniture wasn't included--I have no recollection of that. And mine didn't come with knights, because I distinctly remember having to go shopping for some, and the bus my sis and I were in got into an accident!

I had the German King Arthur's Castle, but never the Marx one. It was sweet.


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## Solium (Apr 24, 2005)

How about "live" target practice? My favorite toy was a rifle that shot darts and a wined up toy rabbit that would scurry around the house on wheels. Never became a hunter though....


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

lol surely you mean a "wind " up toy rabbit . i got this vision of this mechanical drunk bunny careening about the house . 
hb


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## Solium (Apr 24, 2005)

beck said:


> lol surely you mean a "wind " up toy rabbit . i got this vision of this mechanical drunk bunny careening about the house .
> hb


Wasn't sure of the proper spelling for that word. LOL


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## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

When I was a little kid, I had this Cape Canaveral playset that was basically a large metal box that opened up into the playset itself. It had various plastic rockets on launch pads, including a truck and trailer that carried the rockets. 

I loved playing with this set, but never knew what the exact name of it was. Does anybody know? Has anybody heard of this?

Sean


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I have that, well the stuff that was in it. What you had was probably the Cape Kennedy carry-all set. Its a tin carrying case that opens up to make the "fort" in this case, the Cape Kennedy missile base. THey had a set that opened up to make a castle, one that made a western fort, etc. I bought a battered set off eBay last year. The tin box was in fair shape and I actually gave it away. But it was complete with all the stuff inside. I have the trucks, trailers, figures, missiles, etc. I need to get replacements for some of it. I can take some photos if you want.


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## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

That would be great, thanks very much. Whenever I try looking this up, I keep getting another variation on this playset, but it's never the carryall version that I had. 

Sean


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## machgo (Feb 10, 2010)

Never heard or knew of the Cape Canaveral set, but I had the army fort set in the tin box. Opened up to be a base, painted as a "chain link" fence around the perimeter. Had working gates, tents, trucks, tanks, and my favorite: shooting TOW missile on tripod, if I remember correctly (iffy). That would never pass child safety.

I got this for being really sick with the mumps. Ah, the good old days!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Here is a Marx Cape Kennedy set. Note the red and white missile launchers on the left side are NOT Marx but MPC pieces. The set is not complete.

http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/CapeKennedyCarryAll.html


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

These are some of my Marx pieces

The Airport/Air Force Base accessories. They go well with the Cape Canaveral and Cape Kennedy sets. These are all original pieces from the 60s unless noted otherwise.










Fuel and Fire trucks with original decals










Original Marx astronaut figures. Most of the Marx stuff was 54mm but they did a few 20-25mm figures in the same poses. The small figures are more in scale with the trucks and accessories, but most sets came with the big figures.










The Marx missile trucks and trailers with an Atlas missile. These pieces came in red or silver, sometimes with mix and match wheels, i.e. a red truck with silver wheels.










Original Marx missile base figures and accessories. The radar station is missing the revolving radar dish.










Original small astronaut on a reproduction of the multi stage missile and gantry. The missile is spring loaded and will launch and come apart into stages.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Here are some more... missiles on their trailers










Original trucks with repro missile and launcher (the originals are common but have usually turned into a yellowish brown shade)










My orignal Marx farm set



















Most of the farm is original but the milking accessories are modern recasts from the original molds










Original poultry and fencing. A couple birds are from Auburn










Milk Loading with mostly recast pieces but original figures


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Restored original farm equipment and repro tractor




















Original Marx Rin Tin Tin dogs that have never been recast.














Original Marx CSA General Longstreet


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## geoffdude (Mar 31, 2009)

Here's a few items from my personal collection (I have lots more). Enjoy.





































None of the above have been "re-popped"... but I wanted to join in the fun of memory lane.

Regards,

Geoff


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## SJF (Dec 3, 1999)

djnick66 said:


> Here is a Marx Cape Kennedy set. Note the red and white missile launchers on the left side are NOT Marx but MPC pieces. The set is not complete.
> 
> http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/CapeKennedyCarryAll.html


Oh yeah, that's exactly what I had. I recall playing with this for hours on end. Thanks for all the pictures. 

Geoffdude, that garbage truck looks famliar. Did it actually work? I didn't have one. But I recall a friend of mine having one of these where he loaded some paper scraps into the back and it automatcially got shoved inside when he pushed a button. 

Sean


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## geoffdude (Mar 31, 2009)

Hi Sean,

Yep, that's it. Pretty fun toy too.

Regards,

Geoff



> Geoffdude, that garbage truck looks famliar. Did it actually work? I didn't have one. But I recall a friend of mine having one of these where he loaded some paper scraps into the back and it automatcially got shoved inside when he pushed a button.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

You know, I might have had that garbage truck. All of a sudden it seems real real familiar, although I had not thought about it for 40 years...


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