Merry Christmas and welcome to a new Nerd Talk!!! Nerd Talk is where some of the Nerds here at SWN answer questions from you, the fans, about Nerd culture. In this Nerd Talk we talk about that one Christmas present that we never got. If you didn’t know we do a podcast called SomewhatNerdy Radio and on the latest one we talk all about Christmas toys we remember getting as kids. It’s really just a Nerd Talk in a podcast form and if you use iTunes you can subscribe right HERE or just hit the podcast tab at the top of this page the podcast image to the right of here. Thanks for reading and if you got a question to ask the Nerds you can email us at SomewhatNerdyRadio@Gmail.com and make sure to comment with your own answers in the comment section below or on the FB page HERE. See you in 2017!!
Raz
I’ve been very fortunate that as a child my Parents worked hard to give us a great Christmas and even though we were a long way from being rich I was lucky enough to get some amazing presents. Despite all this we all have that one present we never got and that one for me was the Thunderbirds Tracy Island.
I was a huge fan of the Thunderbirds when I was a kid, I had the uniform to wear and the rockets and ships to play with and I was happy with that. But as soon as I saw the Tracy Island Playset advertised I wanted it, just like 99% of kids who lived in the UK in 1992. Unfortunately it was never meant to be, that year we moved into a new house in a new town and simply couldn’t afford it, even if my Parents could afford it it was simply impossible to find as it sold out everywhere you looked, it was one of the the hottest toys of the decade and is still talked about today.
Everytime I see it or hear about it I simply remember it as the toy that got away, that’s not to say I didn’t have a great Xmas, like I said I was a very lucky child. I’ve had a few chances to purchase the full set as an adult but it just never felt right, I grew out of Thunderbirds fairly quickly after that Christmas (kids eh) and even though I’ve had those chances to fill that little hole of never having it, it’s always felt best to leave it be.
Billiam
You know what movie I just watched? Elf. You know that scene when he’s preparing for Santa at the store and he spells out Welcome Santa on lite-brites? Well that movie was just taunting me. That’s right folk. I always wanted, but never got, a lite-brite.
Look at those kids! They look like extras from Children of the Corn. But you know what? They’re having fun drawing a homicidal clown using plastic pegs. Who doesn’t want to do that? I have no artistic ability whatsoever. I couldn’t draw to save my life. But you know what? I could have done some pretty abstract patterns. Been the 7 year old Jackson Pollock of the the Lite-Brite.
This was only on my Christmas list for a few years before I gave up (or forgot) and went onto other things. I’m not trying to get sympathy. I’m an only child and only grandchild (on my mom’s side) so I got a crap-ton of gifts. But I never got this one and I still think about it to this day. “But Billiam, you can just buy one, you’re an adult. They still sell them on Amazon.” Well shut up, voice in my head! That’s not the point. This was my unicorn and I think it’d be disappointed if I gave in and bought it for myself.
Maybe one day I’ll get one, but I think this will be my 33rd straight year of no lite-brite. Maybe I’ll give in one day and buy one, but…
Derf
The toy that eluded me in my childhood was the Cobra Night Raven jet. I was big into G.I. Joe as a child and I especially loved the vehicles. I remember the year I asked for the Night Raven, I was so hopeful thinking that I would get my wish. I thought to myself, I’ve been a good kid so it should be in the bag. Christmas morning came and no Night Raven. Don’t get me wrong, I got a lot of cool stuff that year, but the Night Raven wasn’t one of them. When we returned to school from Christmas break, one of my friends got it and brought it to school and I was able to bask in its glory, if not only for a temporary moment. And that is the toy that escaped my grasp. Whats yours?
