At Flashbak: The Alpha Probe (Fisher Price; 1980)

This week at Flashbak I remembered a great toy from 1980: The Alpha Probe, from Fisher Price.

Here’s a snippet and the url (http://flashbak.com/imagination-makes-it-fly-fisher-prices-alpha-probe-1980-360794/ )

“As you can see from the illustrations accompanying this post, the Alpha Probe is a space shuttle-like craft with opening and closing cargo bay doors, and a space tether by which to connect the action figure astronaut.  The cockpit seats slide out so that an action figure can pilot the ship.

The copy for the Alpha Probe advertisement notes that this “sleek new spaceship comes fully equipped with special things like three unique electronic buttons.”  Those buttons -- located on one wing -- make such as sounds as “roaring” take-off, “danger alert,” and space signals.

Inside the Alpha Probe cargo bay one can find a rocket recon sled, and as the ads suggested, “imagination makes” this toy “fly.”

In addition to the astronaut, Fisher Price manufactured several Adventure People action figures to have adventures alongside the astronaut.  There were, for instance, two green-skinned beings of a translucent, semi-cyborg-ish nature.

Please continue reading at Flashbak.

At Flashbak; The Fisher Price Movie Viewer (1973)

This week at Flashbak, I recalled a great toy of the 1970s: the Fisher Price Movie Viewer.

Here’s a snippet and the url: (http://flashbak.com/no-batteries-required-remembering-fisher-price-movie-viewer-1973-49908/ )

“In 1973, Fisher Price introduced its popular “Movie Viewer and Cartridge” toy: a camera-like device that -- when operated by crank -- could show Super 8 mm films. 

This was the Fisher Price Movie Viewer, and as the commercials promised, children could crank the device in slow-motion, speed it up, or even run the film backwards.  Best of all, the device needed no batteries.

The Fisher Price Movie Viewer was sold with one cartridge, originally: a 1937 Walt Disney short called Lonesome Ghosts

Very quickly, however, Fisher Price developed a wide catalog of films for kids to purchase watch, including several animated Disney movies. 

Available on cartridge were Snow White (1937), Robin Hood (1973), Pinocchio (1940), and The Rescuers (1977).  There were also several Looney Tunes cartridges, one each for Bugs Bunny, the Road Runner, and Sylvester and Tweety.

Other cartridges sold by Fisher Prince included the Pink Panther, three Marvel Spider-Man titles, and in 1979, Disney’s big-budget space epic: The Black Hole.”

Continue reading at Flashbak.

Advert Artwork: Fisher-Price Alpha Probe