Classic Toys from a Madman's Youth: Advent 2019 Day 16

The toy for today's Advent is something that if it's not in the Toy Hall of Fame, then it really should be. It's one of the all-time greats. I'm talking about Colorforms!

Here's the problem with most toy lines. Let's say for example, you start collecting something like He-Man figures. The first figure is so lonely. It might take several months or even years to get some allies, enemies and even playsets and vehicles before things really got interesting. 

With Colorforms, you got everything you needed for fun in one little box! Each kit came with a a sheet of vinyl clings. If you were lucky to get a deluxe set you might get 2 or 3 sheets of clings. With these clings, you got heroes, villains, vehicles and maybe even some accessories like weapons or furniture or even different costumes.

A Colorforms set also had playsets. The box was designed so that the clings could stick to a slick panel designed with scenery in which your characters could interact within. 

I always wanted this one...

I had tons of Colorforms sets. I remember playing with these awesome sets for years. Heck, if I could, I'd still buy Colorforms and play with them today. Yet, I don't think they make Colorforms anymore. 

If I had to choose my top 3 Colorforms sets, I would have to say it's the following: 

• CHiPs- Based on the NBC live action series about a pair of highway patrolmen who rode motorcycles. This set not only came with Ponch and John on their hogs. But it also had accident victims that had posable body parts. Yes, I had quite a few amputations in my Colorforms kit!
• Marvel Super Heroes- This set had 3 different images set up in panels like a comic book. So you could have Spider-Man fighting monsters on a city rooftop, Captain America battling mad scientists in a far-out lab and The Hulk running amok in a fancy mansion! This had Stan Lee's handiwork written all over it and it was beautiful!
• I really had to think about this one, but I am going with the Smurf Land Deluxe Playset. These Colorforms came with Smurfs! A lot of Smurfs. Along with Papa Smurf and Smurfette, this set had almost 30 different Smurf clings, dozens of accessories and the scenery actually unfolded for an extra 25 percent of play space. 

This was the type of cool Christmas toy in which you could spends hours of fun with. And they were cheap too! A set usually only cost about $2.00! To get figures, vehicles and sets in which to frame your adventures for a couple of George Washingtons, that was a freakin' steal!

As my Advent gift for you today, here's a really cool video that highlights several really fun Colorforms sets. Enjoy!