Question For The Those That Grew Up In The 80's

[Lady Jaye]

This is asked to those of us that were lucky enough to be around and old enough to collect The Star Wars line of the 80's.

 

My question is this, do you remember the stores you would get your figures and ships at?? What were they named??? Do they still exist??? And what fond memories, if any, do you have of shopping with your parents????

 

I'm just curious as to what others remember of thier childhood. I know I still remember a lot of the stores that I got my figures at. And for several of my figures, I can give you an exact store of where I got them from, can anyone else do the same???

 

I'm sure allot of you have seen this thread in some of the other boards. But I totally forgot to ask this of my first toy love, Star Wars, how shamful to forget all those memories of my real early childhood!!!! Like I said, please post your fondest trips to the stores and what you remember. Like where and when, why was it special!!! Cool stuff like that.

 

Enjoy a trip down memory lane!!!!

[Bespin refugee]

Well, I got most of my early Star wars stuff as gifts, so, I don't know what stores they came from; but, it was probably the same stores as my G.i.Joe post

I remember my mom having new figures when I was picked up from kindergarten; and I also remeber losing a Darth Vader fig at the playground . I got a lot of the 12"figures at Christmas, including IG-88, which I got from my aunt.

I Believe I got Yoda from Service Merchandise and 'Hoth Commander' from a store at the mall. I got the Darth Vader carry case from Zayre, I still remember having trouble trying to figure out the tax. <_ i pretty sure got some figs from jcpenny sears the cards still have price stickers a few of exclusive sets at christmas>

(Land of the Jawas, cantina set w/ 'blue Snaggletooth , etc....)

There was also a figure involving a 'rain check' (at Zayre?), but, I have no idea which one it was.

I sure wish I had still been collecting when Childrens Palace/TRU was clearing out the POTF figs

 

'old stores,...long gone.'

[T.A.P.]

I was born in 1987, but my older brother had gotten some old Star Wars figures from various stores when they clearenced them. I got mine second-hand, most of mine came from 2 places; a comic store called Dave's Comics (which has closed) and some mail-order place (my dad ordered them, so I don't remember what it was called).

[Cmdr_Y]

when I was a kid my store of choice was Target for Star Wars figures. I have found memories of a particular end cap that had just tons and tons of figures -- every time I went there...

 

 

oh, the memories...

[eleavitt2000]

I was born in 1973. I grew up first in Chicago near Oak Park. Star Wars figures came from Venture, Montgomery Wards, K-Mart, Sears, Toys R Us, JC Penny's, or Circus World in the mall. Back then, all department stores carried toys. Also, occassionally, a figure would come from Weibold's or Goldblatt's department stores or Walgreen's. I think Ben Franklin's and another local drugstore/five-and-dime also carried Kenner's marvelous toys.

 

Later, we moved to the south suburbs of Matteson, Illinois. For the rest of the 1980s, Joes came from Sears, Toys R Us, Child-World, Zayre, Venture, K-Mart, and JC Penny's. Walgreens and Ben Franklin were also possibilities.

 

With the 1990s came Target and Wal-Mart. Many department stores stopped carrying toys. Many smaller toy stores and department stores folded. In the 1990s, the current toy situation evolved.

 

We are still stuck with a big 3 of Toys R' Us, Wal-Mart, and Target, with other stores like KB, K-Mart, and Meijer filling in gaps. And now, even KB is struggling to survive.

[evenflow]

Well I remember when the TRU by my house first opened. It was probably 1985. They had a huge stock of all the toys I was into, Star Wars, He-Man, etc... I was about 4 or 5. They had people dressed up in costumes, and one guy was in a Darth Vader outfit which was awesome.