Weird things you always wanted as a child

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Afternoon , 

I was a strange child , I wanted odd things.  

I remember having a soldering iron before my parents split up so I would have been about 9-10 years old.   Requested it for my birthday and yes I was granted a soldering iron . 

Another thing I always wanted but never owned was a Dymo label maker , and so I brought myself one this weekend and now my life feels complete.

One of the best things about being an adult , you can afford things that children can't . 

I'm now free to label EVERYTHING in sight.

Anything you always wanted but never owned until an adult ?

TWS

 stevevans5 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I wanted an angle grinder at about age 6. Received a home made wooden one with a little motor to make the disc spin! 

In reply to stevevans5:

> I wanted an angle grinder at about age 6. Received a home made wooden one with a little motor to make the disc spin! 

That's awesome. 

 Oceanrower 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Nothing in particular to add to this thread (though I also had a soldering iron at an early age) but just to say welcome back!

 Ben_Climber 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I wanted a set of overalls/dungarees to match my Dad, so when he was doing DIY or working in the garage I could help out. 

He got me a little mini set made and I used to help out and keep all the tools in the front pocket

I also have a Dymo label printer and feel you joy.

Post edited at 13:24
 Naechi 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Wanted what is now known as a "smart watch" before mobile phones were even really a thing.  Don't want one now...

 Babika 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I always wanted a rocking horse. Didn't get one so I bought one for my kids. Felt much better after that.

In reply to Oceanrower:

> Nothing in particular to add to this thread (though I also had a soldering iron at an early age) but just to say welcome back!

Thank you

It's  great to be back,   I'm in high spirits today.

 David55 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

When  I was a kid I wanted to  keep  pigs in the back yard,  but my rotten  father wouldn't  let me. I got books about pig keeping from the  library and  read them  carefully. I  now recognise  he was right, and have long since gone off the idea.

 The New NickB 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I think most kids wanted a Dymo label maker, I did anyway.

On a slight tangent, I guess most kids of a certain age wrote to Jim’ll Fix It (shudder). What did you ask for? I wanted to be on The Great Egg Race with Professor Heinz Wolff.

 Steve Clegg 08 Jan 2020
 robert-hutton 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

A Johnny seven and a dropped handlebar bike, didn't get either, got one of them Brompton bikes which wasn't the bike to ride to school on, so had to buy one from Saturday job money.

 Bob Kemp 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Steve Clegg:

I wanted a Mamod engine too, and I was delighted when I got one that someone handed down in a box of toys. Inevitably it leaked massively and none of us had the skills to fix it...

 Hat Dude 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I had one of those old "Wonder Book for Boys" that had been my dad's; in it there were plans for building your own Ice Yacht and for a while I really wanted one.

It would've been really useful as we lived near Rugby, miles from any water, let alone any that was likely to freeze sufficiently.

In reply to Steve Clegg:

> Never did ...

> Steve

Quite a lot of schools have these for demonstrations.

Alas not ours .

TWS 

 artif 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

To live on a boat, earliest paintings and toys I made were boats, as a kid I used to sit on the harbourside in Falmouth picking out the boats I wanted.

Managed to do it for a few years, but family etc put an end to that

 aln 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I also wanted a Dymo but was never allowed one. 15 years ago I bought a Lidl version. I've never used it....

On the other hand I was never allowed a dog. I bought one from a rescue centre when I was 31 and had 17 years of joy from him 😊

 kathrync 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I wanted a turtle robot to use with Logo.  We had logo on our computer and I loved playing with it, but had to stick with doing everything on screen.

I also wanted Meccano, and was most annoyed with relatives who kept buying me My Little Pony instead!

 Jim Lancs 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I wanted some gears on my bike. My big brother had three and he always had a much easier time of it, climbing back up the hill to our house on top of the cliffs after sailing in Dover Harbour.

Single speed wasn't cool back then, it simply smacked of parental preference.

Now I have lots of gears on my bike, but not enough to erase the scars of a deprived childhood.

 John Ww 08 Jan 2020
In reply to robert-hutton:

> A Johnny seven and a dropped handlebar bike, didn't get either

Bloody hell, are you my doppelgänger? I bet you wanted (but never got) a Scalextric as well!

 felt 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I wanted a scuba mask at the age of 7. I told my mum I needed it for school athletics because I ran so fast it was bad for my eyes.

A few years later I really lusted after a full Rotring pen set, the black not the brown one, with all the different colour-coded thicknesses, 0.1, 0.2 etc marked on the top of the cap.

I was as unsuccessful at getting that as I was with the mask, although I did manage to persuade someone to buy me a single inferior copy that constantly gunked up from the official state-run stationery shop in Sofia, Bulgaria. Just like the trainers that my mum used to buy me with the two or the four stripes, it simply wasn't as good as the real thing.

 Philip 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

My 6 year old read the manual for my new Stihl chainsaw and now wants to have a go. :-O

In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I've just thought of another thing I fancied as a child buy never got.  However don't think it would be of much use to me now.

A Bigtrak. 

God those things looked so great .  

You could then deliver apples to people in another room. 

😂

 coinneach 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Agnetha out of Abba

 Pete Dangerous 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

A floppy disk. We couldn't afford a computer but I so badly wanted a floppy disk anyway, so I bought computer magazine with a free game on the front with my pocket money and was so happy.

 Clarence 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I wanted a Subbuteo set but it was too expensive and my dad didn't like the poor quality painting of the figures. I recently found a place that sells unpainted 1970s replica subbuteo teams and started painting my own. I now have most of the 1971/72 League Division 1 painted up (the year Derby won of course). Shame none of my friends want to play anymore.

Other things I wanted include:

A proper Blakes 7 teleporter bracelet, not one made out of a segment of a squash bottle.

Sally Thomsett.

A sword (I now have one or two for HEMA and Iaido).

 Ian W 08 Jan 2020
In reply to felt:

> I wanted a scuba mask at the age of 7. I told my mum I needed it for school athletics because I ran so fast it was bad for my eyes.

> A few years later I really lusted after a full Rotring pen set, the black not the brown one, with all the different colour-coded thicknesses, 0.1, 0.2 etc marked on the top of the cap.

> I was as unsuccessful at getting that as I was with the mask, although I did manage to persuade someone to buy me a single inferior copy that constantly gunked up from the official state-run stationery shop in Sofia, Bulgaria. Just like the trainers that my mum used to buy me with the two or the four stripes, it simply wasn't as good as the real thing.

If you still lust after the rotring stuff, I've got loads about to appear on ebay........

 wercat 08 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

a short wave radio

I can remember pulling my mother towards an old valve radio lying in the bushes when I was still young enough to be walked to primary school (I think we walked without supervision when we got to 5)

I was upset I couldn't take it with me

Post edited at 22:03
 aln 09 Jan 2020
In reply to Clarence:

> I wanted a Subbuteo set but it was too expensive and my dad didn't like the poor quality painting of the figures. I recently found a place that sells unpainted 1970s replica subbuteo teams and started painting my own. I now have most of the 1971/72 League Division 1 painted up (the year Derby won of course).

Do you have the Dukla Prague away kit?

 n-stacey 09 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Sally James from TisWas

1
 Slackboot 09 Jan 2020
In reply to robert-hutton:

> A Johnny seven....

I had one of these. I have never heard that name mentioned for 50 years. I wonder how many people know what it is! 😊

 felt 09 Jan 2020
In reply to Ian W:

> If you still lust after the rotring stuff, I've got loads about to appear on ebay........

Thanks, but the lust's moved on to road bikes, automatic watches and ferns. Would have been cheaper to have stuck with the rotrings...

 Clarence 09 Jan 2020
In reply to aln:

So far I only have an unpainted team in burgundy and gold bases and a team box (https://www.subbuteoworld.co.uk/dukla-praha-2nd-coloured-team-holder-box), but I'm working on it.

You have to have one, it's the law!

 Fruit 09 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

An 8’x4’ sheet of plywood.

 aln 09 Jan 2020
In reply to Clarence:

Excellent! 

 BusyLizzie 09 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Gosh, I'd forgotten Dymo label makers - I wanted one too, no idea why.

 Hooo 09 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I too asked for and received a soldering iron at about that age. Used it loads too.

I really wanted an oscilloscope, but that had to wait until I was in my twenties. I bought a Fluke 97 when they came out. It cost a huge amount of money for me at the time, I think it was the most expensive thing I owned for many years. I still use it now.

We have Dymos at work and there are silly labels everywhere. We don't grow out of it.

 LastBoyScout 10 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

I wanted a BMX, as they'd just come out, but my Dad thought they'd be a flash in the pan fad and I got a road bike instead. Still haven't owned one of them.

Wanted a motorbike, but denied while I lived at home - my Mum was a casualty nurse! Passed my test and bought one many years later.

 subtle 10 Jan 2020
In reply to LastBoyScout:

> I wanted a BMX, as they'd just come out, but my Dad thought they'd be a flash in the pan fad and I got a road bike instead. Still haven't owned one of them.

> Wanted a motorbike, but denied while I lived at home - my Mum was a casualty nurse! Passed my test and bought one many years later.

I always wanted a skateboard, was never allowed one - after years of snowboarding and surfing I bought one last year, shame the pavements round here are so rough and the roads even worse and no skatepark - oh well, at least i have one now 

 Blue Straggler 10 Jan 2020
In reply to Pete Dangerous:

> A floppy disk. We couldn't afford a computer but I so badly wanted a floppy disk anyway, so I bought computer magazine with a free game on the front with my pocket money and was so happy.

This reminds me of the legendary recent Bros documentary in which Matt Goss reveals that as children, they had a single dart and no dartboard.

 LastBoyScout 10 Jan 2020
In reply to subtle:

> I always wanted a skateboard, was never allowed one - after years of snowboarding and surfing I bought one last year, shame the pavements round here are so rough and the roads even worse and no skatepark - oh well, at least i have one now 

I had a couple of cheap ones as a child, but not for years. Have toyed with the idea of getting one now the kids have got scooters, but, as you say, the state of the pavements is terrible. There are a couple of skate parks, but I'd have to cycle/drive to them.

Maybe I should try bolting some wheels on my old snowboard :-D

Post edited at 10:16
In reply to John Ww &  robert-hutton:

I feel we should start a support group of blokes who wanted a Johnny Seven and never got one.

I just found one for sale for £1,200. 

 Slackboot 10 Jan 2020
In reply to Punter S Thompson:

> I feel we should start a support group of blokes who wanted a Johnny Seven and never got one.

> I just found one for sale for £1,200. 

If only I had kept mine. But I think I had lost all the bullets and half the rockets by the end of the first week. Looking at pics of it I think it must have been bigger than a lot of the kids who had it.

 Toerag 10 Jan 2020
In reply to LastBoyScout:

> I wanted a BMX, as they'd just come out, but my Dad thought they'd be a flash in the pan fad and I got a road bike instead.

My Dad wouldn't let me have one because they didn't have gears and thus weren't useful for riding anywhere.  I really wanted a Raleigh Vektar - the BMX with Streethawk-style mudguards and an electronic box.

 Babika 10 Jan 2020
In reply to Philip:

> My 6 year old read the manual for my new Stihl chainsaw and now wants to have a go. :-O

When our Stihl chainsaw arrived in the post my 6 year said "oooh! thats just like on GTA!

Cue hysterical mother.

 wercat 10 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

what I really wanted was a trip in a Mercury Capsule.  I had vivid and recurring dreams of going into orbit and experiencing a sense of total wonder and joy up there only to feel an empty feeling of grief and loss as the dream faded with the capsule grounded and inoperative

My grandmother, bless her soul, got me an Action Man Mercury capsule for Christmas one year - one is visible in some shots on an shelf in the SHADO HQ in UFO

btw, if you "splashed down" in the bath the astronaut was likely to drown like Guss Grissom nearly did - contrary to the adverts

Post edited at 16:54
 jbrom 10 Jan 2020
In reply to Philip:

Stihl Children's Battery Operated Toy Chainsaw https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001L2WMS4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_WZkgEbX1YHDEV

Pull start, spare chain in the box, 2 stroke noise, different at idle and when moving the chain.

What 6 year old (and adult) wouldn't love that!

They also do a toy strimmer.

 Clarence 10 Jan 2020
In reply to Punter S Thompson:

> I feel we should start a support group of blokes who wanted a Johnny Seven and never got one.

I wanted one until I discovered Nerf guns. My Stryfe with a Worker stock, banana mags and barrel extension looks cool, is adult sized and is safe and accurate enough for indoor plinking or dog hunting. Pupski loves playing with the gun but don't worry, he always wears goggles.

 Clarence 10 Jan 2020
In reply to jbrom:

> Stihl Children's Battery Operated Toy Chainsaw https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001L2WMS4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_WZkgEbX1YHDEV

I love that the Compare With Similar Items section compares a childs toy with three genuine chainsaws!

 Tom Valentine 10 Jan 2020
In reply to wercat:

Setting fire to a Revell Bismark in the bath was one spectacular bit of mischief I can remember and it was all the more satisfying for being in my mate's house.

 didntcomelast 10 Jan 2020
In reply to robert-hutton:

Hope you kept the Brompton. It’ll be worth a bit now. 

 Pefa 10 Jan 2020
In reply to coinneach:

> Agnetha out of Abba

I wanted to be Agnetha out of ABBA. 

 robert-hutton 10 Jan 2020
In reply to didntcomelast:

> Hope you kept the Brompton. It’ll be worth a bit now. 

No swapped it for a white sun racer 5 speed with black and white checked tape on the handlebars, then onto Mercian bike loved it.

Removed User 10 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

wanted a raleigh Chopper-no chance, far too expensive. I did get (after watching the brilliant Eric Lathwaite Christmas lectures) a gyroscope which seemed utterly magical. still does.

cb294 10 Jan 2020
In reply to jbrom:

I was Santa at our institute christmas party, and handed out presents from the parents to the hordes of children there. Gave a small toy power saw to the son of my technician, maybe three or four at the time, and he tried the whole evening to get to work, chopping down the christmas tree in the lobby....

Around that age my son got an entire tool set from my father. It was a selection of manual tools from my grandfather's workshop, all carefully cleaned and restored after he died, plus a little book about building your own wooden tool box. Best present ever, the tools are still in use!

CB

 bouldery bits 10 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

My

Own

Manta ray.

 wercat 11 Jan 2020
In reply to Tom Valentine:

I can remember an Airfix  Bristol Beaufighter exploding in midair aided by a banger ...

 Myfyr Tomos 11 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Clodagh Rodgers. Nothing weird about that!

 Fruit 11 Jan 2020
In reply to Bob Kemp:

I had one but couldn’t afford the meths to run it!

 Fruit 11 Jan 2020
In reply to coinneach:

I was maybe a little older but along the same lines Debbie Harry

 mattrm 11 Jan 2020
In reply to Chive Talkin\':

Nothing much to be honest.  Vaguely a NES or SNES.  But that's about it.

 coinneach 11 Jan 2020
In reply to Fruit:

She winked at me once, when she was on Top Of The Pops . . . . 

 Fruit 12 Jan 2020
In reply to coinneach:

You can die happy

forarainydave 17 Jan 2020
In reply to Philip:

Take the chain off then let them go crazy. Might be a bit of a risk with the exhaust though.

 spartacus 17 Jan 2020
In reply to Punter S Thompson:

I always wanted a Jonny Seven, never got one. Had to make do with cap guns and spud guns. later I got a 'Ghat' air pistol.


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