Top 10 Authentic Retro Reboots

We all love a bit of Retro, and good news - those gadgets and games that warmed our hearts in our childhood have returned, some are even better than they were before. These are the toys you yearned for when you were young. Remember that kid who had all the best toys? Now, you can recapture that little spark of youthful competitiveness.

It doesn’t matter that we’re not kids any more, or that we possibly should be old enough to know better. It’s impossible to resist the call of childhood nostalgia
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We’ve selected our top 10 authentic retro toys & tech to capture your childish imagination. So pull up a chair and read on as we take you back...

Bigtrak

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Big Trak was an absolute hit in the early 80s, You might remember the large 6-wheeled tank. It might have a totally 70s colour scheme, but the programmable vehicle came complete with a blue photon beam headlamp (whatever that means) and, the most important part, a chunky keyboard on the top. You could actually programme the Big Trak to carry out sequences of movements like ‘Go forward 5 paces, go left 2 lengths, turn 15 minutes right’ etc.

It might not seem like an amazing feat of technology to us now, but back then it was amazing!

But the Big Trak is back. Styled on the old model, the new version is an exact copy. It’s been just as big a hit now as it was back then. Strangely enough, you still get the same giddy sense of joy when the tank carried out your orders.

Risk

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This one first entered our lives in the 1950s, but has stayed a staple item in the games cupboard ever since. It’s a game of strategy, nerve and, well, risk.

The game has been around for years, but this Christmas, it’s come back in its true retro form. The Nostalgia Edition comes in a retro wooden box, straight out of the 50s.

It’s back to its retro glory, so now you can conquer the world in true retro style.

Newtons cradle

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It’s one of those science things that you can’t quite explain, but you simply can’t take your eyes off.

Remember being transfixed by these hypnotic little things in the doctor’s office? Remember when doctors or other important people had these types of gizmos on their desks – you would hve given anything to play with it, but you were always told ‘No!’

Now you’re big and important enough to have one of your own. Go on, give it a try...

Space hopper

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A real blast from the past here. Whether you call them Space Hoppers, Moon Hoppers, Skippyballs, Kangaroo Balls, Bouncers, Hippity-Hops, or Hop Balls, they all mean one thing – fun!

It looks a little wrong, and you know that you’ll look monumentally stupid on it, but those things just don’t seem like such a big deal when you remember just how fun the Space Hopper is.

You might want to avoid going out in public with it though, Space Hoppers aren’t recommended modes of transport.

Phones

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Ever since Mr Edmond’s latest box-related gameshow, retro phones have come back in force.

Moulded plastic handsets, chunky rotary diallers, every feature you know and love from the telephone of the past is back here. But best of all, they’re packed full of modern-day gubbins so you don’t have to sacrifice the functionality you need.

They even make that good old fashioned ‘rrrrring, rrrrring’ noise – superb!

Stylophone

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That Rolf Harris had a lot of explaining to do back in 1967 when Kids around the world started tormenting their parents with a series of electronic buzzes, The stylophone was invented as a musical instrument, and Rolf Harris made it sing.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many other people with the same talent. In fact, anyone else who picks up the infernal thing can only create a skull-drilling racket.

But we’ve grown to love that racket. Now the Stylophone has returned, to a buzzing fanfare, into our lives. Contrary to all laws of sense, we’ve welcomed its return with open arms and open hearts.

Rubiks cube

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It’s infamously frustrating and absolutely addictive; the Rubik’s cube used to send us all into a crazed delirium full of colourful squares and twisting cuboids.

There are people in the world who can solve them in a matter of seconds. People have written entire books on the secrets to cracking the cube. Most of us mere mortals can only hope to fumble around with it for a few hours before leaving it on a shelf as a piece of Geek Chic art.
But that’s still a great use for this iconic piece of pop culture.

Slinky

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‘Everyone loves the Slinky!’ Invented in the early 1940s, Slinky has been a hit with kids for generations! In fact when it first went on sale in the 40s, the entire stock of Slinkies were sold out in just 90 minutes – talk about a must have toy!

We’ve seen the Slinky take on many different forms over the years, from rainbow-coloured plastic to animal themed springs. But now, the original steel Slinky is back and delighting kids once more.

There’s so much to do with a Slinky. Obviously you can walk it down the stairs, but you can also roll it up your arm and pretend to be a robot, or lik it together to make a fetching springy necklace. Leave it to your childlike imagination and you’ll find something new and exciting to do with it.

Retro Roberts radios

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Retro radios, like the telephones are coming back in force. With Digital radio making the whole wireless concept ‘cool’ again, the beautiful retro styling has become popular once more.

Each radio is like a piece of pop culture art – they look like they belong in the 50s but the insides tell a very different story. These digital radios let you listen to the stations you love in crystal clear digital sound quality. You couldn’t say that about an authentic 50s radio now, could you?

Commodore 64

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Now, for the geek in all of us, the one and only Commodore 64 has made a comeback. The big grey box that stole our heart and our imaginations in the 80s has returned complete with retro games for those of us who miss those clunky cartridge-games.

According to the website, it’s ‘a modern functional PC as close to the original as humanly possible.’ They’ve crammed a mini motherboard, dual core atom processor and even a graphics card into the original casing. Now that’s a blast from the past!

All of these retro reboots are a delight to the child within all of us. But which one will be gracing your home? Stop by Prezzybox for some even more great retro and unique ideas to make the perfect Christmas present.