Monday, October 25, 2021

Batman Toys from the 1966 Sears Wish Book Catalog!


I recently stumbled across the Wish Book Web site, and for barely any reason at all, I decided to look at the Batman product from 1966. I was very young in '66 and just discovering superheroes. I lived in the deep country and the Sears Catalog was about the only way I could see lots of toys. 

But enough about me. Let's look at stuff!

If this doesn't feel authentically Batman to you, the ukulele drives it home.

"Holy Slots" sounds dirty, but this car was actually made for race tracks!

"Just use the master pump to force air through the 30-ft. tube-track." I think "Remote-control" meant something different than it does today.

Zooom!

Instead of focusing on Batman costumes, I included the whole page here. Look! A Captain America costume!! In 1966!!! That's unexpected.

It looks like the image coming from the "Projection Gun" is based on the art on the "Bat Cave Hideaway." Did you decide to add this at the last minute, Sears?

A lot of the boy toys were some type of gun in 1966.


But, if you did't have a gun, you could at least learn how to hit! I actually had the Yogi Bear Bop Bag when I was a kid. He now looks so defenseless to me. With Batman, you could pretend you were helping him tighten his stomach muscles!


I also had the Captain Action figure. It was possibly my favorite toy as kid. I had the Batman costume to put on him, but I desperately wanted the Aquaman costume. Never got it. (But, my sweet mother did crochet a tiny orange shirt for me to put on him.)


I think these are merely walkie-talkies disguised as phones. Well played, Remco Toys!


Marx made a phone too, but Batman doesn't want you to talk. Just listen to him and keep your mouth shut.

Oh! And puppets!


Sears mentions "it's easy to order by phone" more than once. So futuristic.


Oops. Look at the time. I better wrap it up!


1 comment:

geophro said...

My brother and I had the Batman Switch and Go and the Batcave Hideaway Cave. I'm too young too remember much about them.

I believe the Troll Batcave is the same one used by the JLA figures a few years before. It was also recycled for Captain Action, even though the scale was way off.

Thanks for posting.