Need the name of an old toy - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Redlemon · 10-15-2004, 07:22 AM

I played with it in the mid-70s, but I think it was older than that. It was a 2-part machine, completely unsafe.

Part 1 was a series of bug-and-spider shaped molds, into which you poured liquid rubber of various colors, and cooked in the machine, to make cool looking rubber bugs.

Part 2 was a metal mold that would get very hot, and you would flip a flat piece of thin plastic onto it and it would semi-melt, creating a shape you could cut out. I seem to recall airplane shapes.

All created really toxic vapors, and were burn hazards to boot. I have no recollection of what it was called. I seem to recall it was discussed about a year ago on X-Entertainment, linked from a FARK thread, but I've been banging the hell out of the search engine on their site and I can't find it.

maleficent · 10-15-2004, 07:28 AM

Creepy Crawlers?

The easy bake oven for boys

http://www.geocities.com/garyweb65/bugmaker.html

Redlemon · 10-15-2004, 07:45 AM

Babe, you continue to rock. Thank you very much. The one I had was The VacuMaker, but your page linked to it.

10-15-2004, 07:51 AM

awwwww, I had one of those creepy crawler machines... even though I'm terrified of bugs. Who's sick idea was that?

maleficent · 10-15-2004, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redlemon

Babe, you continue to rock. Thank you very much. The one I had was The VacuMaker, but your page linked to it.

I'm a child of the 70s - and had mostly boy type toys - I don't remember that one... But I did have a really nifty bottle cutter - yeah, that was a toy you'd want to give to a kid - a sharp gadget thingie that cut glass and then you were left with sharp cut glass to play with... (Wonder if my parents were subconsiously trying to get rid of me)

The creepy crawler thing was fun - -and it also did a great job of melting Barbie too...

portereight · 10-15-2004, 08:43 AM

I also had that bottle cutter thing, and lawn darts, and a wood burning kit and a model rocket, and chemisty set, and, and, and...
Amazing any of us survived to reproduce.

fhqwhgads · 10-15-2004, 09:19 AM

Here's a stumper for ya: My grandparents had one of these things, and I've never been able to find another one like it.

It was a plastic rectangle, about 8x10". Inside was and oil/water mixture. Also inside were several shapes that were fixed inside, so they didn't move around. You tip the rectangle on one end, and the oil would move from the top to the bottom, hitting these plastic shapes and therefore it would split, be rejoined, go down steps, etc. Once the oil collected at the bottom, you'd flip it back over and watch the oil go the other way. I also remember it being tinted red, and the oil was a bluish color...

It's similar to those wave machines and other oil toys you see today, but this was a specific one that I used to play with as a kid.

DHS · 10-15-2004, 08:02 PM

Slinky... slinky...

Rawrr · 10-15-2004, 08:10 PM

Use to have a Creepy Crawler oven thing when I was younger, it was fun stuff!

Redjake · 10-15-2004, 08:22 PM

definitely Creepy Crawlers. Those things were awesome. Me and Lasereth had one. We almost burnt the house down a lot with it though, definitely unsafe. It worked flawlessly when you weren't messing around with it though. Fun stuff.

Rodney · 10-15-2004, 08:32 PM

I had the earlier version, from the mid-60s, called a Vac-u-form. Didn't make edible stuff, only plastic toys from molds and plastic sheets. You'd put the form down on the plate, then clamp the plastic sheet into place over it. The plastic sheet was heated and, when it got soft, you pumped like hell on a lever on the side of the machine that evacuated the air under the plastic. The plastic then shrank down over the mold to make a plastic toy. And yes, potentially dangerous -- today's kids wouldn't be let near it. I think I burned myself a time or two, but nothing serious.

Here's a link. I had the first version shown on that page. I can still smell the stink of that hot plastic -- pleasant memory, though.

http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/Vac-U-Form.html

tropple · 10-16-2004, 12:51 PM

You can still purchase machines that do vacu-forming. They're a popular item for people doing customized models (airplanes, etc.). Try looking for a high-end hobby shop and I'll bet you can find the sheet stock there and maybe one of the newer machines, too.

Some of the aircraft modeling magazines have the occasional add for them, or at elast will have a shop ad with listing a machine.

10-15-2004, 07:22 AM	#1 (permalink)
Redlemon Devoted Donor Location: New England	Need the name of an old toy I played with it in the mid-70s, but I think it was older than that. It was a 2-part machine, completely unsafe. Part 1 was a series of bug-and-spider shaped molds, into which you poured liquid rubber of various colors, and cooked in the machine, to make cool looking rubber bugs. Part 2 was a metal mold that would get very hot, and you would flip a flat piece of thin plastic onto it and it would semi-melt, creating a shape you could cut out. I seem to recall airplane shapes. All created really toxic vapors, and were burn hazards to boot. I have no recollection of what it was called. I seem to recall it was discussed about a year ago on X-Entertainment, linked from a FARK thread, but I've been banging the hell out of the search engine on their site and I can't find it.

10-15-2004, 07:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
maleficent Junkie Moderator Emeritus Location: Chicago	Creepy Crawlers? The easy bake oven for boys http://www.geocities.com/garyweb65/bugmaker.html __________________ Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.

10-15-2004, 08:02 PM	#8 (permalink)
DHS Tilted Location: Pennsylvania	Slinky... slinky... __________________ "keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

10-15-2004, 08:10 PM	#9 (permalink)
Rawrr Insane Location: Virginia	Use to have a Creepy Crawler oven thing when I was younger, it was fun stuff! __________________ This revelation is the death of ignorance tangled in a state of suffocation slave to self righteousness damnation is on your lips

10-15-2004, 08:22 PM	#10 (permalink)
Redjake I'm a family man - I run a family business. Location: Wilson, NC	definitely Creepy Crawlers. Those things were awesome. Me and Lasereth had one. We almost burnt the house down a lot with it though, definitely unsafe. It worked flawlessly when you weren't messing around with it though. Fun stuff. __________________ Off the record, on the q.t., and very hush-hush.

10-15-2004, 07:45 AM	#3 (permalink)
Redlemon Devoted Donor Location: New England	Babe, you continue to rock. Thank you very much. The one I had was The VacuMaker, but your page linked to it.

10-15-2004, 07:51 AM	#4 (permalink)
Untitled Guest	awwwww, I had one of those creepy crawler machines... even though I'm terrified of bugs. Who's sick idea was that?

10-15-2004, 08:43 AM	#6 (permalink)
portereight Crazy	I also had that bottle cutter thing, and lawn darts, and a wood burning kit and a model rocket, and chemisty set, and, and, and... Amazing any of us survived to reproduce.

10-15-2004, 09:19 AM	#7 (permalink)
fhqwhgads Junkie	Here's a stumper for ya: My grandparents had one of these things, and I've never been able to find another one like it. It was a plastic rectangle, about 8x10". Inside was and oil/water mixture. Also inside were several shapes that were fixed inside, so they didn't move around. You tip the rectangle on one end, and the oil would move from the top to the bottom, hitting these plastic shapes and therefore it would split, be rejoined, go down steps, etc. Once the oil collected at the bottom, you'd flip it back over and watch the oil go the other way. I also remember it being tinted red, and the oil was a bluish color... It's similar to those wave machines and other oil toys you see today, but this was a specific one that I used to play with as a kid.

10-15-2004, 08:32 PM	#11 (permalink)
Rodney Observant Ruminant Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town	I had the earlier version, from the mid-60s, called a Vac-u-form. Didn't make edible stuff, only plastic toys from molds and plastic sheets. You'd put the form down on the plate, then clamp the plastic sheet into place over it. The plastic sheet was heated and, when it got soft, you pumped like hell on a lever on the side of the machine that evacuated the air under the plastic. The plastic then shrank down over the mold to make a plastic toy. And yes, potentially dangerous -- today's kids wouldn't be let near it. I think I burned myself a time or two, but nothing serious. Here's a link. I had the first version shown on that page. I can still smell the stink of that hot plastic -- pleasant memory, though. http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/Vac-U-Form.html Last edited by Rodney; 10-15-2004 at 08:35 PM..

10-16-2004, 12:51 PM	#12 (permalink)
tropple Junkie	You can still purchase machines that do vacu-forming. They're a popular item for people doing customized models (airplanes, etc.). Try looking for a high-end hobby shop and I'll bet you can find the sheet stock there and maybe one of the newer machines, too. Some of the aircraft modeling magazines have the occasional add for them, or at elast will have a shop ad with listing a machine. __________________ +++++++++++Boom!