Totally Tubular '80s Toys [Hardcover]

Mark Bellomo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2010

Filled with super rad toys and bodacious memories, Totally Tubular '80s Toys is a righteous ride back in time when Madonna ruled and Spinal Tap amplifiers went to 11. You'll find everything from He-Man to Cabbage Patch Kids, Trivial Pursuit to Rubik's Cube, Transformers to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Pac-Man to Mario Bros Donkey Kong-as well as lots of fun and smiles.

You'll enjoy:&break;&break;

A Year-by-year look at the greatest toys of the '80s

&break;

Awesome color photos featuring more than 500 fabulous toys and period shots of the people who made the decade gnarly

Lists of the top 10 TV shoes, movies, and music for each year

&break;&break;As Keanu Reeves put it more than 30 times in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, "Whoa!"

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A child of the '80s, Mark Bellomo is an enthusiastic and passionate toy collector, and one of the leading toy authorities in the country. Bellomo has authored a number of books, including Transformers: Identification and Price Guide and two editions of The Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe, 1982-1994, published by F+W Media.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Krause Publications; 1 edition (October 13, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440212821
• ISBN-13: 978-1440212826
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 0.9 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #590,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for toy fans October 19, 2010

By Justin Bell

Format:Hardcover

I've had my eye on this book for quite a while. As a toy fan and an avid reader of Mr. Bellomo's other works, I had a feeling I would enjoy this one...I was not disappointed.

Even as someone who has been deeply immersed in the online toy culture for the past 13 years, and has avidly followed action figures and toys for nearly three decades, there was information, images, and awesome detail throughout this tome that I did not know. Absolutely fascinating details on toy lines from the somewhat obscure, to the crazes that swept the nation in the 80's. Everything from Trivial Pursuit to MASH...the Cabbage Patch Dolls, Barbie, and Transformers. It's all in there.

For us hardcore toy fans, and for all children of the 80's, this book is simply a must buy. There is so much to love...not just in the images, but in the intricate details that the author fills the pages with. Mr. Bellomo is a clear expert on the subject matter, and doesn't talk down to the reader, giving us an insightful and fun look at the 80's.

But that's not even the best part of this book. The best part is, after I was done, I handed it to my wife...someone who has not followed the toy culture with nearly the desire or intensity that I have. And she loved the heck out of it, too. Sure, she was a child of the 80's, but not fully immersed in it like I was, and yet, she was captivated by the girls toys and pop culture that she remembered from her childhood.

Then I gave the book to my five year old. And even the young child was fascinated, flipping through the pages, looking at the Barbie dolls and other toys of old. It was especially cool for her to pick out images and remember seeing those toys in Daddy's collection....

So, yes, obviously the book is written for the toy fan in all of us...and for us children of the 80's with a desire to relive our youth. But it does so much more as well. A pure joy to read with intelligent writing, terrific pictures and a fun-filled walk down memory lane.

Kudos to Mr. Bellomo for another great addition to his already impressive library. Read more ›

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars When Toys "Came of Age" in New and Interesting Ways November 22, 2010

By Darockb

Format:Hardcover

No doubt, this book is a lot of fun, but as a beginning toy collector I found this book fascinating as it chronicles in detail the chronology of toy development through the '80's, probably the most prolific decade in the toy industry (think Rubik's Cube, the Atari 2600 (Pac Man), Trivial Pursuit, and Transformers -- all path breakers in radical ways). You'll love the pictures (the book is beautifully designed) but it's the extra stuff -- the author's insights on the toys and their significance, and the accompanying "trivia" -- popular music, movies, TV shows, news developments at the time -- that really places these toys in the context of our lives. As Black Friday approaches, who can forget the Cabbage Patch Kids, the first "gotta have" toy to inspire mayhem at the malls! This book is fascinating and fun.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 80's toys forever! November 3, 2010

By C. Lee

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have waited for a book like this for a long time and my prayers have been answered! It is not intended as a be-all-end-all compendium, but it does cover a VAST amount of the toy lines from the 80's. The author really did his homework and it shows. There is a serious amount of information to digest (which is never a bad thing). The photographs and layout are also fantastic. There are great little side bars peppered throughout the chapters that add additional depth to the subject matter. As a vintage toy collector I definitely recommend this book to collectors and nostalgia junkies alike.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, fun, fun November 10, 2010

By hbz

Format:Hardcover

Rubic's Cube, Pac-Man, My Little Ponies, Cabbage Patch Dolls... A fun, informative trip back to the 80s. In addition to the great photos of the toys, each year has a spread with TV shows, movies, music and trivia from that year.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome 80's Toys November 10, 2010

By Wendy Wendt

Format:Hardcover

This 80s Toys Book is awesome. I really enjoyed looking at it and having it bring back so many memories when I was a kid. I always enjoyed the Rubik's Cube. It is a challenge to figure out and having so many of the old toys that I played with as a kid. Beautiful layout. Great book for anyone in that era.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just another price guide ... October 8, 2010

By Mark F. Moran

Format:Hardcover

I was expecting this to be a standard price guide and was pleasantly surprised! It's all about the nostalgia of the '80s pop culture: great toys, games, movies, TV and big hair. From Atari to Max Headroom and Rubik's Cube, this is a wonderful guilty pleasure for those who lived through it, or just wish they had.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Excellent Adventure October 6, 2010

By An Indy Fan

Format:Hardcover

I got this book for my wife, a child of the '80s. She loves it. Of course, this is a woman who still has her Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) from 1985. The book is big (256 pages), beautiful (500+ color pictures) and packed with great stories that bring back lots of childhood memories. Her favorites are of stories on Pound Puppies, My Pretty Pony, He-Man and She-Ra, and Transformers. I'm a few years older than my wife so my interests run more toward Trivial Pursuit (page 56), and Rubik's Cube (page 14) -- but I also have a soft spot in my heart for my old stuffed Alf (page 179). The book is organized chronologically, providing a year-by-year look at fabulous toys throughout the decade. Each toy is illustrated by several pictures. There are also lists of the top 10 TV shows, movies and music for each year under the description of Entertainment-O-Rama, as well as pictures of the people who made the decade awesome. Totally Tubular 80s Toys is a total nostalgia trip. And it makes my wife smile. So there you go.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brings back fond memories October 12, 2010

By Lempdoodle

Format:Hardcover

This book is hugely nostalgic and brings back a lot of great memories of the toys my friends and I used to play with, like Strawberry Shortcake, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, pretending to hunt ghosts with our proton packs from "Ghostbusters," and, of course, spending too many hours and quarters at the arcade playing Pac-Man. As another reviewer noted, the book is organized chronologically, highlighting the toys that came out that year, and the entertainment sections at the end of each year that show the top 10 movies, TV shows and records are a nice touch. There are a lot of great color photos of the toys and games children of the '80s loved and the book is just a whole bunch of fun.