Toy guns of all kinds, Mattel Fanner Fifties, a "Rifleman" lever action, Mattel Tommy Gun, snub nose .38, cork ball firing muskets, cannons, machine guns, you name the war or era - Cowboys and Indians, Cops and Robbers, Civil War, WWII and a bit beyond and I probably had something appropriate for it.
Playing "Big Army" with the toy guns or "Little Army" with the hundreds of green and gray American and German soldiers. On any given Saturday you would find 5-10 young boys running around the neighborhood in everybody's yard carrying out attacks and ambushes. Lots of young bodies strewn across lawns waiting for the magic "two touches and you're alive".
Had a big sandpile and would build intricate forts for the toy soldiers with tunnels and log emplacements made of twigs. I was walking in my play area by the old house a few years ago and found one lone soldier half buried - a German carrying a rocket launcher. He is in a special box in the closet right now along with the very few other prized possessions left over from those days.
Models were probably next - fighter planes mostly, tanks, some ships, no model cars to speak of. Monogram made the best with the most movable features, Revell was second and I forget who was third. Most all of the model planes got bullet holes via an unbent paper clip heated on the stove.
Hit puberty right before GI Joe came on the scene. We thought he was the gayest toy in the world. Basically they wanted boys to play with Barbie dolls dressed in green uniforms.
