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Strange Change Machine
by Mattel
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Read memories from others. |
This memory was added on: May 18, 2008
I still have several of the "animals" on a shelf in my studio. I have the tyrannosaurus and a couple of space monsters (one that was drawn on the cabinet of the Space Invaders game you used to see in bars).
But for my money, Creepy Crawlers were the best. I can't even guess how many hours I devoted to making them.
Mike S.
This memory was added on: April 12, 2008
For years I've been describing my favorite childhood toy, and what it did, and no one ever knew what I was talking about. But thanks to a video on YouTube (link below), I discovered it was called The Strange Change Time Machine (Mattel 1967)...and now I'm bidding on one I found for sale on eBay. I too loved this toy and have the burns to prove it! Those little neon-colored plastic monsters kept me amused for hours on end, and I'm glad to read I'm not alone!
Toy Commercials (Strange Change commercial appears 6 minutes in)
- Thanks
Jeff
This memory was added on: April 12, 2008
I can't believe I actually found this. I also had this when I was 9 or 10 and can remember actually opening it up before Christmas. My mother had hidden the presents and I found them like weeks before Christmas and I opened it up and started playing with it. I had told my mom I wanted to make sure that it was working ok!. I too remember the smell of the plastic cubes heating up that's one smell I'll never forget, I can almost smell it now. Back then least kids used their imagination unlike the kids today.
Mike
This memory was added on: March 19, 2008
My God! I've been looking for this thing forever... nothing on ebay,
youtube... etc...
One Channaka evening I opened a gift and got my dream come true.....the
Strange Change Machine!!
I burned myself many times but this is the single most memorable toy I
ever
owned.
Thanks for posting this on the net!!!
Mark
This memory was added on: March 19, 2008
For years I've been describing my favorite childhood toy, and what it did, and no one ever knew what I was talking about. But thanks to a video on YouTube (link below), I discovered it was called The Strange Change Time Machine (Mattel 1967)...and now I'm bidding on one I found for sale on eBay. I too loved this toy and have the burns to prove it! Those little neon-colored plastic monsters kept me amused for hours on end, and I'm glad to read I'm not alone!
Jeff
This memory was added on: March 10, 2008
I can't find any videos of the commercial for this great toy! Nothing on Youtube! And yes, I got burned, too! I opened that big box on Christmas morning, but had to wait until after we got back from attending Mass to actually play the mad scientist! And, God, yes, did I ever burn myself on that thing! Who cares, it was fun! No lawsuits, just a lesson in heat and one's proximity to it.
Diane
This memory was added on: April 24, 2007
I'm sitting on the couch, with my 18 year old daughter, shouting "YES YES YES!" (she occasionally looks up from her work) I am reading all of your wonderful comments to her, KNOWING that I am not crazy (mostly). I freakin' HAD this toy. My parents never once supervised or tended to my burns, I just was allowed to p~l~a~y with it. All day. All night. I got this for Christmas in the late 60's and I too remember the SMELL of the plastic and the JOY of the cubes becoming dinosaurs, and the minor disappointment of the cubes not becoming PERFECT cubes again. I said to my daughter "these are my people" I mean it. Thank you fellow passionate Strange Change Machine lovers. You rock you rule I think you're cool. PS I think that if any of you all are single you should form a dating group with each other, because, you know, Freaks Unite! Match made in heaven, etc...
Wendy
1960
This memory was added on: April 11,2007
I must be having a mid-life crisis! While Googlin' the other night I decided to look up some of the toy's that I wish I held onto. I remember this as 'The Incredible Time Machine.' This must be the toy as it seems to operate much the way I remember- heating in the chamber, then crushing only to repeat the whole process. I noticed a post earlier that, indeed, is why you don't see toys like they used to make- by a liability lawyer!
Steve Poppele
1959
stuffit@twlakes.net
This memory was added on: April 8,2007
Ah, yes. Tucked away in my memory banks are fond recollections of this wonderful 1960s-70s Mattel toy. No way on the planet you could market this thing today with all of the safety regulations. My wife would cringe in horror if I brought one of these home for our six-year-old son.
I loved the crazy-colored dinosaurs the little cubes turned into when you heated them on the burner. You had to be careful not to leave them in too long, though. Many of my guys had black feet and tails from being overcooked! And the smell they produced would drive the babysitter nuts. In addition to the dinos, there were also a few assorted Yeti-looking monsters in this series. Freakish things in day-glo pink and green.
The volcanic landscape that came with the toy was fun for a variety of uses. WWII battles between plastic G.I.s and Jap soldiers were fought here. Captured soldiers were often led to the "Strange Change" torture chamber where they were melted if they didn't fess up. As un-P.C. as this sounds today, we derived an enormous amount of fun doing this back then. Next to Marx’s Fort Apache, this was one of my favorite toys.
D.P.
1965
flaylepayne@verizon.net
This memory was added on: March 20,2007
"Holy flashback Bateman"! My older brothers had this and played with it for hours. Unsupervised! OMG!. The same with Creepy Crawlers. Just think of the class action suits our parents could have started back then. Maybe kids where more machanicly inclined, and parents where more personally accountable not to mention less greedy! None-the-less, what great memories.
annie
1964
Campjada@3rivers.net
This memory was added on: March 9,2007
I'll be turning 48 in a few months, and yet I still have vivid memories my Strange Change Machine. It was one of the many toys I received that Christmas morning. I was crazy about that thing. I don't know whatever became of the one I owned, but I wish I had hung on to it. When I saw the picture at this website, it brought back a flood of memories - all very pleasant.
Dan
1959
dlabdog@aol.com
This memory was added on: March 6,2007
I thought I was the only kid who had this classic toy! Reading the comments sure brought back the great memories of toys from the 60's. Kids today have no idea what they are missing. I was lucky to pick up a working heater on ebay and plan on introducing my daughter to this toy this christmas so hopefully she can share the same fond memories I had of this imaginative toy. Watch that heating element!!!
James Monday
12/14/61
jljmonday@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: February 19,2007
I loved this as a kid, and it is still in its' box in my parent's garage. I was amazed to see it on E bay! I loved creating and squishing. It was a fun toy, but it seems that having anything HOT as part of a toy today is odd and unsafe, but we got by with it ok.
Steve
1964
stalzz64@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: February 1,2007
HELLO EVERYONE THAT TOY WAS GREAT I LOVED IT I REMEBER MY MOTHER WON THE TOY IN SOME RAFFLE , AND I LOVED PUTTING THE THINGS TOGETHER ONLY TO PUT THEM BACK IN THE OVEN AGAIN AND WATCH IT OPEN UP .
KEITH
1958
TECH601@YAHOO.COM
This memory was added on: January 25,2007
I still have an original package of the creaturelings. Maybe I will heat them up and finally let them rise. I used to play with that toy all the time along with my Fuzzy Wuzzy Soap, my Winky Dink set and listen to my Famous Monsters Speak and Monster Shindig lps. Oh the memories!
Ron
1961
mrbig@snet.net
This memory was added on: December 23,2006
I am glad to see that other people still remember the Strange Change Machine! It is probably one of my favotrite all-time toys. In this day and age when video games rule this is one toy that kids could put their hands on and play with using their own creative juices instead of pushing buttons on a controller and experiencing someone else's. Look at how the experience has stayed with all of us! Toy makers...this is opportunity knocking!
Bruce
1961
gooseman1979@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: December 21,2006
I'm so glad that I'm not insane! My brother got one of these for Christmas and we played with it non-stop. He was four years older than me (a girl!) but I held my own and got to spend hours heating and squishing, heating and squishing! Burned and battered (fighting over it) and entertained. We loved that machine.
I've been trying to remember the name of it and no one seemed to even have seen one. Except, of course, my siblings. I can't tell you what a relief it was to finally get lucky on a google search. They don't make toys like that anymore (literally).
VJ
1962
dallred@sc.rr.com
This memory was added on: December 20,2006
This toy has such a special place in my heart. I used to go visit my dad's brother, who lived maybe 30 miles away when I was a kid, and spend the weekend with he and my aunt and two cousins, Nancy and Pam. I was kind of their adopted "son" so to speak. My uncle would always take me to the local toy store and let me pick out something---even though they didn't have a lot of money, he would always say "don't worry about the price", but I always picked out something relatively cheap. This one weekend we went shopping and my uncle is actually the one that spotted this, and he right away said, "here's the toy for you"---because I loved scary things!! I played with this toy FOREVER!!!! When I turned 15 I got a scholarship to do theater in Japan, and during that year my uncle developed cancer and passed away----he was such a positive influence on me, and whenever I see a picture of this toy, I always remember him---such a great man he was. I've been trying to purchase one of these on E-Bay, and there's been quite a few out there, but they go for just too much money. Maybe someday..................
Rex Jacobsen
1962
raymond.x.jacobsen@ampf.com
This memory was added on: December 9,2006
I was just watching Saturday morning cartoons with my son and one of them reminded me of this toy. It was great. I was trying to describe it and how it worked. I couldn't quite remember how to get the dinosaurs back to squares, but reading here reminded me. I got one for Christmas and had a great time with it. I knew I'd be able to find some info through a quick Google search for 'dinosaurs heat chamber toy vice' and I wasn't disappointed! Thanks for the great website and for the memories.
Bill
1958
draglist@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: November 28,2006
I had this, it was awesome! Hours of play. Love to crush them when done
Hugh Nichols
This memory was added on: November 4,2006
I remember Christmas 1969... This was by far one of the best Christmas gifts I ever received from my parents. The colors and shapes of the plastic creatures and the never-ending creat'em and crush'em... was just too much to behold for an 8 year old. Yes, I to got burned by the hot creatures, but that was part of the excitement. A small price to pay for such a cool toy. (I once put one of those rubbery reptiles/animals you got out of the 25 cent machines in the heating chamber and for some reason being the tactile person I am, touched it to see if it was getting hot. Well, the hot rubber stuck to my finger and left a hefty blister, ouch! That’s gunna leave a mark! I never did that again) Like a fool I sold mine in a garage sale. I must have needed the money. Much later in life, I too tried to tell others of this wonderful toy. NO ONE had ever heard of or seen one, until one day... A work buddy and I were out at lunch and decided to stop off at this garage sale in Solon, Ohio. He says to me from across the garage "Dave, isn’t this that toy you looking for?" Low and behold, there it was still with it's box and almost all of the contents! I bargained the lady down to a measly $3.00 and in a flash it was mine. I was ecstatic to say the least. I tried it out at my desk at work, but found the heating element would not come to life. Darn! But, it was still quit a rush as the memories came flooding back. Long live the Internet for helping others share their memories of this beloved toy.
David
1961
dkstanden@yahoo
This memory was added on: October 25,2006
It was a smell all it's own. What fun we had.
Kelly Louisville
kelly atkins
1963
kelgo@bellsouth.net
This memory was added on: August 25,2006
i've been lookin' for this for years !!! this one toy sticks out in my mind over all else and i can't understand why ... we had hours of fun with it when we were kids !!! o my god it's great to see it !!!
John Gagne
082860
drmmrboy73@aol.com
This memory was added on: August 9,2006
This had to be the coolest toy I ever owned. I couldn't remember the name of this to save my life..thanks for such a neat site. It sure was fun being a kid in the 60's.
steve
1957
zoomer1066@aol.com
This memory was added on: July 16,2006
WOW!!! What a great toy this was. I didn't own one, but my best childhood friend Garry did. We spent hours playing with that thing... one of the neatest toys ever made. This was a toy that stimulated the imagination of children... hard to find anything that comes close to it now. Thanks to lawyers and goody-two-shoes types (thanks for nothing), you can't market these kinds of toys anymore ...heaven forbid your kid should get a little burn, or cut (or use their imaginations). One of the posters here says he was involved with its development and that they may try to bring it back somehow... hope so! Man, I would know the smell of that toy in a heart-beat (just like "Play-Doe")... and that's from nearly 40 years ago. Made an impression... you bet. Great toy, can't say enough good about it. Long live Mattel!!!
T. J. DAVIS
1959
sonofra1@aol.com
This memory was added on: July 11,2006
I still have mine! its in good shape If you want one bad I have seen them for sale on the internet
sam
1961
This memory was added on: June 23,2006
I LOVED this thing. It was one of the things I just HAD to have for Christmas '68. I played with it for hours. It was one of those toys that we had in the 60s that you could never get on the market today (Thingmakers, Vaccuforms). I guess kids were more adventuresome then. I remember the smell of the plastic squares permeating the house. I used to go buy more plastic critters (usually dinosaurs) in accessory paks from Sears or wherever. Great memories!
Joe
1959
This memory was added on: June 2,2006
I vividly remember my late brother and I playing with this toy. We also used to cook and melt things in the machine(bread etc.). It's amazing that it was ever on the market. Today it would be considered too dangerous. As a lawyer who does Product Liability occasionally, this would be a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Mike
1962
roselaw1@aol.com
This memory was added on: May 25,2006
On August 7,2005 I wrote to this site:
"I was a major developer of this product. Last week I visited one of the production facilities where the Strange Change Machine was first developed. The visit prompted me to look on the Internet to see the extent of interest. It suprises me that there are so many memories and so much interest nearly forty years later. I can’t forget, as the mechanism behind the change from a plastic block to a recognizable shape has been used and still is in many technical products. The profits from this product allowed me to take time off from my industrial job and go back to school to obtain my Ph.D.
Currently, I’m considering developing even stranger products!"
Since that time, I have formed my own company. Where I develop medical devices and consumer products. I have over 20 patents protecting many products that are on the market.
I'm now considering relaunching products similar to the Strange Change Machine.
Any interest out there?
Preston Keusch, PhD. HYDROGELS UNLIMITED email:gelking1@gmail.com
Preston Keusch, PhD.
1941
gelking@gmail.com
This memory was added on: May 25,2006
I had one of these things and everyone is right - you could not find a toy like this again - too many burns. I've looked on ebay for weeks and see them listed all the time, most of them do not work anymore. The heating element inside gets rusted and no longer works. One guy said that they had one that heated up, but the plastic figures had been left in a square too long and did not open up to reveal a fish or dinosaur or whatever it was preformed to be. I saw one listed on ebay that had never been used and the squares still had the packing number embedded in the square - that kit went for $400 UNUSED. I ended up buying one for $4.00 on ebay that does not heat and I have opened it up. I now am trying to locate a nichrome wire that's insulated to get this to work. Tough item to find. I'm sure that the one I have is insulated with Asbestos, so that makes it harder. I have no squares or tongues or anything, but the unit looks good and the plastic housing is all in tact and not too yellow. I hope to get this to work.
Jeff
1960
moonjeff@aol.com
This memory was added on: May 18,2006
My kids and I were talk about parts of the human body tonight when I mentioned a scar on my arm. I got it from a hot block of plastic from the Strange Change Machine. One of the neighbor kids had the toy and he heated one of the blocks up and flung it from the end of a watch band.
I probably wouldn't have the scar if I hadn't played with the blister forever and ever. The scar looks like one of those inoculation scars kids used to get back then. No one gets the inoculation scars anymore--who knows why.
Anyway, this was a really cool toy. I always wanted one. Not the safest thing in the basement but neither were lawn "Jarts" or flammable model glue or bicycles without helmets or roller skates with metal wheels and on and on...
Jimbo
1960
This memory was added on: April 29,2006
I got one of these for Christmas in 1968. I can remember playing with it for 10-12 hours at a time. I would heat 'em all up and then squish them all back into cubes again. I got a few burns, but nothing serious. You could never buy a toy like this today.
Jeff
1962
husker1980@cox.net
This memory was added on: April 28,2006
Oh man I LOVED this toy! I melted everything and compressed it then brought it back to life for hours.. Absolutely loved it.. Loved the pterodactyl and the thing that looked like it had a woven cape hanging from its arms. One of the toys that is rarely remembered along with my fav the Vertibird and Major Matt Mason - all 3 take me back to my childhood. All were amazing toys..
Steve
1961
sst97@wf.net
This memory was added on: April 13,2006
I too have thought long and hard about this, one of my favorite toys. I had long forgot about it, till about 15 years old rediscovering it in my Grandmothers basement. Just the Machine nothing else, bummer. I did melt army men with it. I have told countless people about it as well with the same results as others.... Huh? Well there was a show on discovery channel about old toys..no time machine but it did make me think about it..so to the web I took. First to this site then to Ebay...Wow..3 of them on there right now, 2 with boxes and most of the stuff..3 days to bid..can't wait.
Tim
1964
repaid@wowway.com
This memory was added on: March 30,2006
This is great! A friend and I have talked for years about the fact that we both had one of these, and no one else remembers it ever existing. We've both literally been in discussions where we tried to tell people, "Yes, there really was such a thing!" Now I have the proof I need! I still can clearly recall the smell of melted plastic when I think about this thing.
Joe
1963
jfmays@launchpad.win.net
This memory was added on: March 23,2006
WOW! Thank you for helping me discover I'm not crazy after all! This was the single best toy EVER MADE! I remember getting my Time Machine around 1970. Along with my "Incredible Edibles" toy, I believe this was partially responsible for my slightly unbalanced mental condition :) Today's kids cannot imagine life without video games. Toys of the 60's and 70's rule! It's amazing how far a little imagination goes. Thanks for the trip back in time.
Don
1960
This memory was added on: March 14,2006
Ahh, the wonderful smell of a heating element and hot plastic! Mattel had some pretty cool toys around those times and I remember them fondly. Pain is a wonderful teacher and once burned, hey, you remembered "don't do that again". I had a "vac-u-form", a "power workshop" and my favorite, the molten plastic injection molder that made cowboys and indians all from Mattel.Now, those were toys! Thats was when pain and blood was part of the fun! Ahh, memories....
Mark Olejnik
1960
BIGLOUDGUY@aol.com
This memory was added on: March 2,2006
I burned my hand on Christmas Day with this toy. Even so, I remember it fondly. It was cool. Funnny how many toys of that period had "dangerous" parts. That would never happen in today's "we must protect kids from themselves at all costs" world...
LR Morris
1963
lrmorris03@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: March 2,2006
I can't believe I found this site. This was one of my favorite toys as a kid. I remember playing with it for hours. I have specific memories of the yellow-green winged dinisaur that after squeezing it back into the cube, its features got distorted and it stayed that way. I have described this toy to several of my friends who thought I must be nuts since no one remembered this. Thanks for making me realize Im not crazy!
Donny
1961
donny@sarrettcreative.com
This memory was added on: February 23,2006
This toy brings back wonderful memories of a simpler time. The biggest thing I remember was the burning smell of plastic when heating the squares. I think I got mine in 68 or so. Squares really never crushed completely to squares again. Great site!
Dan
1959
This memory was added on: February 23,2006
I think it's neat to find so many from my generation who experienced the same as I did. Little did we know we would be remembering the good times. I got mine at Christmas which was a reason to put my monster trading cards away. (Remember those?) I seem to remember the plastic cover breaking or cracking first. God knows where my STC machine ended up. For that matter, what happened to all those great 60s & 70s toys? Did anyone ever melt the green army men in them for kicks? Between my STC machine & sisters Easy bake oven, who worried back then we could burn the house down with these items. We didn't! Wasn't life great then! No worries except, was the new Gi Joe gonna talk? Or are the batteries gonna run dead on my Big Bruiser Tow Truck! I only wish the STC machines on ebay were as cheap as they were back in the 60s. Good Times in a Washington DC suburb!
Dan
1959
This memory was added on: February 23,2006
Gosh, I loved this toy when I was a kid. I was really into dinosaurs for one thing and the "time machine" was so cool. It's amazing how dangerous this toy was in retrospect, but I never got hurt or burned. However, I could never get the figures to compress back into a perfect cube. The mummy and the octopus were cool, too. I remember getting it after midnight mass on Christmas morning and playing with it until 4:00AM. My Mom kept it (and other toys) sealed in boxes, so I recently discovered that I still have it. Cool for me, bad for my wife.
Al
1959
chanal2@earthlink.net
This memory was added on: February 14,2006
I remember I got my "Strange Change Time Machine" from my grandma and grandpa at Christmas 1971. It was the best present I have gotten to this date. I still remember going to the local Ben Franklin store to get the new blister packs of creatures. They would never allow a toy like that to be on the market today. It was very hot to the touch, and they don't trust children today like the 60's and 70's. Either way, it was a pleasure reliving old memories of my "Strange Change Time Machine."
Gary Giller
1961
gkg1961@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: February 8,2006
OH MY GOD!! For years I thought I was dreaming this toy. Found it here and swear to god, I started to cry. For years i've been describing this damn thing to everyone I knew. NO ONE remembered. Everyone told me I was making it up. I never had one, but my buddy did, and we played with it forever!!!! A little part of my life has been redeemed.
Karl
1963
This memory was added on: February 6,2006
Here's how you make a perfect cube again:
Heat and squish one the best you can. Then bake it again, just when the monster has fully expanded into it's normal form, it is at just the right temperature to squeeze into a perfect cube. The Orange seem to do best. Don't bother with the green they will just burn...Does your T-Rex have a burned nose too?
I went on about this toys for years, until my wife finally got me one off Ebay last year. I too remember the day I got mine and never met anyone who recalls this toy. Still no other toy had such an impact on me.
John
1962
This memory was added on: February 5,2006
My older brother got one of these for Christmas the same year I got the "Silver Knight". I loved my knight but I could'nt wait for my brother to go to school so I could play with this. I always got busted though because I wasn't strong enough to crush the figures back into little squares before they cooled off. We often used the plastic mountain scenery for our army men.
Pete S
1963
Pete Szczepanek@accessbusinessgroup.com
This memory was added on: January 29,2006
Playing with this toy is one of my earliest childhood memories. I was probably five years old when I received it as a Christmas present. Never could get the monsters properly squashed/melted back into "cube" form. Does anybody else think the cubes looked like Starburst Fruit Chews? I kept the half-formed brontosaurus in my plastic dinosaur collection for years after we discarded the machine. I guess our dog ate the other monsters. He had a liking for plastic soldiers, which ended up as green feces on the garage floor.
Robin Kalhorn
1965
kalhorn@sbcglobal.net
This memory was added on: January 9,2006
This was one of the greatest toy packages of all time, and like many of other posts I actually remember the day I got it. Can't say that about very many toys. I, too, was the only one I've ever known that had one. The Strange Change creatures were really psychedelic, another cool factor. I agree that the Vietnam era had the coolest toys compared to other periods. My kid's favorite viewing choice is to watch vintage toy commercials (although I have not seen a TV commercial for Strange Change), and if you will collect a few titles off eBay you will see how the explosion of imaginative toys echoed the cultural and musical evolution. Be prepared for a fabulous memory trip. Like some other posts, mine quit working, and was discarded without my consent. I, too, eventually lost the creatures, although the spaceman was a long time companion through my childhood. I begged my father to take the thing to a repair shop to no avail. Now I know it can be easily repaired replacing the heating element from an electric clothes iron (which can be readily obtained separately). The one I bought off eBay a year ago had been refurbished in that manner, and anyone can do it themselves with no trouble. The smell of this long lost toy working was a nostalgic nirvana well worth the fifty dollars I paid. So obscure, so long past, it was in some ways like visiting someone long departed. My 6yr old son loves Strange Change. It is at the top of his growing collection of "sixties" toys and games, some of which are available new. eBay is a wonderful tool for retrieving old toys, music, shows, etc. Thanks for the website, and posts.
Joel L.
1964
zilahararian@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: January 5,2006
I remember this toy well. My dad worked for the company that designed it - interestingly a wire and cable company, not a toy company. We were sworn to secrecy on the principle (which I will still honor), but it is the same principle that heat-shrink tubing (designed for wire insulation, but used for many things)uses.
We rarely used the heating chamber, preferring boiling water, heat gun (for the heat shrink tubing), or even matches whatever was the handiest. We did use the compression chamber, or even a vise.
Yes, you could get burned, but we have worse things in our houses now (curling irons, etc.). You just needed to use a small amount of common sense.
I should dig some monsters out of my parents house and show them to my kids. They will find them just as fascinating, and probably understand (and not fear) how they work.
1957
This memory was added on: January 4, 2006
Oh how I remember the Strange Change. I worked for over 30 years for Raychem the manufacturer. It is amazing to read that so many thought it hazard from the hot surfaces. How did these persons/children cope with stoves/ovens in the kitchen and much hotter light bulbs all over their homes. My four children lost interest when we watched the first man land on the moon as we sat on our patio with a small (our only) TV out there with us. We assumed this toy was eclipsed by Space Travel.
Frank LaFetra
1929
computerman3167@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: December 24,2005
Wow, I have thought about this toy every year at Christmas since I had kids 20 years ago, wondering what their "Strange Change Machine" memory would be from their childhood. My younger brother got it for Christmas, but was never really interested in it. I played with it all the time and can't remember what happened to it. I loved it. I have never met a single person who had one of these or even had heard about it, I thought we were the only ones. If I could buy one today my kids would be getting one tomorrow morning for Christmas, burnt fingers be damned!!!
Karren
August 30, 1961
This memory was added on: December 15,2005
I was at a school today, and smelled something that took me back to my childhood. It was the smell of melting plastic! It must have been a laminator, but I immediately was sure that a dinosaur was emerging from a plastic block in a hidden back room somewhere. My big brother was the proud owner of a Strange Change Machine. I was VERY fortunate if he allowed me to either put the block in place or remove it once the fabuous creature was revealed. I suppose I was Igor to his Dr. Frankenstein. What he DIDN'T know was that when he left the house, I snuck into his room and went crazy! Don't tell!
Janis
1964
This memory was added on: December 4,2005
Like many of the others to add to this, I too have encountered strange faces when telling about this "dangerous" toy. In clearing out and rearranging a storage closet downstairs I came across my old time machine so I just had to Google it. It seems most of us just can't forget that smell of the heating plastic. I still have 7 of the creatures and I'm just going to have to crank that baby up to show my kids now. Christmas 2005 will smell like Christmas 1968! Good thing I still have those nifty blue tweezers so I don't burn my fingers again!
Andy Bruchmann
4/27/1961
abruchmann@shaw.ca
This memory was added on: November 18,2005
I remember in the 3rd grade, a boy named Kirk thought i was the coolest girl because I had the coolest toy in my bedroom, and he would come over every day after school just to play with that toy! I would love to have this machine again, just to smell the melting plastic again, wow those were the best days of my life1
Clare
10-20-61
seawaters61@aol.com
This memory was added on: November 18,2005
When I would tell the people I currently work with about this toy, they would look at me as though I were one of the creatures that emerged from the plastic cubes! They are all my age or older, so I found it hard to believe they had never heard of this fabulous, fabulous toy. Of all the toys I've had during my childhood, this is the one I loved (and miss) the most! I was so thrilled to find this site because finally I was able to prove to everyone that this was NOT a figment of my imagination! Ah, the memories - the smell of melting plastic, the blisters on my fingers from grabbing at the creatures while still hot, the thrill of crushing them back into a block of neon colored plastic only to melt them all over again! Thanks for giving me a chance to venture back into the best days of my life, my childhood!
Maureen
8/6/61
cilibertom2@scranton.edu
This memory was added on: October 24,2005
Ill never forget waking up christmas morning 1968 I was 7 years old thats the day i got the coolest toy of all time, the strange change toy the lost world. Ill never forget the smell of the melting plastic as I watched with excitement the creatures I was making come to life before my very eyes. There i sat in my globe trotter pajamas playing for hours destroying my creatures only to bring them back to life again.For sure some of the greatest memories of my life.I only burned myself a few times..lol
sal
10/21/1961
jader61@aol.com
This memory was added on: October 24,2005
By far the greatest toy ever, i rember playing for hours making my creatures watching them come to life in their chamber,only to destroy them later and turn them back into the blocks they came from.The smell of the melting plastic is one ill never forget.It was the first gift i opened on christmas morning and i dont think i opened another gift for 5 of 6 hours.A toy that will always bring me great memories of being a child in much simpler time.
sal
10/21/1961
jader61@aol.com
This memory was added on: October 4,2005
I had one for Hot Wheels. I loved to melt crayons on it, also. This was so fun...but probably THE most dangerous American toy, ever.
Brian
03/26/63
Jerseystitch@iwon.com
This memory was added on: September 24,2005
A strange toy indeed! Someone gave one to me after they bought it used, probably from a garage sale. Most of the parts were there - and I remember a pteradactyl and a t-rex the most. This was such a dangerous toy - after burning myself one too many times my mother took it away and hid it. Or was it because I put other items on the heater to see if I could crush them too? Not sure - but it was an accident waiting to happen. Fun while it lasted!
Bill K
1969
thekalmars@comcast.net
This memory was added on: September 11,2005
LOVED THIS TOY !!!!! My alltime favorite. I do have a question tho. The one I had and dug out of the Basement has a broken heating element. does anyone know how to fix it, or heck, een how to get into it??!!??
thanks in avance - GNO
Gene M.
1961
nordicguyinla@aol.com
This memory was added on: August 7,2005
I was a major developer of this product. Last week I visited one of the production facilities where the Strange Change Machine was first developed. The visit prompted me to look on the Internet to see the extent of interest. It suprises me that there are so many memories and so much interest nearly forty years later.
I can’t forget, as the mechanism behind the change from a plastic block to a recognizable shape has been used and still is in many technical products. The profits from this product allowed me to take time off from my industrial job and go back to school to obtain my Ph.D.
Currently, I’m considering developing even stranger products!
This memory was added on: July 23,2005
Finding this site brought back a flood of memories. I wasn't the owner of one these but my uncle had one as a kid. Every time I spent the day at my nana's house she would let me play with all of his old toys. I remember that smell like it was yesterday, I played with those things for hours, I got lost in it and loved it. Uncle Rick, if you ever read this thanks for the memories!
Mike P.
1973
mikep280@excite.com
This memory was added on: July 9,2005
Wow! I found it. I could not remember the name until I did a 70's search and took a sidetrip down a couple links. It's 1969 all over again popping wheelies on my Sting-Ray with the 3 foot sissy bar and the ace of spades held on the rear with a clothespin. Going into the local head shop's blacklight room and drooling over Easy Rider and the smily peace sign. I admit, I was another Dr. Frankenstein with this toy. What better thing to do when it was pouring rain outside than create monsters in your bedroom and sniff that unforgettable odor of melting plastic.
Then after they are brought to life Igor helps you throw them in the deathvise and crush them back to where they came from. I must have the most vibrant imagination on this planet because I can still remember saving up my $12.40 from mowing lawns and (oops) stealing change from my dads change jar to save enough so I could walk in and plunk down my money for this coolest of the cool toys. It took me about 2 months but I finally saved up enough, rode my stingray to the shopping mall and excitedly rode the 3 miles home.
My friends could keep their spiderman toys, u.n.c.l.e. spy gear and their rupp mini-bikes. I was styling with the Time Machine. A candy apple red paint job and what looked like flyscreen inside I fired it up within minutes of arriving home. "Land Of The Giants" was coming on in 15 minutes but I ignored Steve, Melanie and company so I could become a mad doctor. 10 years old then. It seems like yesterday. All the adults were talking about Midnight Cowboy. Even the 11 y.o. kid next door with the QA-50 and the mom to die for said this was the shiz. I traded him time with Strange Change with time on his QA-50 and summer swims in his pool when his mom was out in her bikini.
I was 10 and I knew that thing was hot as hell and not to put my fingers on it. No safety sticker needed here. Strains of Mrs. Robinson fade out slowly........ Political correctness and efforts to prevent anything more traumatic than spilled oatmeal start to surface. Where o where did those times go. I feel sorry for today's kids and their sugar coated toys.
Mike W.
1959
This memory was added on: May 17,2005
I had one of these. it was great! my favorite toy from childhood. I've always loved dinosaurs, and that's why I wanted one. thirty-five years after I got it, I remember it fondly. I still tell people about it. it's great to see that so many others loved this toy as I did. it's good to see I'm not the only one who wishes he was still a kid! I sure remember playing with the plastic dinosaurs & oddities while they were still (almost) too hot to touch, and the smell of (almost) burning plastic. And the joy of smashing them back into cubes (almost). I believe the only toys I ever enjoyed more were hot wheels cars, but that was because my older brothers would actually play that with me. But today they both agree that the Mattel Time Machine was the COOLEST toy I ever owned! Too bad the heating element had a limited life...mine stopped getting hot one day....and it was almost a year before I let mom throw it away, it took a couple more years to loose all the figures....what a great memory. I'm happy to share some of it with all of you.
Paul
1962
undisclosed
This memory was added on: May 17,2005
I am so glad I found this web site. I could not think of the name of this toy but I KNEW we had one. I remember the smell. I remember the mattel stamp in the crusher. I remember that after a while, the plastic wouldn't quiet squish back to a perfect square. A tiny piece would stick out. I was so worried that I would never be able to remember the name of this toy. I LOVE THIS SITE!
Sue
1955
suzyque_74@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: May 15,2005
This was my all time favorite toy. I was one of those kids that loved shows like LOST IN SPACE and VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, so this toy was right up my ally. My favorite monster was the one with the big eyes and webbed arms thats displayed in the background on the front label. I also remember the robot with the claw for a right hand and a shovel for the left. It was a great and dangerous toy.
matt
1961
This memory was added on: April 22,2005
A fantastic toy, and yes, I do remember getting burned. Not badly and it was worth it!
My only frustration was that you couldn't squish the creatures back into perfect little tiles like they came from Mattel. There was always an uneven edge or two. But still grand fun.
John Raines
1960
jvh@gnomonsystems.com
This memory was added on: March 13,2005
This was the BEST toy when I was growing up! It's neat to tell my kids about the plastic squares that became dinosaurs in the time chamber. Boy, kids these days miss out on the best stuff. All they have is electronic junk!
deb
1957
singnwuff@aol.com
This memory was added on: February 8,2005
So great to read all the enthusiastic accounts below! I LOVED my Strange Change Machine. I can still remember the yellow robot figure, the hot plastic smell, the joy of squishing the things back into a cold solid tile. Alas, I left mine plugged in under a blanket and the circuit must have fried! Thank God my parents house is still standing... I still can't believe how ridiculously and hilariously DANGEROUS this toy was (in direct proportion to its coolness).
Michael Jacobson
1969
michaelj44070@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: February 7,2005
Oh my Freakin GOD, I was worried that I was hallucinating, and that this was never a toy I had....I spent hours just heating and squeezing those little plastic dinosaurs...and I recall the press had a "Mattel" logo too....yellow and green dinos, and it took no brains to keep my hands out of the chamber.....WHEEEEE!
Quentin
1964
qag1964@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: January 1,2005
I too loved this toy, burned myself as well in the process. I remember Mom had bought extra packs of monsters that she kept put away for me for a rainy day. I don't think she ever gave them to me nor did I ever ask for them. Kids...go figure. I wonder what happened to mine?
Alan T
1959
atrudelle@comcast.net
This memory was added on: November 30,2004
The Dinosaurs! The prehistoric diarama! This was definitely one the must-have toys for us, the pioneering geeks of our day :)
Pete D.
1962
pdipas@adelphia.net
This memory was added on: November 27,2004
A great toy I remember Christmas morning and Santa bringing me the Strange Change Machine. we had huge snow drifts outside and my Dad had to go down to his store. I played all day with this wonderful toy. I really liked pressing two or three monsters together... I think that's how I broke it!! I liked the green one eyed creature the best...
Joe Ruggieri
1960
ruggieri@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: November 14,2004
Boy was I jealous of my cousin! He had one but we couldn't afford one when I was a kid. I had to put the squares in boiling water to make them grow.
Warren
1963
snowsnake76@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: October 21,2004
One of my favorite toys as a kid. Thanks for this site..brings back a lot of memories. Like a few others I couldn't remember the name but sure enough remembered the Mattel stamp and the plastic smell....even better than new car smell.
Steve A.
1965
albe1@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: September 25,2004
This was an amzing toy! I thought the Thingmaker and Vacuform was great! The great time machine cubes made with 'Memory Plastic'! I'll tell you, I wish Mattel was still coming up with the super toys that they had around in the 60's!
After putting the plastic squares (emblazoned with the Mattel logo) in the Heat chamber, after a few minutes the cube would begin to spring open revealing a dinosaur, monster or robot. Then, after you played with them for awhile, you could reheat them, and re crush them with the crusher mechanism built right into the heater.
You can find them on Ebay, and they're not too expensive. I'm just waiting for the right one to pop up!
Andy H
1959
This memory was added on: September 5,2004
My Grade School friend had one of these. We used to "hatch" and "re-compress" the creatures over and over. This was a application of Plastic With a Memory. The silicone-based creatures were bombarded with an electron beam which caused "cross-linking" in the molecular chains. When cool, the links were static, but when heated up the links became "loose" and allowed the plastic to re-form to it's original shape. I believe the Shrinky-Dink process is the same, and is what lead to a lucrative market in the electrical industry with Shrink-Tubing.
Douglas
1957
DEEDOTmoorsATattDOTnet
This memory was added on: July 30,2004
This was a great toy. Spent lots of time creating things and smashing them back in to blocks. Wish I still had it.
DENNIS
1963
dennyjean@juno.com
This memory was added on: July 6,2004
I was browsing EBay for some other “Time Machine” model from the old movie and came across this "Strange Change" AKA "Time Machine" and immediately reminded me of a lot of my old toys but first I remembered the Smell of these Strange Change Squares cooking! Also the wonder of the fact that they would squish & reanimate, so many times. I loved watching them grow as much as making them back into squares I know. I broke it some how by taking it apart. I took everything I ran across this back then HECK I still do. Then I came across “Thingmaker” “CREEPY CRAWLERS” which much to my surprise you can still gets 2 different versions of that & all kinds of “Goop” on Amazon! They even have the Glow in the dark kind. I ordered one TODAY! Any way I also got Intellivition on eBay. Then I was just looking around how much Mattel shaped my youth!!! And how I look at things today...
Billy Kapp
1962
Retrotoys@billkapp.com
This memory was added on: June 16,2004
I was also trying to think of the name of this one. I ended up breaking ours by melting down an entire pack of 69 Crayola crayons inside. Then my brother beat me up.
Todd Shaw
1964
whammo@seznam.cz
This memory was added on: May 11,2004
oh yes i loved to spend my sunday afternnoons playing with this toy i can recall many fun times that myself and my best friend jon played with this wonderful toy
Tabek
1967
gdf@aol.com
This memory was added on: November 7,2003
This was the single greatest game of my youth, and I had many...Do contemporary games require any such imagination?
Adam
1963
wma114@msn.com
This memory was added on: October 1,2003
My friend had one and I could never remember the name of it. This was one cool (or hot) toy!
Stuart
1962
This memory was added on: August 27,2003
I remember it seemed to send up a distinct smell, a combination of a heated coil and warmed plastic, you only noticed if you put you face above the top. My neighbor had one and we also crushed assorted objects in the vice / cube maker.
1964
This memory was added on: July 12,2003
I played with this thing til It damn near wore itself out! God, I miss those days.
HeyJoe
1964
This memory was added on: June 11,2003
What a fantastic toy! I spent many a rainy day in my bedroom "teleporting" these colorful monsters.....I remember the yellow skeleton the best....I think I inherited mine from my older brother....I miss the 60's and 70's....
Al Rothfuchs
1965
arothfuchs@houston.rr.com
This memory was added on: June 5,2003
Thank god I stumbled upon your site. I had this toy and remember it distinctly but could not, for the life of me, remember what it was called. It was very cool the way the creature would unfold into existence. Yes, it was dangerous and I burned myself like others have mentioned. Still, it was nothing compared to the burns I received from the Thingmaker molds. Yowsa! Molten plastic!! These were the sacrifices we made for our art.
Misha
1955
michael_mckinlay@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: May 13,2003
I wonder if this was similar to Shrinky-Dinks? We had these all over the place.
Doug Lebo
1964
drmluvr32@aol.com
This memory was added on: May 12,2003
Yep, I had one of these too. I remember it being a little dangerous, and I burned myself a few times. If you did not watch out, you would burn the plastic too. I remember a few times leaving it on over night. I guess I was lucky the house did not burn down! But in retrospect, it was a very cool toy. I wish I had kept it.
Karl Tomecek
1961
ktomecek@bellsouth.net
This memory was added on: May 9,2003
Boy I was jealous of the kid down the street who had this one. Electrically operated, the "Vaccuform System" would heat up plastic squares about 1/3 the size of a Hershey bar. The squares came in a variety of colors and when heated they would expand and take the form of a Dinosaur. Once you "created" the dinosaur you could then heat it up again and put it into the chamber in front of the toy which had a crank to the side. By turning the crank you could "crush" the dinosaur back into the squared shape and start all over again.
joseph c. kuhar
1960
jkuhar@chooseabs.com
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