Micro Machines

Thought Micro Machines had left you for dust? Then think again. Not only are these nifty little toys still very much available to buy, but if you delve deep down the back of the sofa, you may just find one, as that's where they used to go missing back in the glory days.

Micro Machines really were very small, measuring no more than a a few centimetres in length. And that was the appeal! You could easily sneak a pile of your favourites into school via your coat pocket. If you needed to transport more than that - for a trip to your friend's house possibly - there was a "lorry" available to buy in which you could park your Micro Machines. For those kids lacking in the imagination department (were you one of them?), you could also buy dedicated Micro Machine playlets. These included a factory and a racing test track playset, plus one that transformed from a truck into a jungle. Yep, the 90s was all about Transformers-esque changes.

The range of toys was manufactured by Galoob (now part of Hasbro) in the mid-90s as the original scale component machines. You may remember the TV ad for the Micro Machines, which featured the talents of the world's fastest talker, John Moschitta Jr.

It wasn't just cars that were included in the Micro Machines range, you could also get trains, fire engines, tanks, boats, aeroplanes, helicopters and motorbikes. For a while there were even Star Trek Micro Machines, Power Rangers, Indiana Jones and James Bond designs. And a more revolutionary move was the launch of the Insiders range, which featured Micro Machines with another, even smaller Micro Machine inside it, colour-changing cars that turned a new shade when they were left in the sun and models that made noises when you pressed them. Wowzers!

Micro Machines withstood competition from other miniature marvels, including Hot Wheels toys and Matchbox models (which were larger). And for a while outsold their competitors to be the largest selling toy car line in the US. They even got chosen to cameo in 1990 hit Christmas movie, Home Alone. In the film, Macaulay Culkin's character Kevin releases loads of Micro Machines at the bottom of the stairs as a hazard to the burglars in his family home. And as most Micro Machine owners will be more than aware, stepping on one of these little lovelies was always enough to cause a few expletives and a tumble to the ground. Ouchy!