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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:46:34 AM EDT
When I was growing up, we had a small party store (AKA "convenience store" to most people) that always had these little toy Paratroopers for sale. They were about 5 or 10 cents each.
They were cheap plastic like typical toy Army Men & had a flimsy, string held, cheap plastic parachute on their backs. They'd end up lasting about a dozen tosses into the air before their 'chutes broke. But it was pretty fascinating to a young lad 5 to 8 years of age. I recall getting paid a quarter from my grandfather for walking down to the store & buying his cigarettes (back then you could send a kid out for cigarettes if you supplied him with a note from home). I'd usually skip right over all the baseball cards, Reggie Bars, & other assorted candies and head straight for the parachute jumpers. I'd stand out in either my grandmother's or my front yard (we lived a block from each other), tossing them in the air just as long as they remained intact. Man, that was one of the highlights of a summer day back then. Inside watching TV? Unheard of! Everyone & their brother spent the entire day outside - from after breakfast until the sun started to go down. Home was merely a mandatory pit stop for meals & an immediate first aid clinic for bumps and scrapes. And the majority of your life was spent on a bicycle. But dang, I sure did enjoy the heck out of my Army Men. The toy Paratroopers were a special bonus! After their parachutes eventually failed, they typically met a dreadful end battling the regular sand pile Army Brigade. It was always the flame thrower guy who would put the finishing touches to their demise - complimented, of course, by a box of kitchen matches. I guess the parachute men lost their public appeal somewhere down the road. I never see them in convenience stores anymore. I can't even recall the last time I saw them (other than in pictures). Here's a pic I found on the internet: 
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:49:21 AM EDT
[#1]
Many of them took trips off my porch to fight in the grass below. Loved em.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:50:11 AM EDT
[#2]
IIRC< there is a hole in their back, supposidy to pack the 'chute in.
God! I DO remember these! |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:51:00 AM EDT
[#3]
many trips up and down the stairs
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:51:12 AM EDT
[#4]
Sure. Fun stuff.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:51:28 AM EDT
[#5]
Better than that: we used to take our GI Joes and make our own parachutes for them. We'd toss them up 50-75 feet then try to shoot em with our BB guns on the way down.
 Man. That was fun. CMOS |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:52:02 AM EDT
[#6]
They snag easily on dogwood tree branches.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:52:46 AM EDT
[#7]
Oh man does your post bring back momories of all the fun we had as kids.
Outside all day ( unless it was raining buckets) cold weather was no problem. On the bike everywhere. Plastic army men of all kinds, massive distruction always involved fire and fireworks. And the parachute men, we used slingshots to get extra height. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 8:55:25 AM EDT
[#8]
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:00:39 AM EDT
[#9]
Loved those little guys...only i think I was too rough with them cuz their lil chutes would always rip shortly after purchase....
 poor guys never had a chance
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:20:37 AM EDT
[#10]
I'll bet there are still some of those in a box at my parents house. I may have to go and dig them out the next time I get home.
Many memories of these toys. Some of mine didn't make it though, there was a horrible napalm attack once or twice!  Then the enemy artillery (.22 LR) would be firing at them too.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:21:12 AM EDT
[#11]
Yup, I spent a lot of time with them.
But does anyone remember the goofy looking parachute guys? They were like little trolls or something and much better quality, and I believe that came with a cheap slingshot for launching them real high. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:24:20 AM EDT
[#12]
You could make new chutes from plastic garbage bags, kite string, and tape.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:25:24 AM EDT
[#13]
I loved them when I was a kid. I tossed one off the roof of a 27 story dorm building when I was in college.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:25:47 AM EDT
[#14]
Oh man I loved those things!!!! I ended up getting on the roof of my house to throw them even higher!!!!!!
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:26:17 AM EDT
[#15]
You mean the ones with the screaming faces and the goggles - in different colours? I used to slingshot those little bastards out of the fort/treehouse/sniper perch when I was little... |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:27:01 AM EDT
[#16]
They have no guns, are neon, and are chinese paratroopers.  I could go for some dark green army men paratroopers. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:27:52 AM EDT
[#17]
I've got a Curious George parachuter.
I give it a toss once in a while. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:34:20 AM EDT
[#18]
We used to make 'chutes out of large trashbags for our G.I. Joes......then got out the bb guns.....poor Joe.
Also used to take model ships and line the hulls with metal from pop cans.....and have our own Naval wars .......again..with bb guns. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:36:39 AM EDT
[#19]
I gave my son two for Christmas. He loves them although one has a twisted set of lines and won't fly right unless you take the time to untangle him and what 10 yr old boy takes the time when its attack or else time!
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:37:20 AM EDT
[#20]
Yeah, that was them.. (I don't know why I thought trolls) but yes, they had goggles and screaming faces. We also made a lot of parachuting rocks when I was a kid out of handkerchiefs or pieces of cloth, string, and of course rocks. ETA: The best (Or worst depending on your PETA status) was the parachute I made from a surplus flare chute, small dog harness, and my cat. We had an office building in our area that was shaped like a right triangle  It was 3 stories tall and you could just walk up to the top. My cat made a few trips off there untill one trip the shoot didn't open very well and we started feeling bad for the cat. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:39:30 AM EDT
[#21]
<----- Feeling old.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:41:57 AM EDT
[#22]
Maybe the same thing, maybe not, but. Those I remember were rubber sport jumpers in a variety of goofy poses. The ring wasn't necessarily on top of their heads. I like those the best, but never had more than a couple. Anybody remember the parachutre you could send away for your GI-Joes? You could pack the chute and it had a little ripcord/plastic pin. You'd pull the pin out so the chute could open. It strapped onto the 3.5" GI-Joes. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:44:50 AM EDT
[#23]
+  = Used to get my dads ladder and throw em off the roof of my garage. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:44:54 AM EDT
[#24]
Those are too big. These are closer, and cheaper. But I agree, they are too neon and too unarmed. Bring back the green army men. And fix the molds. The last bag of green army men I saw looked pretty crappy compared to what I had as a kid. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:45:09 AM EDT
[#25]
Those were the good 'ole days. I can barely remember them now. I played with those parachute men and styrofoam gliders that I could get at the local general store along with candy, BB's and a pack of hooks. I wish kids could grow up like I did.
Everyday during the summer seemed like it would go on forever. Every morning I would get up get on my bike and head for the river or the pond. Catch snakes, lizards, gig frogs, fish for bass and catfish. I am grateful to my parents for protecting my childhood. Kids are exposed to too much stuff this day and age. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:45:12 AM EDT
[#26]
Same thing, the more you describe them, the more I remember what they were, and they are what I was thinking of. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:45:40 AM EDT
[#27]
+1 Now the kids need PSP and such or they're bored.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:48:53 AM EDT
[#28]
The ones I had were probably second generations... no rubber band or anything, just a cheap chute and string to hold it all together. Many combat jumps were made. Even taped two onto my lego spaceship to have a nice controlled decent.
Unfortunatly the wind took it to the left and missed the landing zone. Spent the rest of the day picking up the millon and a half peices and rebuilding my ship. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:51:10 AM EDT
[#29]
The root of my BRD
Not parachutists, but what I think of when I think green army men. Toy Story had a parachute version of them. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:51:51 AM EDT
[#30]
They remind me of captainpooby. Or captainpooby reminds me of them. Whatever.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:52:56 AM EDT
[#31]
I spent every summer with my grandparents in a small town in NE AZ, and from the time I was about 11 my brother and I would just walk out with our 22's and a Huge crowbar. We would make the 2 or 3 mile hike up to the top of Flat Top mountain and shoot anything we saw. We would also use the big crowbar to roll big boulders down the side of the mountain, watching them tear out trees and bushes on the way down. Or building rafts and floating down the Little Colorado river, fishing, and dragging home frogs, toads, salamanders, and snakes. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:55:56 AM EDT
[#32]
Yep, sure do remember those.
IIRC the parachute was plastic.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 9:56:58 AM EDT
[#33]
I'm glad I could stir a few memories. It sounds like a lot of you have some decent stories to tell.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 10:02:48 AM EDT
[#34]
I miss my youth
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Posted: 1/7/2006 10:06:07 AM EDT
[#35]
I vowed never to leave it. Life got in the way - some good, some bad. I'm trying to get back there now. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 10:07:07 AM EDT
[#36]
I still do that. On some tracts of land there are areas that are really steep and rocky. Sometimes I can coax a boulder to roll down the hill. Last year I found this one rock that was huge. I figured all it would take was a little help to roll. Well I laid on my back and pushed the rock with my legs and off it went. It was haulling ass down the mountain taking out trees as it went. I laughed myself silly.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 10:08:48 AM EDT
[#37]
Do you ever have to spank him too? |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 10:09:46 AM EDT
[#38]
+1 I just saw a bunch at the arcade in the mall last night. Damn...brings back memories. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 10:10:01 AM EDT
[#39]
Whoa, talk about a sudden rush of memories.
I swear those where my FAVORITE toys growing up. I scaled large tree's just to acheive more airtime with those things. I remember, my mom bought me a couple packs of those every year for my stocking stuffers. Ah yes. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 10:16:13 AM EDT
[#40]
Man I just found one of them the other day when I was cleaning my basement. Took him out but his parachute has some kinda oil-like substance on it and I tore it when I opened it. So his last fight was into the bonfire.
I see them all the time in those cheap dollor stores, try lookn in one. (maybe by the birthday stuff) |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 10:24:39 AM EDT
[#41]
We became pros at it, I learned about "Mechanical Advantage" and perfected our fun by using the 5 foot long crowbars and sometimes a small truck jack. I was just a kid and I owned the damn mountain. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 1:44:01 PM EDT
[#42]
Used to be in an ad in the back of comic books. Something like 99 cents for 25 of them. I remember mailing away on many occassions then waiting the 4-6 weeks, looking in the mail every day for them. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 1:49:01 PM EDT
[#43]
My son and I still plays with 'em!
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Posted: 1/7/2006 1:59:42 PM EDT
[#44]
Yep, bought some poopa troopers a couple weeks ago. They're great off of tall parking garages.
They're about a $1.00 for a 4 pack at Fred Meyers. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 2:13:05 PM EDT
[#45]
Hey im 19 and I loved those things as a kid! I loved to experiment with different cute packing techniques. Hours and hours of running up and down the stairs. Good times! |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 2:28:22 PM EDT
[#46]
Believe it or not we use those Fred Meyer packs to potty train our daughter. Every time she pooped she would get a Poopa Trooper. We have a two story house with an interior balcony. Great for Poopa Trooper drops. The Museum of Flight in Seattle sells them for about 45 cents each. |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 2:29:47 PM EDT
[#47]
I myself would set them on fire, then deploy the parachute.
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Posted: 1/7/2006 2:40:51 PM EDT
[#48]
Pretty creative. Did you think of that? |
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Posted: 1/7/2006 2:45:22 PM EDT
[#49]
Hell yes 82ndAbn!!! I use to have a few of those toy soldiers and would toss them out of my second floor elementary school window before lunch time. Great old memories and times.
 Thanks for the memories of my child hood days. 
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Posted: 1/7/2006 3:03:16 PM EDT
[#50]
Sort of. During the latter stages of her potty training period she had the urine part down pretty good but not pooping. One day she said that she wanted a Poopa Trooper and I told her OK, but that she would have to poop in the potty first. Sure enough the next day she did it. So for months we would take a pack of Poopa Troopers everywhere we went. If she pooped in a toilet she would get one. |
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