THEY’VE brought hours of fun and made ever-lasting memories.

Postings on social media of toys and games – especially those from down the decades – instantly trigger response from those of the original Connect 4 and Sega Mega Games generation.

They also prompt people to dash into their attics and dust off those prized possessions they’ve treasured from childhood, the likes of Action Men figures; Barbie and Sindy, toys predominantly kept to pass down the generations or, possibly, as a future investment.

According to Good Vibes, a digital lifestyle and money savings advice magazine for Sunny which posts about subjects such as online deals to budget living ideas, timeless toys - the original Rubik’s Cube and board games such as Hungry Hippos are going up in value compared with today’s techy gadgets.

And the irony is, today’s techy stuff is costly to buy yet plummets in value as soon as the next best thing comes along.

This is demonstrated by Good Vibes’ calculation of today’s worth of iconic toys from down the decades.

From the Seventies to the 00s, the list transports us back to those childhood play days while giving us a glimpse of how hanging on to certain possessions from our past can be a worthwhile investment with the potential to swell our pockets.

Of course, certain iconic toys are worth keeping if you want to watch your investment grow….

According to the Good Vibes list, original Star Wars figures can be worth 10 times their value, now fetching around £79.99.

The popular game, Hungry Hippos, originally worth £3.94 in 1978 can now be bought for £70 and Stretch Armstrong has seen the most significant increase from £8.37 in 1976 to £1,619.

During the Eighties, an era introducing us to the Sony Walkman, the original 1980 Rubik’s Cube is now worth 50 times its original price at £50.

Remember the Ghostbusters movie? Who can forget? A Ghostbusters Proton Pack worth £19.87 new is now worth £140 and the Transformers’ Optimus Prime could sell for £250, originally worth £16.

The rise of multiculturalism and alternative media during the Nineties saw the likes of TMNT figures, Tickle Me Elmo and Bandai’s Tamagotchi flying off the shelves.

Now these really are worth having considering that TMNT figures are now worth 165 times their original value of £1. Tickle Me Elmo has increased from £19.99 to £142 but the star of this list has to be the Tamagotchi which originally cost £11 in 1997 and are now worth £3,000.

Into the 00s the new millennium and the swell of social media brought us gaming consoles, Ninetendo DS, Xbox 360 and the PS3.

In comparison their values have dropped as next generation games replace them. Apple products in particular, such as iPad and 2007’s iPod Touch have seen values dramatically drop.

Manga-inspired Beyblades launched in 2002 for £5.99 would now sell for up to £130.

Keeping toys in their original packing adds to the investment.

Someone who has all the expertise when it comes to preserving bygone toys is Alex Samuel.

Alex runs the Ilkley Toy Museum in Whitton Croft Road, Ilkley. The museum contains one of the finest private collections of toys in the North of England.

Says Alex: “Obviously values are created by demand and collectors of toys quite often like to collect the toys of their own childhood so to some extent values move as the age of collectors changes.

“Star wars is such a huge brand there will be a big demand worldwide but many of those figure will be ‘collectables’ rather than toys.

“Have to say I was not aware that Hungry Hippos value was increasing !-but that game came out in 1978 so collectors are in their late 30s? and maybe reliving their childhood?

“Toys are no different to any other area of collecting so quality and condition are important for value but people should be buying them because they like them not as an investment.”

Among the toys showcased from down the centuries at the Ilkley Toy Museum are English wooden dolls; lead figures and wooden paper toys.

Imaginations are stirred by the colourful English working model fairground dating back to the 1940s. There are Fifties television characters such as James Bond’s action figure and Disney favourites Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and that all time family favourite, Mickey Mouse.

The Zoetrope, a device producing illusions of motion through swiftly-moving static pictures, explores early animation, while the Spot On garage and Newfooty game will remind young lads of the toys and games that occupied their time before computer consoles were introduced.

To find out more about Ilkley Toy Museum call (01943) 603855 or visit ilkleytoymuseum.co.uk.

For more information about the worth of iconic toys visit sunny.co.uk https://sunny.co.uk/good-vibes/40-years-of-iconic-toys-and-what-theyre-worth-now/