COMEBACK KIDS

We often come back to the idea of “retro-tech” on this page – because we just can’t get enough of it. Re-issues or redesigns of classic gadgets will always hit those nostalgia buttons, and the trend of resurrecting old formats and platforms is really skyrocketing right now. Here’s a roundup of the best out there.

Anbernic handheld retro game emulator

Imagine a Nintendo Gameboy (this looks very similar) that has 3,000 classic games already pre-installed! If you’d told any child back in the ‘90s that this would one day be possible, their mind wouldn’t have been able to process the idea. Mine still can’t – yet here it is in real life. The maths adds up though; the memory of one of those old Tetris or Sonic the Hedgehog game cartridges is so tiny compared to a modern SD card that you can fit thousands of those games in one. For under a hundred pounds, with modern colour screen and battery technology to boot, that’s astonishing – and scarily addictive!

£79.99, Amazon

Tamiya Grasshopper RC buggy

Every middle-aged dad will remember the world-dominating Tamiya remote controlled cars of their youth – yet not all of us could afford one at the time, nor did many of us have the patience or skill to assemble them from their kit form. Well, here’s our second chance. New for 2023 is the reissued Grasshopper – a classic shape we’d all remember – but, of course, benefiting from today’s improved battery life, better motors and more durable plastics. Buy it as a bundle deal to get the battery, motor, controller and kit in one go.

£150, Time Tunnel Models

35mm Camera

The rapid advance in quality and functionality of phone cameras has commoditised photography, to the point that it’s now too easy to make your shots look flawless. Quite rightly, the backlash has flared up, with the new generation of creative people declaring this boring –and embracing the flaws, risks and complexities that their parents’ generation had with 35mm film photography. With a film format, every shot costs time and money, which forces you to learn skills, techniques and patience. The results, when done well, are all the more satisfying. This Kodak Ektar H35 is an attractive beginner’s option, plus film is about a tenner a roll.

£49.99, Jessops

Tangent CD II

All the kids have got record players nowadays and the bounce-back of the vinyl format has been great news for music lovers and record shops alike. Next in line for a revival is the only-recently-declared-dead compact disc. That’s also great news given how flooded the market is with classic albums on CD for pennies and the sound quality and tactile collectability of the format is attractive to a new generation of fans. This stylish, compact and robust Tangent CD transport plugs into your hi-fi separates system and looks and sounds fantastic.

£159, Richer Sounds

By Oliver Chesher