It’s MY fault if you’re weak willed?
Been there. Done that. For years. 
When I was in high school I finally sent away for the Edmund catalog, but I received one from American Science & Surplus instead. I visited their store a lot when it was on NW Highway.
[Slight hijack]Edmunds got out of the science toy business several years ago, sadly. My brother worked there at the time selecting items for their catalog, and he said it was the best job anyone could ever have.
Sadly, when Edmunds went out of the science toy business, he was let go. However, he did open his own science toy store called Spectrum Scientifics. If you like American Science and Surplus, you might want to check his store’s web site out as well. [End hijack].
As for me; when I was a kid I wanted armies of marvelous toy soldiers. I had a book called The War Game, which featured recreations of famous battles (Thermoplayte, Agicourt, Waterloo, etc.) using model soldiers. I read that book to death - was so glad to find a copy at Half Price Books a few years ago that was in decent shape.
Now, I do have armies of painted toy soldiers. Admittedly, they’re elves and skeletons and knights instead of grenadiers and fusiliers (I play Warhammer Fantasy), but they’re mine, and I love 'em.
Gaah! Curse you, too!
I really have fairly decent powers of will, for most stuff, but this sort of thing is my Kryptonite.
chuckles I’m only 21 so i just barely meet the “adult” aspect of this thread, but…
Soft things. Growing up, I could NEVER have enough pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, and whatnot. I only had one pillow and it annoyed the hell out of me 'cause I like to sleep with my head on one and my arms wrapped around a second.
Now, my (twin) bed in my on-campus appartment has:
- Four Standard Pillows
- One King-Size Pillow
- Four Throw Pillows
- Four blankets, including a comforter, a fur throw blanket, a fleece blanket, and an electric blanket.
- 1200 TC Sheets and Pillowcases
- 15 Plushies/Stuffed Animals. One Fox, ten Wolves, three Bears, and one Tiger that is almost as long as I am tall.
I love my bed. There’s almost enough room in it for me!
And now your problem is finding enough pillowcases.
Actually, Edmund Scientific never totally got out of the science toy business, they just split into several divisions, one of which is Scientifics, located here.
This shows the various divisions of Edmund Scientific.
A pool. My own pool. In my own backyard. A real, in-ground pool, not some lame above-ground pool. I don’t have a slide or a diving board, but still, it’s my own pool. It’s not heated, so I really can only swim in the summer, but every time I look out the back patio door and see my pool it makes me happy.
A drum set. When I was a kid I wanted to play the drums, but my mom wouldn’t let me. Not sure why–might have been too expensive, too loud, not enough room, or all of the above. Now I have an acoustic drum set (currently in storage) and a Roland electronic kit that I never play because I’m always playing WoW. But I know it’s there when I want to get back into it again.
Also cats. We had cats growing up but they were always “outside” cats and they never lasted long, unfortunately. My mom claims to love cats but she’s lousy at taking care of them.
Now I have five sweet, loving, pampered indoor-only kittehs who snuggle up to me and purr and do all those cool cat things. They also puke on the rug, but you can’t have everything. 
As far as things I wanted as a kid that I don’t currently have but wish I did: a secret room in my house, an underground hideout, an elaborate treehouse, or a Three Investigators-style hidden trailer “headquarters.” Any of those would be nifty, but highly unlikely.
I remember seeing an ad for a house for sale in Washington one time that had basically a missile silo underground, hidden (it was a whole multi-level complex). Man, I wanted that house so bad.
A red corvette. I can still recall my almost 9yr old self watching this blonde zip in and out of traffic in her new red corvette convertible, while we chugged along in our boat of a station wagon. I told my mother that I was going to have a car just like that lady (she told me as long as I didn’t do what that lady probably did to get it, it was fine by her - that took a few years for me to decipher).
My 1973 Red Corvette (alas with t-tops) is sitting in the garage. Sure it needs brakes, doesn’t have a working locking system, could stand some new tires, and there’s that pesky oil leak - actually every thing that contains any sort of a liquid substance leaks. But I feel like a kid on Christmas morning when I drive it around the neighborhood with my red hair flying out the top.