The 10 Greatest Playsets of All time
Posted at 5:08 AM Jun 25, 2008
By Brian Heiler
Playsets do the impossible—they make action figures cooler than they are by themselves. Back in their heydey, a good playset could make or break a Christmas or birthday (unless you were that spoiled rich kid on the block, then I want to mention I still hate you), and could determine your popularity and how many kids wanted to come over for the next year. They prevented you from having to use your pesky imagination, saving time and effort. Alas, as time has passed and plastic has gotten more expensive, toy companies are making fewer and fewer playsets available to us (screw today's kids, we just want more ourselves) which is why we gratefully look back at the 10 greatest playsets of all time.
10) Planet of the Apes Forbidden Zone Trap
A post-apocalyptic city where intelligent primates trap lowly humans to possibly subject them to medical experiments?! You have to admit that’s all kinds of dark for kids to play with, especially in the 1970s. Mego didn’t stop there; two of the other Planet of the Apes sets had operating tables where the Apes could perform surgery on their human prey. Did parents in the 70s even pay attention to the sick shit that was going on?
9) Universal Monsters Carrying Case
Remco married the Universal Monsters with the pure goodness that is the 3 ¾-inch action figure in 1980 and also created a combination carrying case/creepy house playset that could hold all the characters. It was so cool to strap Frankenstein to his table and have Dracula rise from his crypt you’d forget the fact that it’s not likely these dudes would actually ever hang out, except in The Monster Squad (where it didn't work out so well).
8) Spider-Man and Friends HQ
Spider-Man and Friends are super heroics for the toilet-training set and while a smiling Hulk is perplexing, it doesn’t really matter. The Marvel heroes headquarters includes an elevator, search light, cannon and a really big slide. The world would be such a better place if getting out of our workplaces involved us yelling “Wheeeeee!”
7) Wayne Foundation
Bigger sometimes is better and Mego went all out with this four-foot tall skyscraper where Bruce could throw Playboy-esque parties and Batman could do his brooding thing in the Batcave. The wonderfully illustrated interiors pretty much cram every bit of Bat-lore in there, including Bat-Mite, his giant Tyrannosaurus Rex statue and the giant penny.
6) Droid Factory
Sure, it never appeared in the movies, but this original Star Wars set from Kenner took a page from Lego by allowing you to create and build your own droids, including a movie-accurate, three-legged R2D2. It doesn’t seem important in retrospect, but that concept was the coolest thing ever in 1979.
Comments
Ah, nostalgia, that blinder of men. No Muppet Show playsets by Palisades? The Buffy the Vampire Slayer library from DST? The Batman: The Animated Series Batcave/Wayne Manor playset?
I won't even get into the absence of the U.S.S. Flagg, which, while meant to look like a vehicle, is not really movable in any way once it's set up, thereby making it a playset.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 06:24:44 AMWot no Ghostbusters Fire Station or Transformers Skorpinox which was both base and giant robot/scorpion tank?
Posted 06/25/2008 at 06:45:06 AMMy fiance had the U.S.S. Flagg AND the Defiant space shuttle, the lucky bastard. Probably has something to do with the fact that he was the youngest of 3 and the only boy.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 07:19:43 AMAwesome! I had some of these, and I have to say that while Castle Greyskull was great, you weren't really having fun until you paired it with the Snake Mountain playset! After all, Skeletor has to have some place to plot.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 07:45:46 AMWhat about the Technodrome?
Posted 06/25/2008 at 08:03:06 AMWhat, no love for the Mad Scientist Monster Lab (http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/monsterlab/)? Heresy!
I mean, how many other playsets gave you the *godlike power to create life and death at a whim?* Why, I can almost smell the heady aroma of Monster Flesh™ and feel the squish of Living Ice under my fingernails, even after all these years.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 08:17:10 AMI have to give both the Terrordrome and the Death Star marks for something they really weren't designed for - expandability.
We picked up two extra terrordromes at garage sales over teh years. Each one stacks neatly on top of the one beneath while still offering access to the side panels. The end result is 3 1/2 feet of total Badassery.
Same with the Death Star. I started getting Star Wars toys for Christmas the year the first movie came out and over the years I ended up with four Death Stars. They all fit nicely side to side making the mother of all Star Wars playsets. Soooooooooo cool!
Posted 06/25/2008 at 08:41:11 AMI am dismayed to see the lack of Dr. Doom's Secret Wars lair.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 08:51:11 AMNo, no, the COOLEST toy line w/ playsets was the Mobile Action Command line of Matchbox toys, this was the baddest thing in the world. The ship, with its ability to take other vehicles. The "Arc II" style yellow truck that could also carry a separate vehicle. I had so much fun back then. I have managed to track down a pretty full set but still need that yellow truck again.
http://www.plaidstallions.com/matchbox/mac.html
Posted 06/25/2008 at 08:56:06 AMHeh, I still have the Terrordrome and the U.S.S. Flagg, plus a couple of Mobile Command Centers and the Command Center Headquarters. Used to have the TMNT sewer playset and a couple of Ghostbuster firehouses as well (the firepole/rotating ride of death never got old), but my parents sold them when I was ten.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 09:24:15 AMThe Ghostbuster firehouse was the best! I remember mine had a grate you could pour slime through onto any unsuspecting member of the ghostbusters.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 09:46:15 AMI think you did a great job with this list, Brian.
I COMPLETELY forgot about The Droid Factory. Yeah, I wanted that in the worst way as a kid...but, never got it. :(
The Universal Monsters Carrying Case was AWESOME! Probably one of my favorite toys as a kid. How I wish I still had my Universal Monsters...
Your pick for number one was perfect. The Death Star playset was a MUST HAVE in 1979. For me, it was all about the trash compactor...very cool. :)
Posted 06/25/2008 at 10:08:16 AMSure, make fun of all the foam in the Death Star's trash compactor. But you have to remember, they used huge quantities of electronic parts in the construction of that sucker. And there were always glitches to be fixed and upgrades to put into place. All of that foam packing had a REAL purpose for being down there.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 10:28:54 AMGreat list. I loved playing with the droid factory and Castle Greyskull over at my rich bastard friends' houses. All I had was a cardboard box and a pile of rocks (which was awesome), oh and this little surprise on x-mas that blew me away, the Mirconauts battle cruiser!:
Posted 06/25/2008 at 10:59:00 AMhttp://www.innerspaceonline.com/battlecruise.htm
Not sure if it counts as a playset, but it beat the hell out of that effin box.
Where is the TECHNOdrome?
Posted 06/25/2008 at 11:19:55 AMewok village was pretty badass as well
[URL=http://www.imagebam.com/image/474ece8322896][IMG]http://thumbnails.imagebam.com/833/474ece8322896.gif[/IMG][/URL]
Posted 06/25/2008 at 11:32:21 AMVery nice list; I only had Castle Greyskull as a kid, but wanted nearly everything else on this list. Why is it that now that I'm 29 with a fairly comfortable income, I STILL can't afford most of this crap? Much less have a place to put it. Sigh.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 11:41:48 AMSince everyone loves to quibble, I'll note the lack of the M.A.S.K. Boulder Hill playset. Awesomeness all around.
I'd have to agree with your choice for number one but not the version - the Palitoy cardboard Death Star was amazing, right done to the mirrored section on the middle that made the chasm go on forever:
http://www.geocities.com/starwarstrader_nz/deathstarplay.html?200825
I'd also have to back Peter Payne on the Mobile Action Command line. I was so keen on the mountain playset that I made a carboard version before I got the real thing.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 12:39:54 PMThat Castle Greyskull was so awesome, I played with all my toys in it. Including my My Little Ponies. XD
Posted 06/25/2008 at 12:53:05 PMMan! No love for the girl toys? I remember thinking my friend's Sweet April playset was the most awesome thing ever. I also got a LOT of enjoyment out of my Fisher Price barn and castle sets. I didn't use the people that came with it, just the animals.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 01:36:01 PMWas really, really hoping to see the matt mason space station here!
Posted 06/25/2008 at 02:42:32 PMPersonally, I'm shocked that Snake Mountain didn't place. Sure, it lacked the trap door... but it came with a microphone that let you sound scary as all get out.
Not to mention Eternia - which made my life as an eight year old and now makes me curse the heavens as I sold my whole He-Man collection for 30 bucks at a garage sale when I was 13.
Posted 06/25/2008 at 04:20:07 PMNo love for M.A.S.K.?
Posted 06/26/2008 at 01:39:29 PMwhat about the gijoe uss flagg
Posted 06/26/2008 at 03:50:00 PMAw man, no love for the Fortress of Fangs either.
Posted 06/27/2008 at 11:41:29 AMhttp://www.bigredtoybox.com/cgi-bin/toynfo.pl?danddindex
Nothing like smashing the unsuspecting adventurer with a wall of spikes.