By Rob Bricken in
Daily Lists, Toys
Wednesday, Jun. 25 2008 @ 5:08AM
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.
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36 comments
Comments
Zach said:
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.
Will said:
Wot no Ghostbusters Fire Station or Transformers Skorpinox which was both base and giant robot/scorpion tank?
Magical Shrimp said:
My 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.
Pipedreamergrey said:
Awesome! 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.
Jason Hembree said:
What about the Technodrome?
Ranchoth said:
What, 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.
Endroren said:
I 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!
cKHAVIKk said:
I am dismayed to see the lack of Dr. Doom's Secret Wars lair.
Peter Payne said:
No, 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.
Templar said:
Heh, 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.
Leah said:
The Ghostbuster firehouse was the best! I remember mine had a grate you could pour slime through onto any unsuspecting member of the ghostbusters.
Child of the 70s said:
I 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. :)
Polish Madman said:
Sure, 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.
eachean said:
Great 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!:
http://www.innerspaceonline.com/battlecruise.htm
Not sure if it counts as a playset, but it beat the hell out of that effin box.
PrfktTear said:
Where is the TECHNOdrome?
boozehound said:
ewok village was pretty badass as well
[URL=http://www.imagebam.com/image/474ece8322896][IMG]http://thumbnails.imagebam.com/833/474ece8322896.gif[/IMG][/URL]
Jesse said:
Very 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.
Since everyone loves to quibble, I'll note the lack of the M.A.S.K. Boulder Hill playset. Awesomeness all around.
Bob said:
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.
astrokender said:
That Castle Greyskull was so awesome, I played with all my toys in it. Including my My Little Ponies. XD
wurwolf said:
Man! 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.
dacalicious said:
Was really, really hoping to see the matt mason space station here!
"Starman" Matt Morrison said:
Personally, 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.
amp76 said:
No love for M.A.S.K.?
Anonymous said:
what about the gijoe uss flagg
Warren said:
Aw man, no love for the Fortress of Fangs either.
http://www.bigredtoybox.com/cgi-bin/toynfo.pl?danddindex
Nothing like smashing the unsuspecting adventurer with a wall of spikes.
Paul said:
Great list, and great site name! Just wondering why there's a picture of the Lego Death Star and not the Kenner one in the number one slot! Sure the Lego one is awesome and expensive, but let's see the Kenner one just for old time's sake.
joe said:
did someone remember a secret base or headquartes that was at the store in 1983,it was a kind of a mountain with its floors and divisions,i can not remember which name was,the little soldiers has a name about gold eagle or gold commando,
it was not the mountain of mask,but very similar in concept
i has been looking the exact name for a long time
thanks a lot
John III said:
I had the Star Wars Droid Factory. Loved it! My best friend had Castle Grayskull and the Death Star. The jerk!
John III said:
I had the Star Wars Droid Factory. Loved it! My best friend had Castle Grayskull and the Death Star. The jerk!
Keith said:
I wanted the USS Flag so bad when I was younger, but my damn parents wouldn't buy it for me.
Bersecker said:
My top 10 ever playsets are:
01-Gi-joe Uss Flagg
02-MOTU Eternia
03-MOTU Castle Grayskull
04-Robotech SDF-1 Playset
05-Gi-Joe Terror Drome
06-Batman Wayne Foundation
07-Star Wars Death Star
08-TMNT Technodrome
09-Thundercats Cats Lair
10-Police Academy The Precint
Bravo said:
Ewok Village deserves mention...not as good as the Terrordrome or Death Star by any means, but it did have a fire pit where you could roast Han Solo alive.
AD&D's Fortress of Fangs was fun, too. A spiked wall and falling axe for offing figures? A trap door to molten lava!
ghost busters said:
mego wayne foundation was a good play set even if it was mostly made of cardboard STAY PUFT
the precocious om said:
I still have 90% of the Droid Factory and bought my son that cool pre-school Marvel set. All the others I had to depend on friends to play with.
Also, I'm with Paul on number one, that's the wrong picture. The foam filled trash compactor Death Star was a tower shaped playset and decidedly not Lego.
the precocious om said:
I still have 90% of the Droid Factory and bought my son that cool pre-school Marvel set. All the others I had to depend on friends to play with.
Also, I'm with Paul on number one, that's the wrong picture. The foam filled trash compactor Death Star was a tower shaped playset and decidedly not Lego.
Todd j. lambert said:
I'm shocked ghostbusters Firehouse and Snake Mountian are Not shown, i own Snake mountain and castle greyskull today!
