The 10 Greatest Playsets of All time

[Mesa]

My favorite playset from one of my favorite movies... ROBIN HOOD: Prince of Thieves.

Is this set really the same as the ewok village or did someone just pose star wars characters???? I know for a fact that this set belonged with Robin Hood. I had everything (set, weapons, characters). Just wondering if it also was a duplicate for SW.

good observation GC. Actually, pretty obvious once you pointed it out.

Edit: I figured out the difference. The Ewok Village is post Vietnam era after the deforestation due to Agent Orange.

 

[Captain Faramir]

Holy flip! My brothers had this playset! It was so cool, and HUGE!!! I thought nobody else had even heard of these guys - glad I was wrong!

 

[ascend1.0]

Did anyone ever have the DeathStar playset that was made of cardboard, with a few different plastic bits holding it all together. It was in the shape of a half shere. You could stuff all of the figures downa shute into the trash compactor and then simulate it closing. And the droid factory was cool even the only reason fo having it was to have a three legged R2.

 

[McHavyck]

wow, had a few of these (including the Death Star).

anyone else remember the stupid foam things that went in the compactor that was supposed to be garbage?

Did anyone ever have the DeathStar playset that was made of cardboard, with a few different plastic bits holding it all together. It was in the shape of a half shere. You could stuff all of the figures downa shute into the trash compactor and then simulate it closing. And the droid factory was cool even the only reason fo having it was to have a three legged R2.

yeah, i got it for Christmas that year.

 

[Shropt]

They forgot the Technodrome from TMNT!

Not only did they finally make the coolest set from the TV series, but it even had a place in the back to connect it to the Turtles Sewer playset.

Man this thing kicked butt as a kid.

 

[bcm77]

Another playset worth a mention is the Tardis interior from the Character Options Doctor Who line.

 

[Grange Wallis]

The Ninja Turtles 80's Sewer set was awesome, as was the Van and blimp!

And the 89 Batman Wayne Mayor/Batcave set... This is the best photo I could find...

 

[galactiboy]

Edit: I figured out the difference. The Ewok Village is post Vietnam era after the deforestation due to Agent Orange.

But, yes another example of cost cutting by Kenner

Super Naturals had a cool playset and there was also the Ghostbusters Firehouse:

 

[-Super Hans-]

This was fun for awhile, but you needed hardwood floors.

this was a great game. I used to customize the men with piss poor paint jobs

 

[Anzik]

My all time favorites were the micronauts. Combined the best of action figures and Legos.

 

[Darth Waller]

It's official. According to the box, we collect dolls, not figures.

 

[sladesuperagent]

I'd hafta disagree with with the shoddy Mego playsets on the list. Yeah, they carry value, but only b/c they were made of cardboard b/c it was the 70s and plastic was made of petro and America was trying not to make things of plastic then. I've had all the G.I. Joe playsets and the Terrordome is waaay cooler than the USS Flag. And the Death Star playset at one?!?! The Terrordome was 3X the toy that hunk of junk was. COBRA!!!!

 

[Anzik]

The Mego sets were cheap but as a kid that opened them up, they were awesome. They were the precursor to everything that would follow so they get extra points for being first.

 

[sladesuperagent]

The Mego sets were cheap but as a kid that opened them up, they were awesome. They were the precursor to everything that would follow so they get extra points for being first.

Actually, Mattel was laminating colored cardboard for Barbie before Mego even existed. So, no points for being said pioneer, just points for being cost effective. Also, the Mego FZ playset was used over and over too, just re-colored to match whatever line it went with--just like the Ewok Village and Robin Hood.

 

[NASEDO]

 

[Anzik]

Actually, Mattel was laminating colored cardboard for Barbie before Mego even existed. So, no points for being said pioneer, just points for being cost effective. Also, the Mego FZ playset was used over and over too, just re-colored to match whatever line it went with--just like the Ewok Village and Robin Hood.

I disagree. They can be considered pioneers because the toys marketed to girls were always very different than those marketed to boys.
This list is going to be highly subjective because what makes a toy great depends on who is playing with it. I was born in 1967 and those 'shoddy' mego sets were the first BOY toy sets available. GI Joe had cool accessory packs like the undersea adventure, jeep and helicopters, but it wasn't until Mego used the smaller 8" figure that action playsets became practical. The evolution of the playset goes back to those days. Its easy to say that toys that came out 10-15 years later were better but they wouldn't have been there if not for the shoddy Mego company that proved they could sell.
Unless you were a kid in the early 70s when no had ever had a boys playset, you will never be able to understand how much it meant. It was just a couple of years ago that I got to see old Mego figures again and they are cheap and cheesy by todays standards but back then they were great in our eyes.
Unless your talking to a kid what value does any toy have except nostalgia.

 

[sladesuperagent]

IMO no Mego set should be on the list. Just b/c you were born before someone and just b/c there is a "Nostalgia factor" doesn't mean it was a great toy. It was painted cardboard, man! The older Joe stuff was intricate AND they did have plastic playsets later on with the Adv Team line. I'm sorry, but you can't call something a great playset when it looks like a painted shoe box b/c in that case my childhood sneakers were the Greatest Vehicles of All Time and toothpicks were the Greatest Swords of All Time. It was a cheap excuse for a toy b/c it was nothing more than folded up packaging. And if it's "cheap and cheesy" by todays standards--then it hasn't held up. Therefore, not Greatest of All Time.

I'll throw you these bones though--Mego was a licensing juggernaut for it's time--movies, tv, and music. And to put DC and Marvel characters together in one line would be UNHEARD of today. That's where they were pioneers--licensing. But they passed on the STAR WARS FRANCHISE! Mego might exist today had they not done that. And who knows? Maybe we would have had a cool, painted cardboard Millennium Falcon.

 

[Mondragon]

From the smaller scale to the biggest, missing the OGs ...

The first powerhouse in Playsets Marx: Yes they were toy solders scale, yet could be painted...






Adventure Team playset ....



Also can a mod fix all the broken image links in the first post?