Tuesday, December 1, 2015

When (Fictional) Worlds Collide

I had intended to post the November 1978 issue of Women's Day magazine last month. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to, but I would be remiss if I didn't publish at least this article. It's a guide to building your kids a playset to go with their "spage-age" figures.  Please tell me someone's parents built them this awesome set.



I love the combined play action of Kenner's Star Wars figures with Mego's Micronauts and vehicles used in these shots.  I even see a dog and a cat thrown in there.  That was the way I always played with action figures.  It didn't matter if they were Mego Comic Action Heroes (DC or Marvel), Micronauts, or random figures out of a gumball machine.  Scale didn't matter either.  I made due. They all combined to create my universe.



The first image as separate pictures so you can see some better detail:



I never had store-bought playsets or anything as cool as this.  The best I did was gluing some Styrofoam packing pieces together  and combining with assorted cardboard boxes, but it was enough. Man, I spent some hours imagining great adventures.
at

15 comments:

  1. Bob JohnsDecember 1, 2015 at 10:23 AM

    I would almost build it now!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wings1295December 1, 2015 at 4:00 PM

    Never saw this before, but it is awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  3. 2 Warps to NeptuneDecember 1, 2015 at 5:51 PM

    There were specifically Star Wars-themed playset designs in a 1980 issue of the same mag. I've only found one photo showing one of them built by a mom (of course) for her kids, as seen in this post:

    http://2warpstoneptune.com/2013/02/26/womans-day-magazines-star-wars-playset-designs-1978-1980/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TomDecember 1, 2015 at 9:31 PM

      Thanks for the link, 2W2N. I'll have to look for that 1980 issue. And how cool is it to see one actually built?! Way to go, Mom!

      Delete
    2. JTMarch 18, 2016 at 2:16 AM

      Why of course? Seems a pretty Dad thing to do...

      Delete
  4. Lady MDecember 1, 2015 at 10:23 PM

    Nope - we built our space stations out of blocks of wood.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Deadpan FlookDecember 4, 2015 at 5:39 AM

    I would have loved that as a kid! In fact I'm tempted to get my nieces and nephews round to help me build one now! I remember covering my mum's sofa in masking tape one time back in the day, creating a futuristic roadway for my Micro Machine cars....

    ReplyDelete
  6. Don CAugust 29, 2019 at 8:13 AM

    I never built this.... always wanted to though. I DID build the Mego Supercity. (It currently fills my living room....)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TomAugust 29, 2019 at 4:26 PM

      Pictures or it didn't happen! Seriously, I'd love to see it!

      Delete
  7. Don COctober 4, 2019 at 6:17 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Don COctober 4, 2019 at 6:19 AM

    Say! I CAN show some pics! (Being only semi-computer literate I forget how to do stuff sometimes....) I do a podcast with a friend, and we did a custom Mego episode. There are some pics of Supercity mixed in here:http://obeythedna.com/podcast/dna-podcast-010-twisted-robot-mego-chicken-theatre/

    Don C.

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownJuly 20, 2020 at 3:00 PM

    wow This Stuff Came Out For A Year Before I Was BORN I Bet This Is WORTH A CHUNK OF $$$$!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TomJuly 21, 2020 at 1:24 PM

      That's a good question, Unknown. I'm not sure about the collectibility/value of homemade playsets, but I'd probably buy one if I came across it.

      Delete
  10. benestro138July 20, 2020 at 5:32 PM

    I remember seeing this and coveting it profoundly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TomJuly 21, 2020 at 1:25 PM

      My mother didn't buy these magazines unless it happened to be a special Christmas issue, so I don't recall ever seeing these. I had to make my own out of Styrofoam packing and cardboard.

      Delete