Modified pocket heroes batcave

[BrianAlbright]

This thing is sitting in a box at my parents' house, otherwise I'd post a picture, but I got a 3/4" playset as a kid that I have since discovered was a slightly modified version of the vacuform batcave from the Pocket Heroes line.

I think it came out of a Sears or Penney's catalog. It has a solid top half (no batpole), and the cage door has been replaced by a solid door that says "explosives." There''s a table in the middle, with some little chairs that went around it, and some tiny green cannons that you could set on top of the thing.

It was marketed either as knock-off G.I. Joe playset (I used it as Cobra HQ), or maybe it went with the Remco Sgt. Rock/Bad Guys line. I can't remember.

Anyone know when this came out, or who it was sold through? It's clearly from the same molds as the Batcave set.

I think it came in a brown mailer box, too.

I'll probably be selling it here after Christmas, but I can't remember for the life of me exactly where it came from.


AND HERE ARE THE LONG-AWAITED PHOTOS. Not the "Dimensions for Children" copyright on the plastic mat at the bottom. I've used a 3 and 3/4" inch scale Infinite Heroes Question figure to show you the sizes. Anybody else remember this?

http://megomuseum.com/mmgallery/files/1/1/6/9/cave1.JPG

http://megomuseum.com/mmgallery/files/1/1/6/9/cave2.JPG

http://megomuseum.com/mmgallery/files/1/1/6/9/cave6.JPG

[palitoy]

I've never heard of that before but it sounds totally logical. I'd love to see it before you sell.

[Captain]

Where the table and chairs vacuformed too, or were they from the Fortress of Solitude playset?

I recall something similar to what your discussing. It didnt use any Mego parts that I recall, but it was similar in look to what you mention, and was sold as a generic "Base Station"...something like that. It was grey, with green and red accessories that included a canon, a flag pole, and some sand bag bunkers....dont remember what else? The packaging was a white box with a label attached showing the playset. The picture featured Star Wars figures in the playset.
The ones I saw were sold at a drug store chain in the early eighties (perhaps even a bit before the 3 3/4" Joes)...at least here in Calgary. I want to say it was the old Boots drugstore...but it might have been the short lived Big M store.
No idea who built it, but it was the kind of stuff HG Toys or maybe even Timm Mee might have produced?

[ThatBatmanGuy]

I've never heard of that before but it sounds totally logical. I'd love to see it before you sell.

Yep, love to see a pic.

Bob

[BrianAlbright]

I should be able to put something up after Christmas.

The chairs were vacuform, but the table (if I remember correctly) was molded right into the floor of the playset.

The play set is brown, and has the same floor "tile" pattern as the bat cave set. That's what originally caught my eye in the photos of the batcave.

The only other pieces that came with it were those little green cannons, which look like they would be more at home in a bag of little green army men than with 3.5" scale action figures.

I think it would have appeared in a Penney's or sears christmas catalog some time between '82 and '86, which would have been the peak of my action figure collecting days.

[starsky]

did you get a chance to snap some pics of the batcave?

[BrianAlbright]

The photos are up -- anybody else remember this thing? It kinda, sorta resembles the batcave for the pocket heroes, but not quite.

Dimensions for Children made those Dragonriders of the Styx playsets, which came with similar plastic mats.

[Captain]

Hmmm, except for the coloring, and the flag pole, this does look a lot like the set I recalled above. The year of 1981 is about right. The cannon sure looks the same, and the flagpole and sandbag bunker did kind of look like they were robbed from a plastic army men set as well....Interesting.

[BrianAlbright]

My memories are a little hazy, but I either got this just before the G.I. Joe headquarters was released, or just after because I wanted to use it as a cobra headquarters. That would have put it in 1983 or 84. I'm pretty sure it wasn't '81, but these things could have been floating around for awhile.

The cannons definitely were used in DFC's military playsets for small plastic army men. They also sold sets with vacuform mountains.

We definitely purhchased this out of a catalog, though.

[MegoMark71]

i am racking my brain trying to figure this thing out. I swear one of my buddies had this.

[BrianAlbright]

Hmmm. Maybe I'll register over at the YoJoe forum and see if anybody over there can I.D. this thing

[MegoMark71]

I really don't think it's gijoe but maybe someone there can id it. Iv'e been going there for years but like here i never registered

[BrianAlbright]

A poster over at YoJoe has one, and says it came from the 1982 Penneys catalog. It also had a set of stairs, that I think I vaguely remember. Apparently another member over there also has one, and says there were variations in the plastic terrain mat that came with it.

[MegoMark71]

okay so i was wrong..lol

[BrianAlbright]

Well, it wasn't really Joe, but it was pitched that way. Someone posted a copy of the catalog page. It's a bit small, but you can see the playset surrounded by G.I. Joe Vehicles. I'm hoping someone has a better scan of the page so we can read the text...

Knock-off headquarters - anybody recognize it? - YoJoe.com Forums (http://forums.yojoe.com/showthread.php?t=66469)

[BrianAlbright]

Now up for sale in the marketplace folder, if anyone is interested...

[tmthor]

I have one I am almost positive it came from JCPenney (I got it from a relative that worked there) It was marketed for 3 1/4" lines. there was an instruction sheet that said it fits most GI Joe, SGT Rock, Star Wars & most other 3 1/4" action figures. also the box is a plain brown box w/no art on it