What a fantastic review. Thanks for this! I too had a great time with these sets as a kid. My fisher price castle was assaulted many times by the forces of evil! Not sure why I remember those times so incredibly well but misplace my phone regularly!
I loved those playsets! The fantasy playset was everywhere during that time period, but often overlooked or not discussed. They had a ton of imagination and playability. Thanks for watching!
Yes! The box art is really one of the best things about this type of toy. I need a T-Shirt or Poster of the art from the Fantasy Fortress Playset. Gotta make that happen! Thanks for the comment.
My older brother had one of those playlets which eventually became a hand me down but I don't remember which one now. And then one year for christmas I got a stocking full of a bunch of those figures. Held onto them for quite a while even used them for D&D settings when I got into playing when the 90s rolled around.
It seems that a lot of folks used those old playsets for D&D settings throughout the 1980s and well into the 1990s. Makes a lot of sense. It was a cheap and easy way to pad our those hordes too. My kids got a How to Train your Dragon and a True Legends version of this kind of playset back around 2015, so I guess this kind of thing is still being produced in some form or another. Makes me feel better knowing that they are still out there doing their thing. Thanks for watching!
A truly excellent and well researched dive into the time where Sword & Sorcery and Fantasy ruled the lands..! And the toy isles..! BRILLIANT video, my dear Sir..!
Yeah! Sword & Sorcery is my jam. I never had any of these sets as a kid; low-income family and such. But hey, I make up for it today by owning a metric ton of D&D miniatures, terrains, and props.
I had Dragonriders of the Styx. I was surprised to see it was 18.99 in that JC Penny catalogue which means my folks dropped a pretty penny on it (in 1980s dollars).
Absolutely! They were bridging a gap between 80s toys and the older Marx type toys. The last hurrah of those big, complex playsets. I love the aesthetic, though.
Man,can you imagine finding one of those cardboard playsets that's basically untouched so you could scan the printing and make new ones on card stock? Be pretty awesome.
@@thelittlethings3309 Well,first,you have to find one. Then you have to scan it. And you have to see if anyone owns the copyrights. Good luck with that. But a lot of old toys are available as 3D printer models so who knows?
The owner of the fantasy toy soldiers blog is selling off his collection (or part of it?) On eBay, has been for a year or so now. Hr has literally hundreds of complete in box/bag of these playsets. They ain't cheap though
Nice video. I just sold off my remaining Warriors of the Galaxy stuff on ebay a few weeks ago, loved those guys as a kid. I still remember the convenience store I found them in way back when. They weren't sold carded though, at that point, they were offering 20 or so of the figurines (with weapons) in a clear bag with cardboard header, bargain-store style.
I used to love those cheap bags of figures when I was a kid. They were sold just about everywhere, in any kind of store. I also remember also getting those as prizes at carnivals and fairs as a kid too. They were cheap and not well made, but I thought they were great. I still do. Thanks for watching!
The interesting thing about sword and sorcery for creators is that it's firmly rooted in mythology and fairytales, stories that are in the public domain. Nobody can claim concepts like wizards or dragons.
True. And I love seeing the roots, origins and evolution of the fantasy and sword and sorcery stuff that we all love today. It is always interesting to see how it is all tied together through time. Thanks for the comment.
My nephews discovered my Dragonriders of the Styx playset in my mom's basement (buried there for years), and it's now their favorite thing to play with when they are at grandma's house. "Where's the dragon? It shows a dragon on the box." "Uh, I have no idea. I haven't touched that thing since I was like 12." BLATANT LIE. The dragon from that set sits on my desk in my home office, like the prize that it truly is.
You did the right thing. They can't enjoy it on as many levels as you can 😉. I know this, if I still had that dragon, it would be on my desk right now too. Well, at least the next generation is getting quality time with some great toys. Raise 'em up right! Thanks for watching!
Also @21:54 that skull head at the top of the mountain really reminded me of a certain aesthetic from some castle playset that was I guess kind of popular around the 80's. If only I can remember what it was called...🤔😉
Man, did Castle Grayskull show up again and again or what? Or at least homages to it. Seems like nearly every tower, castle, mountain, etc. had to have a skull effigy on it in the 1980s. Thanks for the comment!
That's a good one. No, it is not quite the same in my mind as it was considered more of a Table Top game, BUT certainly it could have been included. And it was pretty fun. It was a little bit playset and a little bit game. Also, I am trying to keep the time down on these videos. They keep getting longer and longer. 😩 There were several sets that I wanted to include, but decided that they fell more into the game territory. I will add Crossbows and Catapults to that list. I guess I am just going to have to make a video on the table top games too. Thanks for the comment!
Great video just recently i purchased a Gargoyles board game that comes with small scale figures a 3d version of New York just subscribe excellent video
I always wanted those Dimensions for Children playsets, but never got them. I blame the satanic panic and bad publicity of D&D. My mom refused to let me have anything with a dragon, sorcery, or dungeon in the name of it lol.
Yeah. My parents were pretty good about that stuff, probably due to being "unaware" more than anything, but I had several friends who had varying degrees of toy restrictions that included D&D toys, or He-Man, or even Smurfs! Darn those dark sorceries!
True dat. The stuff tore like tissue paper, and if it didn't tear, it crumbled under the slightest pressure. That is why these things are rare. They survivors are like delicate Faberge Eggs, but worth so much more. That, and the intrinsic value of the art itself. Tre magnifique.
Ironlords were cool, but since they were basically "grocery store rack toys," they're somewhat hard to find now. Plus I know it's later, but 1991's Heroscape board game was awesome. I never liked it when there were no female characters because even when I was a kid I thought that having nothing but dudes is...well....that word is bannable.
Those fantasy "board" (maybe tabletop) games were great and there was a real renaissance of them in the early 1990s. That was another great era for this kind of stuff with a feel and style all its own too. Just gotta appreciate the stuff in reflection of the time period it came out in. Thanks for watching!
I get 5 cents for each reference. Peter Jackson himself delivers the money to my house personally and thanks me. He says that I am single handedly keeping the memory of LOTR alive. He is going to present me with a medal next Tuesday at the Tolkien estate, and parade me around town dressed as an Ent. Of course you are invited. See you there!
