The PoP! Stars give their take on the latest and greatest in Action Figures and Toy Lines in eight (succinct) parts.

Hot diggity, we love playsets. In this latest installment of Badass Playsets, let’s take a look at the remaining Muppets playsets (the spectacular Swedish chef set was featured in volume 1). Unfortunately, the line was canceled after five playsets, so we’ve got to add some more awesomeness to round out our eight, but that’s okay. It’s all good stuff. Let’s dive in.

Muppet Labs with Beaker - First off, these are Palisades toys, so you can count on amazing attention to detail and spectacular paint quality and a mountain of accessories and playability. Muppet Labs is no exception. The clear chemistry set display, textured walls, moving levers and just amazing paint apps on all the “metal” components make this one an absolute gem. It’s amazing for the first set made in the series. It comes with a couple of experiments to torture Beaker with and everything gels with the accessories from the Bunsen figure (sold separately, of course), but also includes a gorilla detector, so it’s not without its own accessories. I always get a little misty when talking about Palisades, and this is why.

Snake Mountain from Masters of the Universe - The old school MOTU line was riddled with vehicles and playsets and the like and while this one looked almost nothing like its cartoon counterpart, it was still pretty rad. It had a terrible voice changer, plenty of cool rope bridges and booby traps for everyone’s favorite nearly nude cartoon star. Plus, this one’s from back in the day, so this sucker had two sides, meaning you could play on the inside or outside of the dungeon, depending on your mood. Also, like its do-gooder counterpart, it folded up for storage, a rarity in toys of any era.

The Electric Mayhem Stage with Animal - This thing is, in a word, bitchin’. It’s got a full drum set, stage lights, speakers and everything else you need to get your felt rock on. The rest of the band can of course adorn the sides and complete the effect, but Animal is the star of this set (much like the band. Sorry, Dr. Teeth). Not only does he peg into the stage behind the drums for awesome displayability, but he’s got an articulated jaw… and articulated EYEBROWS! As an action figure, he’s got a full range of emotion on his friggin’ face! It all works perfectly with the set to complete the experience.

The Technodrome from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Maybe this qualifies more as a vehicle, but given the fold-out nature and all the action features, I’m calling it a playset. This thing was a veritable torture chamber for your poor turtles. There was a holding cell and plenty of protruding guns and such and a spinning thingamajig for the turtles… Because apparently turtles hate to be spun around or something… I don’t know. Regardless, this thing rocked. The trash chute, launching eyeball all bring back fond memories and if you had one of these as a kid, you were more than likely the envy of all your friends.

Pigs in Space with First Mate Piggy - Straight out of the “Swine Trek” bit on The Muppet Show, this set is kind of ridiculous. First off, it of course includes seats for the entire crew (including the Link Hogthrob and Julius Strangepork figures sold separately), so there’s points there right off the bat. All the levers move, the doors open, the consoles swing about, the view screen in the back is customizable (there were 6 or 8 included in the box), and the sides of the set were on hinges to allow for a greater display area on the floor depending on how crowded the bridge was when you set it up. It’s everything it could possibly be and is therefore made of concentrated awesome.

The Tower of Doom from Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars - I tend to forget that this line existed, but it did. And it had a sweet playset. This one is another two-sider, giving you the option of both laying siege to and attacking from the Tower of Doom. There are three levels with a lift, a swiveling command chair and a really sweet door trap/cell thing that might just be the best of its kind. I’m no fan of Marvel Universe figures, but I dare say those little bastards would actually work really well with this thing if you can track one down on eBay. It’s usually not that expensive and the figures were close enough in size to their modern day counterparts that it could give a really neat effect.

Backstage at the Muppet Show with Rowlf - This was the last playset released in the series since the line (and company) was in its death throes by 2005. This was the biggest and most expensive of the Muppet plasyets, but it was worth it. It had THREE levels with stairs leading to each appropriately and all the detail you could ever hope for in a set like this. There were plenty of accessories and what’s more, tons of pegs to house the other accessories the Muppet figures came with. It’s backstage, after all. Where better to store the props?

The Enterprise Bridge from Star Trek (2009) - This thing is the mother of all double-edged swords. Just look at it. That’s a seriously involved display for a playset. It’s got the floor (via a vinyl mat) and everything. There are multiple consoles and display screens. It’s a serious impressive piece. But the actual playset comes with hardly any of that. Compare the final set with what actually comes in the box and you’ll want to puke just a little. All the surrounding consoles and extra displays are pack-ins with the single-carded figures in the line. With this move, Playmates took the build-a-figure concept and shot it full of enough venom to cripple a dozen Batmen. So yes, the display is amazing, but wow, the execution is lame beyond words. Sure, you’ll want a crew to fill those seats, but you might not want everybody. Well you do if you want the full now, don’tcha?

Thus concludes another entry in our ongoing Badass playsets series. Check out volumes 1, 2 and 3 for more plastic houses that rock socks.