Posted By Dan Greenfield on May 14, 2020 | 2 comments

EXCLUSIVE: Holy Miss Kitka!

The Toyroom’s Anthony Durso has been doing a tremendous job cranking out custom Mego-scaled playsets — and we’ve had a blast showing them off to you here at 13th Dimension.

But there are certain sets that really hit that sweet spot for me, and this is one of them.

Behold, your EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK at the United Underworld Headquarters from the 1966 Batman movie:

Holy feline fatale — he even included Hecate!

“I still remember where our TV was when I first saw the Batman movie,” Anthony recalled. “I was probably in kindergarten or first grade and already an avid viewer of the 1966 TV series, watching it everyday in reruns. The feature-length film was brought to my attention by a classmate and I caught a showing on WOR-TV one weekend afternoon. Maybe it was The Million Dollar Movie.”

Anthony and I grew up at the same time and shared some of the same TV stations, but I wish I’d known when the Batman movie was on Channel 9. I used to watch it whenever it was on The 4:30 Movie on Channel 7, the New York ABC affiliate.

Either way, check out these other angles from the set:

“In the film, the Fab Four of Gotham villain royalty — the Joker (Cesar Romero), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), the Riddler (Frank Gorshin) and Catwoman (Lee Meriwether subbing for Julie Newmar) — schemed together as the United Underworld, headquartered alternately at their waterfront HQ and the Penguin’s Submarine,” Anthony, who is also a 13th Dimension contributor, added. “And while the sub has been a popular request for a displayset, I thought I’d get my feet wet first with the dockside hideout.

“The hardest part was trying to keep this from looking like a dollhouse with its fancy chairs and tables and couches. And although I did some preliminary work that included those elements, I eventually just scrapped the furniture aspect. The decor was an odd combination of garage sale chic and villain-specific elements, which I expanded on a bit from what was shown in the film.”

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A few thoughts:

— I’m first on that list of folks who want a Penguin Submarine playset, but you can bet your sweet bippy I’ll be buying the United Underworld (adding to my Wayne Foundation/Batcave and Joker Ha-Hacienda). Or maybe I’ll put it on my Father’s Day list. Hmmmm. (By the way, wanna see the original Penguin Sub prop? You definitely do. Click here.)

— In case you’re just dropping in. Anthony has three other Batman ’66 sets — a Batcave, a Riddler hideout (click here) and a Batgirl apartment/changing area (click here).

— But that’s just scratching the surface. Here are others he has available: The Fortress of Solitude (click here for an INSIDE LOOK), Lex Luthor’s Lair, the Batcave/Wayne Foundation (click here), the Joker’s Ha-Hacienda (click here), Paradise Island, the JLA Satellite (click here), the JSA Brownstone (click here), the Super Friends Hall of Justice (click here), the Hall of Doom (click here), the Super Powers Hall of Justice (click here), the Green Lantern HQ on Oa, Aquaman’s Aquacave (click here), Captain Marvel’s Rock of Eternity (click here), Iron Man’s Armory (click here), the X-Men’s Danger Room (click here), a Star Trek: The Animated Series Enterprise (click here) and a Scooby-Doo haunted house — with more to come.

— And as I always feel compelled to point out, I don’t make anything from this. I just love showing it all off. Each set — including case, artwork and complete assembly — is $85 plus shipping. Contact either thetoyroom@yahoo.com or you can message Anthony, who also owns Retropolis Tees and is a 13th Dimension contributor, through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

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MORE

— INSIDE LOOK: The Groovy ‘MEGO’ BATGIRL Playset You’ve Been Waiting For. Click here.

— INSIDE LOOK: The ‘MEGO’ RIDDLER HIDEOUT Playset You’ve Been Waiting For. Click here.