Posted By Dan Greenfield on Oct 21, 2020 | 6 comments

EXCLUSIVE: A purr-fect addition to your Mego collection…

We’ve shown off nearly two dozen of super-customizer Anthony Durso’s 8-inch, Mego-scale playsets this year and I gotta tell you, this is easily one of the most inspired: the Batman ’66 Catwoman Catlair, which doubles as a loving tribute to Julie Newmar’s rule as the Queen of the Catwomen.

Just check this out — and look for the references to Newmar’s appearances, most notably the greatest Batman ’66 episode ever, The Purr-fect Crime/Better Luck Next Time.

“I think I’ve had a crush on Catwoman (Julie Newmar) as long as I’ve been aware of her arch-nemesis, Batman,” Anthony, who runs The Toyroom, explained. “My memory says age 5, 1972, kindergarten, but it might be a tad earlier than that. And wouldn’t you know, there was a girl in kindergarten that vexed me as much as the Felonious Feline did the Caped Crusader. If I was playing Batman on the playground, she would pop up and say she was Catwoman. Holy Hijinks! And although there have been other Catwomen over the years (including Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt), it’s Julie Newmar’s performance that is the cat’s meow to me.”

Here are some more angles:

“So when it came to designing this playset, its inspiration was all Julie,” Anthony, who is also a 13th Dimension contributor and the owner of Retropolis Tees, added. “I should have the episodes committed to memory but I did a refresher and watched them about three times each while working on this. And even though some elements changed from episode to episode, the basic ‘Catlair’ remained the same. I tried to include as much as I could from all the episodes (I wish I had room for more), so there’s lots of Easter eggs. But you might need the eyes of a cat to see them. Thanks for everything, Julie Newmar!”

So that makes three Bat-villains with playsets — the Joker, the Riddler and now, Catwoman — plus the United Underworld HQ.

Up next, says Anthony: the Penguin!

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A few thoughts:

— Good thing Chanukah’s coming. Because I’m adding this baby to my list. Just terrific work all around.

— Mego, of course, never made a Julie Newmar Catwoman figure. But she exists now thanks to modern makers of Mego-style figures.

— In addition to these displays, The Toyroom’s 8-inch-scale sets currently include: Superman’s Fortress of Solitude (click here), Lex Luthor’s Lair (click here), the Batcave/Wayne Foundation (click here), the 1966 Batcave, the 1966 Batgirl apartment and changing room (click here), the 1966 Batman movie United Underworld HQ (click here), the Joker’s Ha-Hacienda (click here), the Riddler’s hideout (click here), Arkham Asylum (click here), Wonder Woman’s Paradise Island (click here), Wonder Woman’s TV series IADC headquarters (click here), the Green Lantern HQ on Oa (click here), Aquaman’s Aquacave (click here), Captain Marvel’s Rock of Eternity (click here), the JLA Satellite (click here), the JSA Brownstone (click here), the Super Friends Hall of Justice (click here), the Super Powers Hall of Justice (click here), the Hall of Doom (click here), The Fantastic Four’s Baxter Building Lab (click here), Iron Man’s Armory (click here), the X-Men’s Danger Room (click here), the Hulk Gamma Lab Hideaway (click here), a Star Trek: The Animated Series Enterprise (click here) and a Scooby-Doo haunted house — with more to come.

— 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 1966 BATGIRL Playset You’ve Been Waiting For. Click here.

— FIRST LOOK: The BATMAN ’66 UNITED UNDERWORLD Playset You’ve Waited Decades For. Click here.