Posted By Dan Greenfield on Nov 16, 2020 | 1 comment

EXCLUSIVE: A special Mego-style release on the late Burgess Meredith’s birthday…

Anthony Durso, customizer extraordinaire and owner of The Toyroom, is on a roll. We recently unveiled his wonderful 1966 Catwoman Catlair playset, purr-fect for your Mego-style, 8-inch-scale Batman ’66 figures.

And now, on the late Burgess Meredith’s birthday — he was born Nov. 16, 1907 — Anthony brings you The Penguin’s Nest, a playset that pays loving tribute to TV’s fine feathered fink.

Dig this EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK:

“This was a fun one I really enjoyed working on,” said Anthony, a 13th Dimension contributor who also owns the groovy Retropolis Tees. “Similar to my recent Catwoman Catlair, The Penguin’s Nest tries to incorporate as many winks and Easter eggs as I could fit from the various Penguin episodes. And with 19 episodes, the Penguin ties with the Joker for most appearances in the series. As is normal procedure now, I rewatched each Penguin episode several times over, taking notes and freeze frames.”

“The main exterior is the Fish Store (from Fine Finny Fiends) with a false store front on the interior flap,” he added.” Behind that is an amalgamation of other hideouts (including the death trap also from Fine Finny Fiends) and additional nods to many of the other business ventures of the Penguin from the first two seasons.”

“There was so much more to include but space is limited,” Anthony continued. “I didn’t do anything with Season 3 because by that point the villain’s headquarters were pretty sparse. Plus, there wasn’t anyplace to stable the horse.”

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A few thoughts:

— That makes four Bat-villains with Toyroom playsets — the Joker, the Riddler, Catwoman and the Penguin — plus the United Underworld HQ. But Anthony is already planning another, more TV-specific Joker set. The Ha-Hacienda — which I’m proud to own — is an homage to the Joker in many of his incarnations, not just Batman ’66.

— I really hope he includes the death trap from Pop Goes the Joker — one of the best of the entire series. Oh, and the painting “Death of a Mauve Bat.”

— 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), the Catwoman Catlair (click here), The Penguin’s Nest, 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 (click here) — 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 ‘MEGO’ BATGIRL Playset You’ve Been Waiting For. Click here.

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