I've been thinking about this question for years, but it somehow never occurred to ask it here: have you ever owned, or known anybody who owned, this Remco U.S. Forces/American Defense playset:



It's the same mold as the Remco Mantech Battlestation Laser II, but this one appeared in either the Sears or J.C. Penney catalog in the late '80s/early 90's (I can't seem to find a link to the actual catalog page that the image comes from, but I remember seeing it around that time). I've got the Mantech version, but I've never seen the tan military version in any form: in a picture other than this catalog image, for sale on the secondary market, or in anyone's collection. So, if you owned this thing (or, better yet, if you still own it), I'd love to hear about it. I just want to find out if it actually exists, or if it wasn't produced. And if you've got a picture, even better.

I never saw it in stores, but lately I've been regretting not picking these gems up because they *weren't* GIJOE. Snobbery of plastic toys...

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That's a really nice looking playset. I miss playsets like that. With the general design being "whole". I look at modern Hasbro playsets and they just feel like a bunch of undersized set pieces loosely connected together with little rhyme or reason (PIT, SW Mustafar playset...).


I checked out what the Mantech Battlestation was like... that's some really clever revamping, the large guns were moved to the middle deck while the top was refitted as a helicopter landing pad with some rope ladders. Military colors and the removal of transluscent plastic make a world of difference.

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Not the main set but some of the pieces were parts of other sets. The ladders for example were also part of a parachute set I had. I also had the river boat.

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Boy I sure wish I did.

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Most of the accessories for the playset appear to be from other Remco sets. I've got one of the ladders and the winch in silver from the Crystar castle playset. The boat looks to be the Lanard patrol boat, which I've always liked. They've been using that mold since at least the late '80s, and it still looks good.



You and me both. I passed on so much Remco stuff as a kid that I regret now, especially when you consider how inexpensive the toys were. I looked down my nose at most Remco items, but now they're something I actively look for. Oops.



Agreed. It's nice to see a self-contained item, and something that looks fun to play with. I passed on the Indiana Jones Akator playset for the reasons you mentioned. I also agree about the difference the colors make on the Remco base: the Mantech one is charming enough, but that tan and brown color scheme makes the U.S. Forces version look a thousand times cooler.

I actually did own that set. I remember getting it from a Kmart on clearance for $5. It came with that flight pod looking thing and the tan motorcycle. It was an awesome set. Unfortunately I threw it out after high school. I've never seen it online or anywhere else.

That's awesome news. I've been passively looking for one for a few years now, but I was starting to wonder if it even existed outside of that picture. Thanks for the info!

Anyone else?

That's a nice looking set, although I might come up with a better label for that topmost part, which I assume is some sort of circular helipad, than something that looks like a bullseye target!

Yeah, let's just give the people staging airstrikes against us a helping hand, shall we?

I had the Mantech version as a kid.
I used it with all my action figures.

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Just so you can see the mantech playset is the same mold here's a pic of mine. The U.S. FORCES one is only a different color, but it did come with additional stuff, like 2 camo cloths, that went over the top of it, and it came with a wench and ladders that was previously sold in the remco SGT. ROCK line. But what made the us forces set even cooler was it came with both the land and air fighter vehicles.

This thing would make a great upper deck addition to the Terror Drome.

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I most of the Remco stuff back then. I really didn't consider them substandard. Heck, they had several of the gimmicks before the Joes did: the water guns, the sonic backpacks, Playdoughish molded items, water activated color changing, etc. The ones I kick myself over are both sets of Bronze Bombers.



I swear I saw this done in a green and black color scheme back in the day. I also remember a smaller silver and blue airforce-ish tower.

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I've got the ManTech version, but it's no PowerBase or even Battlevision set. But if it truly came with a wench, I could see how it rates so highly, lol.

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What're those?

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