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The same is true in the toy line. On the package we see Steve and Bigfoot going mano a mano, but later toys like the Bigfoot version of the Bionic Mission Vehicle have them palling around like old chums.

Unlike the other Bionic toys, there isn’t much to Bigfoot. His arms and legs move, but he doesn’t have joints at the knees or elbows. His only Bionic feature is a plate that pops off of his chest so that Steve can get a good grip and hoist him into the air. Other than that, though, Bigfoot is a pretty bland toy.

However, he’s also insanely rare. This version is MIB and AFA graded at 75. It’s currently gotone bid at the opening price of $799.99 and has four days to go.

Link

So far, there are no more than four known and confirmed examples of this set.

The last one that sold apparently went for between $7,000.00 to $8,000.00,

Link

You transformers fans have known this was coming since I mentioned focusing on the biggest playsets out there. While it’s not strictly a playset, I don’t think this theme would be complete without mentioning the Fortress Maximus.

The largest Transformers toy from Generation 1, Fortress Maximus has multiple  configurations. He transforms into a compact “city” mode, and can also assume a secondary mode described in the US instruction as a “battle station.” This mode was rebranded as a starship for the Japanese instructions, and is the “default” mode for Fort Max in the Headmasters animated series. Additionally, the 1987 Hasbro toy catalog features a mis-transformed Fortress Maximus in a mode referred to as an “impenetable fortress,” essentially consisting of his city mode with the legs splayed outwards.

In all modes, Maximus has a wide array of pop-out (non-firing) guns and gimmicks. Its left leg hides a small prison cell, plus has a swing-out cannon/helipad. Its right leg has a small storage compartment. Its torso has a gear-activated spinner for the detachable radar array accessory, a “control socket” for Cerebros’ “communcations tower” mode, and a working elevator that can lift small toys up to its central ramp to be launched in its altmodes. (The crank for this elevator ends up in a very unfortunate position in robot mode.) Each arm had a long ramp on the back with sliding launchers for small vehicles.

Its robot-mode head is formed by Cerebros, who does not actually need Spike to attach to the upper body. It came with both Headmaster units, plus the Gasket and Grommet mini-vehicles. The Japanese release of Fortress Maximus came with a pair of swords; one for Fortress, a large one for Maximus. It is currently unknown if the swords were originally planned for the Hasbro version but dropped for price or safety concerns, or if they were a Takara-initiated addition to their release of the toy.

Based on Spike being about 6 feet tall and the toy being in scale, Cerebros would stand 16 feet 6 inches tall and Fortress Maximus would stand 185 feet tall.

During its time of release, Fortress Maximus retailed at $89.99, making him the most expensive Transformers toy in the U.S. market (a record that wasn’t met or broken for nearly two decades, until the release of 20th Anniversary DVD Edition Optimus Prime and Ultimate Bumblebee). Maximus was also the third most expensive toy Hasbro produced at the time (behind the USS Flagg and Defiant Space Shuttle Complex from the G.I. Joe series).

This boxed complete version is currently selling for $510.00 with four days to go. The price should climb much higher than that, but shouldn’t come near the $1,800.00 or $2,000.00 the two versions currently available in eBay stores are stored at.

You should note too, that spare parts sell for pretty decent money as well, from $10.00 – $40.00.

I’m pretty sure though, that the G.I Joe USS Flag still has the distinction of being the largest playset or vehicle produced. Ever.

Check out this vintage commercial I found on YouTube. It’s really the best way to get an idea of the size.

Truth be told, I wasn’t a huge G.I Joe fan back in the days. Other toy lines where where my interests lay. Despite that, I still wanted this toy desperately. I have a feeling that I wasn’t the only one in that situation either.

What we have here in this auction though, is a collectors dream. A MISB USS Flag. Not only sealed, but sealed within it’s original shipping container. The condition of the outer carton isn’t the best, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the only one that exists in such condition at all.

Given that the loose Carrier can easily fetch $500 without all the accessories, I can’t even begin to fathom the final price of this auction.

Auction Here

Seriously, this is one of the most impressive playsets produced ever. For any line. Aside from the size there are a ton of nifty features and accessories.

If you do think about it though, the playset doesn’t make much sense. Monorail? Um, don’t the heroes and villains both have plenty of vehicles that could fly? Even worse are the stops the monorail makes. Think about it. It goes to Eternia, it goes to Castle Grayskull, and then… Snake Mountain. Apparently they wanted to make it easy for Skeletor and his minions to attack Castle Grayskull or Eternia by providing them with a easy access to a monorail system which stops right at Snake Mountain.

Aside from that, the set it hard to find in good condition. The large size and large cost meant it had smaller runs than other playsets. Plus the size meant that it was much more likely to get beat up lying around in someone’s attic. Even worse is that fact that the monorail is notoriously fragile, know to break if you look at it the wrong way.

This isn’t a concern though if you opt to buy this brand new in box AFA graded Eternia Playset. The grade of 50 isn’t the best, but it becomes a lot better when you realize that there is only one other that’s been graded by the AFA so far.

If you’re actually interested in this, I wish you the best of luck. There’s only a few hours left, and it’s sitting at $3,000.00. I would expect a lot of last minute snipers however.