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Sectaurs: The HYVE Playset!

A new article has been Chestnuts Roasted. I've talked about Sectaurs before, but not lately, and I never got to talk about one of my absolute favorite toys ever at length, because up until a few months ago, I never owned it. "The Hyve" was the one and only playset in the 80's Sectaurs line, seeming so immense, so cool and so rife with spider puppets in the commercials that it actually turned up in the sleepytime dreams of my youth. Now that I have it, I can confirm that it really is cool, really is immense, and really is rife with spider puppets. I love The Hyve, and you will too. You'd better, because I wrote almost 4,000 words about it.

EDIT: So, I'm going to try a little experiment soon -- X-Entertainment's August Megaparty. It's a big name for a small thing: I just want to update the blog with new content every day in August. No themes like the Halloween Countdown, no set lengths, nothing -- it's just a promise to update with something every day in August, and see where it goes. It could be as simple as picking out the first thing I see in my office and writing about it, or as EXTRAVAGANT as actually going out on the town to find white hot blazing content. I dunno, I guess I like my personal challenges manageable.

Posted by Matt on 07/23/2006. E-mail me!



Discussion Thread: 104 comments
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Ohhh shit. Time killer ahoy! :D :D

Chestnuts roasted by Eddie Lightning Frog @ 07/23/2006 11:29 AM

wow, i read the whole thing and then checked the blog to find out i’m getting a high comment.

very good, i used to have some giant base that was from a GI joe ripoff that was circular but you could spin it. kind of like the space needle but not as high and wider. that thing was freakin’ awesome.

Chestnuts roasted by the modern day pirates @ 07/23/2006 11:55 AM

I had this when I was a kid and loved it more than any other toy. You are right about this being a great surprise christmas gift. I always got the lame second tier action figures but this was worth it all. My brother and I played with it so much that I broke most of the pieces. My mom still managed to sell it at a garage sail. I’m still kinda bitter about that.

Chestnuts roasted by JZ @ 07/23/2006 12:15 PM

Love the glove.

Chestnuts roasted by Ragnarok @ 07/23/2006 12:40 PM

I was pretty sure I hadn’t heard about Sectaurs before, but then I saw the glove-bug and it all came…rushing isn’t the right word. Maybe trickling slowly through the haze back to me? Anyways, I’ll have to read the whole thing later, as my task master (or wife, if you will) wants me to upload some pictures of a wedding we went to yesterday. OK, gotta go.

Chestnuts roasted by Mad Cow @ 07/23/2006 12:55 PM

I loved the SECTAURS. Never owned one but plenty of kids at my Day Care did. Between that and never owning a BOGLIN, I feel incomplete. :(
You must really be in love with it not to be a bit harsher on the inside of the Hyve. At least Greyskull had SOME working pieces within but fair enough.

Chestnuts roasted by The Manimal @ 07/23/2006 1:00 PM

I kind of like the way it is inside. If I had my choice between an action figure auditorium and a battle arena, I’d go with the former. Besides, Castle Grayskull didn’t have a fuzzy spider puppet.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 07/23/2006 1:02 PM

Hooray for Baleen Whales!

Chestnuts roasted by Ragnarok @ 07/23/2006 1:25 PM

One can’t underestimate the power of a spider puppet. :)

Call the Guiness Records people, I am the first person to ever write about SECTAURS while having the movie BRAZIL play in the background while taking a break from working on a PowerPoint about George Washington.

Chestnuts roasted by The Manimal @ 07/23/2006 1:27 PM

My favorite part of this article? Knowing that Matt was swilling down some Arbor Mist while putting this monster together.
If only the Hyve came with a tinny bug shaped microphone thingy…
Awesome to get an article that feels a bit more oldschool XE. Thanks

Chestnuts roasted by WonKa @ 07/23/2006 1:44 PM

Great article! Ted Knight and Pink Floyd cracked me up.
On my way to the circus now…normally I’d have a bit of an ethical problem with it but the tickets were free.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 07/23/2006 1:46 PM

I would never invite Krang to a party at the Hyve. You know the fucker would drool and accidentaly spit on everything while telling you how much better the Technodrome is.
Fuck Krang, arrogant bastard.

Chestnuts roasted by WonKa @ 07/23/2006 1:55 PM

I like the use of the puppets for that set (and the toy line in gerneral). I’ve never really seen a playset with that feature before, but maybe I’m just out of the loop here.

I always loved getting the big ass gifts. Even if they were bad, at least they looked awesome displayed in your room.

Chestnuts roasted by Dr. Acula @ 07/23/2006 2:02 PM

"The picture above could only do it justice if your monitor spans 48 inches."
I have my PC hooked up to my 55 inch HDTV and I still think the picture is not doing any justice to the size of that thing.

Chestnuts roasted by The Boy @ 07/23/2006 2:35 PM

That hexagonal control panel on the bottom floor looked just like the control panel for the early TARDIS.

Chestnuts roasted by ROBRAM89 @ 07/23/2006 2:46 PM

Whoa… Seeing that thing makes me sad that Sectaurs was before my time. First real action figure I ever owned was Powermaster Optimus Prime… But hey, he was an action figure and playset in one.

Chestnuts roasted by DocDragon @ 07/23/2006 2:58 PM

Yeah, a TARDIS control console with testicles in it. We need to put together a list of toy lines that deserve a second chance. ToyFare did one time, and MOTU was one of the top picks. And, it did have a lamentably short revival. I would combine two different lines to make a bigger storyline. Secataurs and Wheeled Warriors, for instance. Can you imagine Spydrax and Saw Boss teaming up to create a bio-engineered galactic empire?

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 07/23/2006 3:08 PM

Ha! The Boy is the only one of us that isn’t poor, so far. :P

I don’t remember even hearing about Sectaurs. I guess my brother was just grown out of most of that stuff by then.

The hugeness of The Hyve reminded me of a toy my brother did have though, and I can’t remember what it was from… I think it’s name was Mezinga or something? He was this big robot looking thing that actually made noises and I think he even walked a little on his own, and you could shoot little missiles from his arm. I was scared to death of him. He reminded me of a Transformer.

Even though I completely hate bugs and insects and the like, your article made me want to come over and play.

Chestnuts roasted by Ryane @ 07/23/2006 3:25 PM

I gotta admit, I don’t even remember the Sectaurs. But then, ’84 was a bit early for me to be playing with action figures. I was only 2, so I was still watching Sesame Street.

Say, did anybody here watch Sesame Street? I still occasionally pick up a few Ernie toys. Ernie was my favorite because I’m so much like him, even though I look more like Bert. And they were NOT gay!!!

Chestnuts roasted by Nate @ 07/23/2006 3:43 PM

Damn, I’m pissed I wasn’t around for the Street Fighter II thread…I own 2 plug N play’s already (the Pac-Mans) but I NEED this one- Street Fighter II is the only fighting game I am actually amazing at. (Blanka all the way)

I remember Sectaurs, but I had no idea this Hyve existed- it sounds impressive in the article, but I wish I could SEE it! Only the first picture in the article is working for me. Bummer.

Chestnuts roasted by Muppet Baby @ 07/23/2006 3:48 PM

I actually like that the backdrop is just painted in. I love the cheesy "old video game future art" like that.

Chestnuts roasted by Kid Nicky @ 07/23/2006 4:01 PM

Ryane-the robot is called Mazinger Z.

Chestnuts roasted by Kid Nicky @ 07/23/2006 4:04 PM

I gotta say, for something that size, it’s pretty lacking on special features.
There are what, 5 if you don’t count the ladder?

Chestnuts roasted by Somethin' Funny @ 07/23/2006 4:06 PM

Holy crap! I remembered Sectaurs right away, but not the Hyve until I actually saw the picture. Then one by one I recognized it all. The spider puppet, the little worm dude, the boulder, the gate, the railing, the ladder. Wonder if I still have it. Yet another reason I need to dig through my garage. There’s probably at least two or three remnants of lost toy lines buried under decades of junk out there.

Chestnuts roasted by GrrrArrgh @ 07/23/2006 4:11 PM

Nate: My son will soon be old enough to watch Sesame Street so I’ve been watching it here and there so I can refresh my memory. I see now that Elmo takes over half the show. Elmo is an asshole! I’m all about anything that has muppets involved so I can’t wait to watch it with him.

I’m gonna get off the computer now, I swear I’m gonna get struck by lightning through my computer in a minute, but that hyve thing so so so cool!

Chestnuts roasted by IHAQ @ 07/23/2006 4:13 PM

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 23rd, 2006 at 11:28 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.