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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

Shogun Warriors Great Mazinga! I was just thinking how one of the big guys would look next to the Hyve. Or that Lion Force Voltron that held the action figures.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 07/23/2006 5:04 PM

great article, i had a couple of the secutaurs but not the hyve. has anyone watched any of the nightmares and dreamscapes on tnt, they got them on on demand now too. i just watched the one about the little green army men that attack the hitman that killed their maker. they had little helicopters and howitzers. good stuff

Chestnuts roasted by pdac @ 07/23/2006 5:17 PM

Dude! I so had the Hyve as a kid! A local tire (and bizarrely enough, toys) store had a TON. After Christmas, they blew em out at $13 BUCKS A POP! Seeing this in the newspaper, I freaked out and called Dad to haul me across town to get the huge playset. I point at it in the paper. Dad says "13 bucks huh? OK, sure we’ll go get it." Man, I’m pumped! We head out there and my Dad is like "Woah, son. This thing is HUGE." And I’m all like "I can still get it right?" "Sure, sure we brought the truck." YESSS!!! I took it home, long story short, God it was awesome. PS to the story, and ultimate geekiness: Matt, take a photo closeup of the door to the Hyve (the graphic side, not plastic side). If you look closely, it has "Sectaurian" writing on it. Only a couple years ago did I realize the Sectaurs comic books provide a translation key to the language. THE DOOR REALLY SAYS SOMETHING iN CODE! That is freakin awesome. Once I learned this, I’ve been dying to know what it said! Post the pic, I’ll translate for ya.

Chestnuts roasted by Terror Claws Cole @ 07/23/2006 5:20 PM

Jesus Christ, I wish I had grown up in the 80s. I really hope soeone brings this back. If they brought back madballs, then why not Secataurs!

Anyway Matt, I have a question. Since you work at Nick, did they ever give any "official" expaination about why they cancelled some of their best shows (jimmy Neutron, Danny Phantom and Fairly Oddparents)even though they got fairly good ratings. IF you don’t know that, do you know of any way I can reach the company so that I can start a letter-writing campaign?
Thanks!

Chestnuts roasted by TOM @ 07/23/2006 5:35 PM

IHAQ, I also suggest having him watch The Muppet Show and if you can find tapes of it, Muppet Babies, because those, not to mention the version of Sesame Street that wasn’t retitled "The Elmo Show", were among the shows I grew up watching.

And this weekend was the San Diego Comic-Con and here I am, living on the other side of the country >< and what the programs and Cartoonists blogs have explained, this years Con was a kickass one ><

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 07/23/2006 5:55 PM

I hate to be the dick who posts this but at the top of the screen "A new article has been Chestnuts Roasted." or is it supposed to be like that?

Chestnuts roasted by phunqsauce @ 07/23/2006 6:01 PM

Wow, I missed on what looked like some good toys. I was really only into Transformers, GI Joe, Legos, and Robotix. To a lesser extent, I liked Robo-force and Star Wars. I missed out on some great stuff in the 80s.

The Boy-

I too have my computer hooked up to my big screen, although it’s only a 50 inch. I wish I could figure out how to distort my computers video output somehow. If I use the widescreen mode on the tv, everything just looks all stretchy. For now, I just use the normal 4:3 mode, and I figure that translates to about a 40" computer monitor. This is of course not large enough to do justice to the Hyve.

Chestnuts roasted by spaz307 @ 07/23/2006 6:02 PM

Holy Shit people right after I send my last post a huge bolt of lightning flashed so bright that my hubby saw it while he was sleeping, and our smoke alarm went off. I think it hit the house crazy crazy stuff.

Yeah Sectaurs I think I’m remembering someone from my neighbourhood having it when I was a child? This is prolly the same kid that had a My Pet Monster,a Boglin, and a Gizmo. I always waned his toys!

Anyway, I really enjoyed this article, you can really tell Matt was having fun with this one.

Chestnuts roasted by IHAQ @ 07/23/2006 6:02 PM

IHAQ – Elmo’s World also grieves my poor little heart. Where’s Little Teeny Superguy when he’s needed? Just pretend that Sesame Street is over after the first half-hour and pop in some other tape – I agree about Muppet Babies. My husband swears he’s going to start our future kids on Robotech as soon as they can sit in front of the Tv.

I don’t remember Sectaurs, but my husband had some and concurs with the consensus of awesomeness. The spider puppet made me think of Webster from that Nick show I was too old for – Eureka’s Castle. Anyone ever had a sibling who got up early on Saturday morning to watch The Busy World of Richard Scarry? I hate that theme song.

Chestnuts roasted by Jessica Marie @ 07/23/2006 6:04 PM

Jessica Marie and Norbert, Oh for sure he’s gonna watch Muppet Babies and The Muppet show! Also gotta get some Fraggle Rock too.
I bought a CD with a bunch of songs from Sesame Street. Does anyone remember the Do the rubber duck song?

Chestnuts roasted by IHAQ @ 07/23/2006 6:09 PM

Jessica, I was the right age for Eureka’s Castle (I’m currently 19, to make you feel old), and it wasn’t until about last year or so when I found out it was nothing more than a 90′s reincarnation of Pinwheel.

And The Busy World of Richard
Scarry was on weekday mornings too.
Speaking of which, all the early Nick Jr. stuff was classic (all the ones said already, Wienerville, Papa Beaver’s Storytime, etc.), and kinda started to die down when Blue’s Clues came along, even though it was pretty good at first, but like most children’s tv shows, it’s overstayed its welcome 5 years longer than it should have. And on that topic, I’m trying to find the SNT where I posted my 2 1/2 page rant on Kid’s TV. Good chance it’s the one that’s inexplicably missing.

And form the last thread, thanks for the fundraising idea Matt. Everyone else, I’d still like to know good input. :D

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 07/23/2006 6:13 PM

My sis who is now 20, lOVED Eureka’s Castle, and, well, let’s just say I’m still traumatized by Pinwheel and Today’s Special..which caused me a life long leg injury…I tore ligaments while falling down trying to do a dance that the TOdays special guy was doing….traumatic for an 8 yr old

also my friend or bro had the insector fly glove dealy ma bob….That figure looks like something off Venture Brothers lol

Chestnuts roasted by mandy_Reeves @ 07/23/2006 7:05 PM

Great article, Matt! Bravo! But goddamn it something is really bugging me about the final figure party picture at the end. Behind the ladder, there’s a robot dude that I recoginize but can’t place. I’m pretty sure I had the toy as a kid, but I have no idea what line it was from (I had a Greedo figure that baffled me in the same way until I was in my late teens and figured it out). It kinda looks like the Lost In Space robot but it so isn’t him. Of course he’s behind the damn ladder so it’s hard to spot him but he’s there. Please someone help me out!

Chestnuts roasted by Antenna Villain @ 07/23/2006 7:31 PM

Looks like it’s from Robo Force.

http://www.x-entertainment.com/messages/398.html

Chestnuts roasted by Chaomancer Omega @ 07/23/2006 7:47 PM

Invader –
I hardly consider Weinerville a classic! What about David the Gnome or something, Adventures of the Little Koala, even Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics…then again, I’m 25, so our definitions of classic probably differ. I have an episode of Weinerville kicking around on DVD somewhere (it came with cooler stuff, like Mr. Wizard’s World and the Hulk Hogan animated series), and I’m telling you – it’s bad.

Chestnuts roasted by Jessica Marie @ 07/23/2006 8:10 PM

I can envision The Hyve being somewhere in the Advent Calendar this year. Couldn’t you see Knacks and Kuse climbing around that thing? :D

Thank you, Kid Nicky and Kingklash for the correct spelling and stuff on Mazinga/Mazinger Z. I couldn’t find it on the web before. I wonder if my brother still has his… :( I hope Mom ‘n Dad didn’t sell it, even if I was petrified of it.

Speaking of Sesame Street, does anyone remember the guy that always played piano and made up songs that already existed – for example, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but he could never figure out what word to use (like "Star"), and he would go absolutely nuts and start banging his head on the keys and stuff. I loved that muppet, but I never see him anymore. :( They probably took him off because of anger management issues, or some crap…

Chestnuts roasted by Ryane @ 07/23/2006 8:34 PM

I think that is awesome even though I don’t see myself playing on it. Maybe if it had a rocket launcher on it or something. I second posting a picture of the wording around the door though, that would be sweet to have him translate.

Welp, I am back from Oaks Park, hot, very sweaty, and that was one of the most miserable times I tried to have fun but I just couldn’t because I was a slimy sweaty miserable human being. I tried to just go on the sheltered rides, but I couldn’t do that that often. I walked through this sprinkler thing, and I went back for some more soda from the company pinnic tables (they ran out of the palatable drinks, they only had pepsi, it was tolerable for me but for my friend he hates pepsi and so he choked it down)

Before the rides I slopped some potato salad, a nasty piece of chicken, some pork and beans, and the bowls for the potato salad were HUGE I have never seen bowls like that before!!! I think they had a tray with ice in it underneath. I didn’t drink any beer, I don’t enjoy the stuff and that is the worst thing to drink during the heat. My best friend though went on his first scary right ever today though!! It spun and almost went to a 90 degree angle really fast. I went on the spider and almost peed myself. Right in front of a coworker with her too little kids!! OMG that was bad but fuck it I was a fuckin scared little girl in that seat. The kids were probably 5 and 9 ‘rolls eyes’ I told her I wasn’t going to have her right a reccemendation letter for me cause she would put it on there I was a flaming pussy on the spider ride. BTW I am a girl. So I only went on three rides.

BTW I went on a louis and clark ride and they had a puppy with a collar drawn there with them by the campfire?? how did they make a collar in those days?? A bright red collar. A modern day collar. wtf…and they had a bear like omg a bear I’m so scared, and he was more like gettin’ jiggy wit it then being scary, and an indian was doing the same jiggy wit it dance LOL. It was lame. Anyway here I go to write on my blog about this miserable day…

Chestnuts roasted by Goob @ 07/23/2006 8:39 PM

I wonder if Sectaurians puke alot wherever they go? Or maybe just when they eat.

Awesome freakin’ article. I had no idea there were Sectaurians, I only knew (vaguely) of Centurions. Almost as cool as Dino-Riders!

Chestnuts roasted by Todd @ 07/23/2006 8:55 PM

That Muppet was Don Music click my name for a pic and bio of him. :D

Chestnuts roasted by Ryane @ 07/23/2006 8:58 PM

Ok click your name to see :P sorry about that!

Chestnuts roasted by IHAQ @ 07/23/2006 9:01 PM

Loved the article, Matt. The best you have written recently, IMO. Of course they are all great. Thanks for the memories!

Chestnuts roasted by chestercopperpot @ 07/23/2006 9:01 PM

Is it my imagination, or did Triclops swipe He-Man’s vest? He shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that crap.

Chestnuts roasted by Jeff @ 07/23/2006 9:05 PM

Damn, Matt, why you gotta be bustin’ on my poor 17” monitor like that? It’s doing the best it can!

That being said, "Hyve Bags" sounds like something you get when you don’t boil your water in a third world country.

Chestnuts roasted by Jedoc @ 07/23/2006 9:11 PM

Anyone seen the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’s new teaser?

Looks xtreme.

Chestnuts roasted by Renaldo @ 07/23/2006 9:28 PM

Aww, thanks IHAQ! :D You’re the best!

Chestnuts roasted by Ryane @ 07/23/2006 9:57 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.