Ryan passed away from a heart attack at age of 32!RIP my friend, i hope you are watching as from your childhood 'uss flagg'...

When I was a kid, I saved my money for the GI Joe HQ... when I got it, I played with it like it was in the comics... I would disassemble it, and make cardboard crates for it... and when my cousin and I would play (he just passed away from cancer two months ago) we would "drop it' into the area where it was to be set up... then build it, and fight Cobra. (in those days, we had a fang, and two HISS tanks for Cobra... one was one, one was his... and a bunch of Cobra figures... out Star Wars figures were the various "civilians" that needed rescuing) Our play as children involved world building, and story telling... He never got to be the writer he wanted to be... but our stories still go on.

The ending conversation was so funny, I got a good laugh outta that "isn't this guy over here a commando AND a ninja?!? Let him do it! He can probably dodge the bullets too!"

So many good memories playing with this thing, highly underrated .... thanks for the video

I had this playset in ‘83. Was thinking of it this morning and knew exactly where to go for a retro memory boost, RetroBlasting! I know this is an older video but they are still excellent and relevant. Yo Joe!

Get 2 HQ's, back them against each other and boom GINOURMOUS BASE!

What really worked about the Command Center for me was that it was a truly livable environment for the Joes. Not a lot of playsets were like that. It was easy to imagine them assembling, conversing and embarking on their adventures from there. And the jail cell was a nice touch. It was like having the stage set up for the cartoon right in your living room. Overall, it looked amazing.

That lil exchange between Joes at the end was pure comedy gold! If they ever make a parody cartoon I know who should be head writer. I liked and subbed just for that. Hope there is more.

I never had this toy as a kid, but a friend did. And thought it was one of the most awesome playsets, ever. It seemed like a real headquarters, not just a few random parts of a movie or cartoon stuck together.

I remember seeing this at a Garage Sale when I was a kid. I thought it looked pretty cool back then and that was the only time I seen one.

One of my best Christmas presents ever.

that skit was hilarious.........love it

I loved this playset as a kid. Put it back against the edge of the bed, and only Storm Shadow has the skills to scale that sheer cliff to sneak in.

My absolute favourite toy sets were the Styrofoam packaging from electronics. I seem to remember a giant cardboard box with windows and doors cut out once. Like a Star Wars skyscraper.

Thanks for the video Mike very interesting to watch. R.I.P. Ryan

It was first used much earlier in Cobras first attack on the Pitt. The same issue General Flagg was killed

Love the review! The part with Rock 'n Roll complaining about getting the main cannon duty was awesome.Who wouldn't feel like that was a suicide mission?

Nice review. I always liked the way that the HQ had play features geared towards using the line's various vehicles. That was something I loved about the old Starcom toys as well.

Another excellent collector review. The end skit was a great bonus. Maybe Rock n Roll being a surfer would just "Zen" his way through the assignment...Also, it reminds me of the 'Apocalypse Now' character, Lance the Surfer, manning the forward .50 cals. Inspiration?

Thank you. I just laughed my butt off with the talking points. I worked in financial services and we would "decompress" by using quotes from movies. It just brought back so many funny one liners we did. I love your channel.

That bit at the end was some funny stuff! I wouldn't mind seeing more of that kind of thing!

The central cannon on the cartoon depiction made even less sense, as the thing didn't appear to be steerable AT ALL. But I did have this one as a kid, obtained second-hand. And it wasn't until recently that I discovered the motor pool section had "footprints" for not just the VAMP, but all of the then-available small weapon emplacements (FLAK, MMS, etc.) Genius design!

the intro made me sad :-(

Another great video! I had this as a kid, and loved it! I was waiting for you to call out my favorite goof in this set, though, the view screen sticker whose image was lifted right from the comic book, including the sound effect word! Also, I totally agree with you on the great amount and variety of play sets in the 1980's.

I ended up with this three years after it was released, but it sure came in handy...you see, the previous GI Joe base I had used was a combination of the Death Star and some styrofoam boxes I had cleverly decorated. Once I had this base, I repurposed the Death Star elevators to take the Joes down to their underground base. Imagination is key!

Gi Joe is my all time favorite 80's toy line, so this has a special place in my heart. You really did a fantastic job on this. The playset can be a little annoying to put together sometimes, but when it is finished, awesomeness!

I was lucky to have the original headquarters and the mobile headquarters, as well as many of the other G.I.Joe toys. They were the most fun.

As kids, we (my cousin and me) understood right off that the GI Joe HQ was less a playset, and more a "Collector Case"... like the APC, but the APC was a collector case for figures, while the GI Joe HQ was for figures and vehicles. My cousin found a"generic" tank once... at a place called "Gemco"... it was a tank, but, it was like a "transformer" where it would transform into a figure carrying case that held several figures. Man, I'd love to find one of those again.

Beautiful, just beautiful. Would have loved it.

That skit was hilarilarious! I had a chance to get this when I was a kid my neghibor was selling it for $10.00 with vehicles/ figures etc But my dad wouldn't get it for me one of the biggest regrets of my life

One of my favorite and most used toys..my neighbor had one as well so we made them co-join each other on opposite ends, and voila a real base that could thwart the COBRA suprise rear attack problem :) I loved the Patriotic - America Strong feel of this toy line and this set, today it would probably be considered too agressive intolerant of other counties toy sets or something...ugh I digress

I got this for Christmas one year. It was awesome. As much as I loved Star Wars, the Joes were just more fun.

How about a review of the Mobile Command Center? I loved that one.

I concur with the final sentiment. Sums it up beautifully. I really wish I got this, it was of a couple of items that we didn't get as I got older and was expected to stop collecting as I became a teenager, so the Christmas and birthday hals were getting light and lighter on Joes.

this toy was the greatest christmas memory i have.

I got the HQ for Christmas in 83... it came in what was a HUGE box, and I remember being so stoked that I had a place to park the VAMP and the MOBAT... never had a Dragonfly tho, so COBRA took over the helipad for the FANG. It was rad.

Really fun to watch! Another well

I loved that thing. I got it right before I stopped with Joe's and alas sold of my collection.

I just picked up one of these for $15 bucks. It's not in perfect shape. It's missing a lot of parts and a lot of tabs are broken on it, but the communication station is intact with original stickers. I probably won't do a restoration on it but it's still a great piece in my collection. I wasn't too big into GI Joe growing up, I had the 12 inch figures. I love the simple overall design of the Command Headquarters. It reminds me of the original Metal Gear for the NES. Now my Solid Snake figure has a base to sneak through even if he is the wrong scale. I recently discovered this channel and binge watched most of your videos. I'm a 90's kid but I really love discovering what other kids had the generation before mine and really enjoy these retrospectives. Keep up the great work!

as a child of the 2010s i can agree it was better in your day

when i was a wee little one i had this base and the 90's battle corps one, so the 90's one was the forward base in occupied land while this served as the central base for officers, intelligence, r'n'd etc.

Loved GI Joe in the early ‘80s!

This is a great fort. This is a really great playset and display

Love your videos, thanks for putting these on KZfaq. I had this playset as a kid, and spent MANY hours having G.I.Joe vs. Cobra battles every night. Great video, but just one correction. The G.I.Joe Headquarters first appearance in the Marvel comic book was actually in issue #19 and not issue #24.

Always wanted this playset as a kid ive passed most of my toys down to my son he loves them

Ma Bell!! Nice I bet ya unless your from the 70s/80s that flew right over your head

As with many 80s kids, we would all bring our GI Joes and vehicles to the designated house of play that day, and separate into teams....My friend Jeremy had the HQ here, and one thing I remember is those plastic slats would break, and we would need to super glue the walls up permanently or tape them...which in a way, made for more playtime.

HQ made its first appearance in episode 19 of the comic books. They built it in the PIT and raised it into the Chaplain Assistants Aide School motorpool at Fort Wadsworth.

The follies with the characters crack me up great video guys!!!!

I had this play set. What a great video and thank you for stirring up some fun memories. I liked the design of the base. I liked that it didn't come with tons of bells and whistles. Back then toys forced children to use their imagination and come up with their own adventures using the toy as a backdrop. Today children's entertainment is fully presented for them leaving nothing to the imagination. It fails to foster growth and creative development. I believe this will have long term consequences in our society. What a shame.

I had this as a kid and loved it.

I like the little scene where it shows him trying to build it it reminds me of the time where I threw away Lego instructions it took me three solid hours to build the set

bought this thanks to you and formbx real sad about ryan tho life is so short great photo of him great tribute cheers from new zealand

Oh man the memories. This was also my 1983 christmas gift which unfortunately lasted one month before my little 4 year old brother at the time decided to rip out the jail cell doors.

This was my birthday priest in 1983. I’m thinking of dragging it out on storage when I grab the USS Flagg.

Love the ending and in the credits its nice to see a pro at work. LOL

So what you did as a kid is, you park it in front of a chair or sofa. Use that as your mountain. Then park your 105mm howitzer, and the SAM. Maybe that rocket track too you got with cover girl.

I loved this when I was a kid. And about the open back, I just pretended it wasn't open back there. I mean it had to be open for the kids to play with the figures inside of it, but you know.

Haha, I would kill to be at your place when you guys are recording your voiceovers

Yes...this man is the truth...he nailed it...80s...by far best playset base headquarters etcetc...love it..

I actually built my own cardboard version that had two stories and had a open slot for a the snow cat missile launcher. and original car and storage bay for motor cycle and prison with 2 cells. the computer room handled 8 joes. It was pretty kick ass. ALSO IT WAS TWO STORIES AND I OVER CAME THE CANON ISSUE BY BUILDING THAT COMPUTER ROOM UNDER THE SECOND FLOOR. YO JOE

Did you notice the where you put the Vamp at. It has other slots where the HAL, FLAK, MMS, and other vehicles can go there as well. Nice video.

That was cool...Go Rock'n'Roll.

Another great, in-depth review, and a great tribute to a fellow subscriber. Well done!

LOL ! this was funny! I love your skits in your videos.

Rock n Roll was the first GIJoe I ever received. Bunghole neighbors ripped his legs off. RIP Rock n Roll

got that for Christmas when it came out, i really wish i hadnt sold my collection years ago i had tons of stuff!!

Awesome review I have to get 4 of these so COBRA can't pull a sneak attack on the rear!! Send Rock n Roll to guard the rear....he is such a BABY!! LMBAO

In the bay you put the VAMP... it has "foot pads' for every vehicles that came out in '82-'83 except the MOBAT. There are pads for the FLAC... the HAL... the Polar Battle Bear"... even the JUMP pad... you will notice the wheel pads in the front are too wide for the VAMP... that's to accommodate the Twin Battle Gun (Whirlwind). There's even a pad for it's trailer hitch. This was totally a display case for figures and vehicles.

Rip Ryan..I came full circle...I just bought this for 80 bucks with og box....

That skectch in the end was great!

Picked up one of these a month or so ago from some friends of mine who found it with a few other things in at a local yard sale. Missing one of the inner walls and the slide on wall guns but beyond that its great.

I just bought my second one of these, so now I can put them back to back so Cobra cannot attack from behind. :) Excellent video. Take care and have a wonderful weekend. Sam.

The ending of this is the best.

Great videos, love them, you guys capture the 80's perfectly. The ending has better dialogue than the GI Joe cartoon! Subscribed!

Set up some boxes/tables, or a platform, in the motor pools so Joes can shoot AT rockets and heavy machine guns from them, or set up a regular howitzer in them. Make sure Trip Wire has placed AT mines on the base perimeter, especially the flanks and far rear, with obstacles and machine gun nests just in case. Have AA rockets towards the rear. Get characters you don't like to man the front cannon. The biggest concern I would have with this base, would be incoming artillery, motors, and grenades.

Useful hack: the landing pad fits perfectly on the stockade so that no prisoners can climb over the walls!

Man I love that skit LOL.

I had this when I was a kid. Thanks Santa 🎅

The first appearance of the HQ was not in Marvel GI Joe 24. It was actually introduced as a "decoy" HQ in issue 19. In that issue, it is assembled in tbe Pit, then raised up under the roof of rhe motor pool to make Cobra to conceal the actual HQ, which was the Pit. The HQ was subsequently destroyed, causing some damage to the Pit that took several issues to repair. Issue 19 was also notable for the deaths of General Flag,, Dr. Venom, Kwinn, and Scar Face.

my little brother got the latter release 92 version of this with a motorized missle canon I think? it was a great playset for our joes. didn't have the vehicle bays which was a shame.

this was a great vid,in my opinion i would put this at the top of my list of playsets,i would love to add it to my collection one day.

How I played with it. I put the Tactical Battle Platform behind it and let the platform s ramp fold down onto of the Armory in back The platforms command center became the Aircraft control tower.

Definitely an underrated playset.

Ha. I saw one of these once, owned by the first kid I knew with GI Joe toys. With the way I played, I would have pretended this playset was part of a larger headquarters that definitely had back walls and more, kind of like playing with the STAR WARS Death Star and Star Destroyer sets.

I like that playset I think it would work beautifully with the combaticons if they were skilled to fit the GI Joe headquarters there's a helicopter pad for vortex, and a bay for swindle plus a spot for brawl.

That skit though, 😂

woah! :) awesome playset, and review! :)

I'd like to see that massive laser cannon mounted to the FLAGG!

Helipad??? Hella-AWESOME!!!

In many ways, I liked this better than the Death Star playset. I always wished that Kenner had made a Yavin or Hoth playset similar to this one.

Had it, loved it, despite its weird shortcomings. (percentage of square footage spent on brig vs. comm. center? The terror drome had these priorities in ORDER.) It was obviously designed to be set up only against a sheer cliff wall. In a place where it will never rain, ever.

When I was younger (though not being too much older now) I always wanted the vehicles to fit in the playsets. Don"t know why though.

Hilarious skit at the end.

I only have the U.K. version of this. The Z-Force base. The most expensive set to buy of Action Force in the 80's.

Sorry but you got the first appearance of the command center wrong. In was in the January 1984 issue of GI Joe comic "Joe Triumphs". The one you mentioned is the second use and it was in the June 1984 issue of the GI Joe comic "The Commander escapes" That's also the issue that the Skyhawk was also first featured in. Keep up the good work. YO JOE!

Yet again, ANOTHER thing that slipped by the Southcoast of Mississippi ENTIRELY! Ah well. That's why I count on RetroBlasting to keep me in the retro-loop. Tex (tip of the Ovaltine mug to the memory of a fellow fan)

I had it. Still do. Inbox. And the VAMP and MOBAT.

i have destro,cobra,snake eyes,a juggernaut,a guy in orange all perfectly set up

X Generation playsets: Multiple unique and interesting creations all of them made to be played and displayed Z Generation playsets: *EvErYtHiNg Is A hOuSe*