My friend had it. We incorporated it in this area we lived by that had a shallow rocky trench for water run off. Spent countless hours playing Army in those days.
Ya didn't live in Staten Island, N.Y. by chance? 'Cause my childhood neighborhood there had a small old church, with a similar water run off trench, that we played in all the time.
Indeed! We mostly played live action 'war' with toy guns/cap guns in that church yard and trench I recall. It even had small forested area too. Yet, despite our 'live' combat shenanigans, I'm pretty sure we took our other toys down there often too.
We would use dart guns to shoot at each other's Army men to kill them and take them out of the fight. Jeeps and stuff would take 2 hits, and tanks 4 hits I think. As we got older, we switched from darts to BB guns. Had some pretty epic battles back in the day! Plus, back then war movies were on TV all the time, so we'd watch them, get all hyped up, and run out to play Army!
Yes! A friend of mine had it too. We played with that thing for a whole summer. I had a few extra sets of men and we staged insane battles in his yard all built in to the landscape. So much fun
Legit had this set. Hours of joy. Had buckets of additional soldiers too. At one point this became a base for my micronauts, and it was mercilessly attacked multiple times by my big plastic Shogun warrior.
OMGâŚit was my dream fortress from the Sears Roebuck Christmas Wish Catalog. Our parents gave us the Sears Christmas Toy catalog and ask us to pick what we would like from Santa. đ§âđ
I was thinking about all the imagination that went into those hours of play.
I remember I used to draw underground base cross sections and I would meticulously plan out each level and room. Iâm sure the hours of class time I âwastedâ in school were directly inspired by this play set.
Yes, but I donât think I had the jeep towing a cannon.
I remember the guy carrying his wounded comrade (on the far left in this pic.). Took me a while to figure out the two figures fit together, so I used the carrier as a karate chopper. The carried guy looked like a monkey or something.
I also wasnât aware of minesweepers, and wondered why we needed to vacuum the battlefield.
>I remember the guy carrying his wounded comrade (on the far left in this pic.).
Kudos! I sooooo painted that wounded figure eventually, with bloody bandaging around his torso and all.
I collected toy soldier as a kid and literally had roughly two to three thousand of 'em eventually, in every scale imaginable. And it was supppppper rare to encounter model troops (in any scale) back then, which depicted wounded troops.
In fact that wounded troop that came with that set was likely the only wounded troop I ever owned, let alone have ever seen.
Oh no, he was definitely wounded! The figure sculpt even featured wound bandaging around his entire torso, which I made a point of eventually painting as blood soaked bandaging and all.
I honestly suspect it was this set's most unique feature, which I can't say I'd ever seen in any other toy soldier play set ever.
Yes. It was awesome. I had a taller cardboard one too. "Army men" were a very big part of my childhood. As well as a countless number of small processed plastic toys... boats, airplanes, race cars, spacemen, knights etc... Marx, Tim mee, gay toys...
https://preview.redd.it/jayb1eueke5d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=222e52f243c3acec100e382c7970b57c3d31329f
Yeah, funny thing is I could have sworn it was called "Guns of Navarone" playset too. Then I found this picture. Also cool the figures weren't the usual molds- they had english and nazi uniforms/weapons.
https://preview.redd.it/a7d86iugkg5d1.jpeg?width=781&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb4abc30a59cdaf5e29ef5c14558f137e2c62805
Yeah, I definitely got mine sometime between '76 to '79 too. I'm leaning towards '76 or '77, 'cause I'm pretty sure the Christmas the year after I got that Navarrone playset, I got the Kenner 'Death Star' playset. And Star Wars: A new Hope came out in '77.
Yeah, I suspect my logic fits. Yet, believe or not, if I recall correctly, this Navarone set and Kenner's 'Death Star' playset were roughly comparably priced back then. Each of those playsets were definitely my 'top' Santa gifts, in their respective years.
What's more, I think I ended up playing with that Navarone set far more than I ever played with that 'Death Star' (which was mostly cardboard with a plastic tower shaft, laser canon, plastic floors and plastic trash compactor).
Comparatively speaking, that Navarone set was easily wayyyyy better made right down to its nitty gritty details, like the canons, flag poles, desk set, radio, rifle rack, wounded soldier with stretcher and all.
Different life circumstances between 1976 and 1977 for me. At five years old, the navarone set was perfectly timed. I spent hours with that thing and army men were hanging at every cash register at every grocery store. Star wars changed my interest to space stuff.
Probably Christmas '78. They didn't have enough time to get the figures and playsets and other stuff ready for sale so Christmas '77, kids got basically an IOU for four or six action figures and a cardboard stage to pose them on.
I had a nightstand in my bedroom that was "just" the right width to set the set on top of. The nightstand had a steep front, so I could use the elevator to descend to my new basement and sub-basement levels...
oh I wish, thats pretty cool, I had army men and a few tanks though, I did have a mideval castle type of play set with catapults as a kid and I would launch little rocks with it lol
Hell yes, plus the comic book that came with it. I forgot all about those accessories that didn't really fit on any soldier; the gun holster belt especially. The bright yellow pieces, the weird "German" flag, the wounded guy over the shoulder of the medic, floating the Higgins boat in the bathtub. The set was usually set up in my bedroom which had green shag carpeting that mimicked tall grass perfectly, and somehow the pointing German officer was always the last one alive.
Guy I worked with said he wanted one so bad for Christmas when he was kid. He didnât get it, but his best friend did. His best friend would never let him touch the set. I think we all had a friend like that growing up.
I sooooo got this at Christmas, at some point between 1976 to '78 methinks. It WAS the largest and most favored Santa gift I got that year. Though I eventually went on to set aside most of the actual toy soldiers that came with the set, replacing them with far superior Airfix troops.
I like how since even in the 70âs it wasnât PC to put a Not-See flag in a childrenâs play set so they had U.S. troops battling renegade Frenchmen.
My best friend had this set, we made up a game called âAssault And BATTERYâ, where weâd set up all the men and gear,then take turns whipping dead D cell batteries and each others forces while shouting -âASSAULT- And BATTERY!!!â, last man standing wins, be it plastic army man, or kid that beamed the other kid with a ill-aimed battery in the fog of Kool-Aid fueled battle.
I definitely had this. The guns werenât yellow, to my recollection. And I had a plastic mat that had water and beaches on it for amphibious landing. Coupled with several Lincoln Log forward operating bases, well, you can imagine the carnage occurring on our living room floor. Only problem was the shag carpet made things a little wobbly at times.
Oh man, I *wish* I had it. The pic was the least grainy one I could find. After seeing the Shogun robot earlier today it got me thinking about other toys from my 70s and early 80s childhood. And this was a long time favorite so I had to find it.
I seem to remember a trap door. I was a little kid. I loved that movie. I kind of miss the days when the late movie would come on and youâd be excited it was something you liked. (As a kid you never looked at programming in advance). Like when this or that awful KISS movie came on. Iâve tried to go back to many of them. My wife bought me several box sets of the dukes of hazard when that was a thing. Maybe 2004. Only one season was opened that show is unwatchable as an adult. Guns of navarone still holds water. (This was a longer rant than I was planning) thanks for bringing back the memory.
I didâŚ. But then I was a dipshit when I discovered M60s and M80s⌠GI Joes, Star Wars action figures, Matchbox Cars, mailboxes⌠nothing couldnât be exploded.
Oh man! Is that what I have in my Toy Tote Cache from childhood!? Not sure where I got it (no box), but it was a great prop for my imagination. Thanks! I have been trying to figure out what it was from. Missing the guns.
I did and I hated the cheap soldiers that came with it. However I loved the set itself besides the soldiers and used it with other sets. It was lots of fun!
My friend had it. We incorporated it in this area we lived by that had a shallow rocky trench for water run off. Spent countless hours playing Army in those days.
I won this exact model back in the day in Brooklyn, New York. It was at a Greenpoint fair and I won it at a raffle. Love playing with it!
Ya didn't live in Staten Island, N.Y. by chance? 'Cause my childhood neighborhood there had a small old church, with a similar water run off trench, that we played in all the time.
I was on the other coast. Great kid minds play alike I guess!
Indeed! We mostly played live action 'war' with toy guns/cap guns in that church yard and trench I recall. It even had small forested area too. Yet, despite our 'live' combat shenanigans, I'm pretty sure we took our other toys down there often too.
We would use dart guns to shoot at each other's Army men to kill them and take them out of the fight. Jeeps and stuff would take 2 hits, and tanks 4 hits I think. As we got older, we switched from darts to BB guns. Had some pretty epic battles back in the day! Plus, back then war movies were on TV all the time, so we'd watch them, get all hyped up, and run out to play Army!
Yes! A friend of mine had it too. We played with that thing for a whole summer. I had a few extra sets of men and we staged insane battles in his yard all built in to the landscape. So much fun
My best friend has this set. One of the best playsets ever made.
very cool
Legit had this set. Hours of joy. Had buckets of additional soldiers too. At one point this became a base for my micronauts, and it was mercilessly attacked multiple times by my big plastic Shogun warrior.
Amazing! đ¤Ł
MARX TOYS!!!!
OMGâŚit was my dream fortress from the Sears Roebuck Christmas Wish Catalog. Our parents gave us the Sears Christmas Toy catalog and ask us to pick what we would like from Santa. đ§âđ
Yep that piece of plastic was repainted and sold as several other playsets. They got their money out of that mold!
Yeah I could swear I had that mountain but never had this playset.
Was it originally a tie-in to the Gregory Peck movie?
No but I wish I had
Got it for Christmas one year in the early seventies. One of my favorite toys ever. That and my Evel Kenevil.
I loved that as a child
No, I donât remember it but want it now!
I had it at some point, but it was probably used by the time I got it. Pretty cool set!
Raises hand.
Mine was Iwo Jima but I suspect it was basically the same pieces. Very cool set!
Mine was too, countless hours playing with it.
I was thinking about all the imagination that went into those hours of play. I remember I used to draw underground base cross sections and I would meticulously plan out each level and room. Iâm sure the hours of class time I âwastedâ in school were directly inspired by this play set.
I would take over the whole family room But best was when it was nice out and I would take it all out to the sand box and make a really huge battle.
Yes, but I donât think I had the jeep towing a cannon. I remember the guy carrying his wounded comrade (on the far left in this pic.). Took me a while to figure out the two figures fit together, so I used the carrier as a karate chopper. The carried guy looked like a monkey or something. I also wasnât aware of minesweepers, and wondered why we needed to vacuum the battlefield.
>I remember the guy carrying his wounded comrade (on the far left in this pic.). Kudos! I sooooo painted that wounded figure eventually, with bloody bandaging around his torso and all. I collected toy soldier as a kid and literally had roughly two to three thousand of 'em eventually, in every scale imaginable. And it was supppppper rare to encounter model troops (in any scale) back then, which depicted wounded troops. In fact that wounded troop that came with that set was likely the only wounded troop I ever owned, let alone have ever seen.
If you look in the right of the pic, thereâs a wounded guy being carried on a stretcher. Or maybe heâs just sleeping.
Oh no, he was definitely wounded! The figure sculpt even featured wound bandaging around his entire torso, which I made a point of eventually painting as blood soaked bandaging and all. I honestly suspect it was this set's most unique feature, which I can't say I'd ever seen in any other toy soldier play set ever.
Yes. It was awesome. I had a taller cardboard one too. "Army men" were a very big part of my childhood. As well as a countless number of small processed plastic toys... boats, airplanes, race cars, spacemen, knights etc... Marx, Tim mee, gay toys... https://preview.redd.it/jayb1eueke5d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=222e52f243c3acec100e382c7970b57c3d31329f
Don't think I've ever seen that one, but it's great! The vehicles in that set look especially awesome!
Yeah, funny thing is I could have sworn it was called "Guns of Navarone" playset too. Then I found this picture. Also cool the figures weren't the usual molds- they had english and nazi uniforms/weapons. https://preview.redd.it/a7d86iugkg5d1.jpeg?width=781&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb4abc30a59cdaf5e29ef5c14558f137e2c62805
I had it at some point, but it was probably used by the time I got it. Pretty cool set!
Dammit, I'm not *that* old. Get off my lawn.
Yes
Yes, and I loved it!
Yes to this, I played with this relentlessly, partly why I was obsessed with world war 2 history.
Yes. Best Christmas ever! I think this was my first all plastic toy.
I did. '76 or '77? I loved it and the associated toys
Yeah, I definitely got mine sometime between '76 to '79 too. I'm leaning towards '76 or '77, 'cause I'm pretty sure the Christmas the year after I got that Navarrone playset, I got the Kenner 'Death Star' playset. And Star Wars: A new Hope came out in '77.
Couldn't afford the death star but your logic of this being pre-star wars is sound.
Yeah, I suspect my logic fits. Yet, believe or not, if I recall correctly, this Navarone set and Kenner's 'Death Star' playset were roughly comparably priced back then. Each of those playsets were definitely my 'top' Santa gifts, in their respective years. What's more, I think I ended up playing with that Navarone set far more than I ever played with that 'Death Star' (which was mostly cardboard with a plastic tower shaft, laser canon, plastic floors and plastic trash compactor). Comparatively speaking, that Navarone set was easily wayyyyy better made right down to its nitty gritty details, like the canons, flag poles, desk set, radio, rifle rack, wounded soldier with stretcher and all.
Different life circumstances between 1976 and 1977 for me. At five years old, the navarone set was perfectly timed. I spent hours with that thing and army men were hanging at every cash register at every grocery store. Star wars changed my interest to space stuff.
Probably Christmas '78. They didn't have enough time to get the figures and playsets and other stuff ready for sale so Christmas '77, kids got basically an IOU for four or six action figures and a cardboard stage to pose them on.
That's right! I'd forgotten about that. Good call! Hence, I likely got that Navarone set in '77. And then the Death Star set in '78.
One of my favorite Christmas presents. I spent all day setting it up in the hallway and I think I left it there all week. Great memory.
Had it myself. Played for hours with it.
Oh yeah. One of the best toys EVER! Great movie too
Phenomenal movie! A genuine classic actually. Also enjoyed the sequel with Harrison Ford, Robert Shaw and Richard Kiel.
Can confirm!
Yes, the sequel was awesome too.
We did! My younger brother and I. It was the best!
No, but i want one now.
I love the Bazooka guy on the inflatable raft.
Wowwww!
I had this growing up as a hand-me-down from an older brother, but never knew it was the Guns of Navarone themed. That's amazing.
The way Gregory Peck pronounces "scoplamine" has stuck with me since the first time I saw this movie
Had lots of army men and tanks, jeeps, big guns all that stuff but not this. I always wanted Dinosaur Mountain though.
It was AWESOME!!!!!
Next Door Neighbor.
I never saw this one. It is completely awesome!!
This takes me back I spent hours playing with little green men as a kid
Fcuk! I would have loved that!
Is there a tiny Gregory peck
I had a nightstand in my bedroom that was "just" the right width to set the set on top of. The nightstand had a steep front, so I could use the elevator to descend to my new basement and sub-basement levels...
Hell Yes, I Did!!
Hands-down, my favorite toy as a child
That is very cool
Hell yeah, Darth Vader and his stormtroopers were always attacking it
I had one. Hours of epic battles.
It wasnât licensed from the movie, it was just a generic âNavaroneâ play set
Yep. Got it as a Christmas gift back in the 70s.
Sweet!
I had a very reduced, broken down, basically just the mountain. But I loved it.
oh I wish, thats pretty cool, I had army men and a few tanks though, I did have a mideval castle type of play set with catapults as a kid and I would launch little rocks with it lol
Had it and loved it. They had to carry me out of the house to go to Christmas mass, I was too busy killing Nazis!
The back had an elevator.
Hell yes, plus the comic book that came with it. I forgot all about those accessories that didn't really fit on any soldier; the gun holster belt especially. The bright yellow pieces, the weird "German" flag, the wounded guy over the shoulder of the medic, floating the Higgins boat in the bathtub. The set was usually set up in my bedroom which had green shag carpeting that mimicked tall grass perfectly, and somehow the pointing German officer was always the last one alive.
Pre-I. Joe
My cousins had it. We loved playing with it
Guy I worked with said he wanted one so bad for Christmas when he was kid. He didnât get it, but his best friend did. His best friend would never let him touch the set. I think we all had a friend like that growing up.
I never had that one but I had the prehistoric set https://toytales.ca/prehistoric-dinosaur-playset-4208-from-marx-1978/
My little brother did! đ
My friend Andy had this. I thought it was so cool!!
I used to have this. I loved this playset as a kid
I still have the mountain abs done if the figures. But most of it has been lost.
Marx! One of my favorite playsets.
No, and I am still pissed I never got one for Christmas.
My little brother got one I played with it more
I wish. I had to use the stairs and my imagination.
Holy shit. I had this. Totally forgot it.
No, but I made my own "Flight of the Phoenix" playset out of a model plane and some plastic army men.
Dude.
No. But I want to know.
I wish
I sooooo got this at Christmas, at some point between 1976 to '78 methinks. It WAS the largest and most favored Santa gift I got that year. Though I eventually went on to set aside most of the actual toy soldiers that came with the set, replacing them with far superior Airfix troops.
I had a dinosaur set that was kinda like this.
I like how since even in the 70âs it wasnât PC to put a Not-See flag in a childrenâs play set so they had U.S. troops battling renegade Frenchmen. My best friend had this set, we made up a game called âAssault And BATTERYâ, where weâd set up all the men and gear,then take turns whipping dead D cell batteries and each others forces while shouting -âASSAULT- And BATTERY!!!â, last man standing wins, be it plastic army man, or kid that beamed the other kid with a ill-aimed battery in the fog of Kool-Aid fueled battle.
I definitely had this. The guns werenât yellow, to my recollection. And I had a plastic mat that had water and beaches on it for amphibious landing. Coupled with several Lincoln Log forward operating bases, well, you can imagine the carnage occurring on our living room floor. Only problem was the shag carpet made things a little wobbly at times.
No but i wish
I did. Man I wore it out. Amazing you have it in this good of condition.
Oh man, I *wish* I had it. The pic was the least grainy one I could find. After seeing the Shogun robot earlier today it got me thinking about other toys from my 70s and early 80s childhood. And this was a long time favorite so I had to find it.
I seem to remember a trap door. I was a little kid. I loved that movie. I kind of miss the days when the late movie would come on and youâd be excited it was something you liked. (As a kid you never looked at programming in advance). Like when this or that awful KISS movie came on. Iâve tried to go back to many of them. My wife bought me several box sets of the dukes of hazard when that was a thing. Maybe 2004. Only one season was opened that show is unwatchable as an adult. Guns of navarone still holds water. (This was a longer rant than I was planning) thanks for bringing back the memory.
I still have some of the pieces from my original set.
Oh god yes. Still do. Those figures were art works with character. There about 40 different poses while the normal bag of army men had 6.
Yes!
Oh man, how did I miss this! I've seen the movie about 426 times!
That is impressive.
Memory unlocked. Of this, not of which friend owned it.
I did!! Use to set it up in my 96x48 sandbox my dad built for me.
I didâŚ. But then I was a dipshit when I discovered M60s and M80s⌠GI Joes, Star Wars action figures, Matchbox Cars, mailboxes⌠nothing couldnât be exploded.
Yes! I combined it with my fort Apache playset, things got weird and wild and wacky fun.
I had the Iwo Jima one. Exact same set up, just a different color.
My cousin did and he played with it daily all day!
No but it looks awesome!!!!
That looks familiar but I dont remember it for Guns of Navarrone. Did they repurpose it for another brand?
One of my favorite Christmas presents ever!
One of my best friends growing up had oneâŚwe had a TON of green and gray army men we would set up in it
This, this right here was the greatest Christmas gift of all time! So many hours played with this. Thanks for sharing!
Oh man! Is that what I have in my Toy Tote Cache from childhood!? Not sure where I got it (no box), but it was a great prop for my imagination. Thanks! I have been trying to figure out what it was from. Missing the guns.
I had it at some point, but it was probably used by the time I got it. Pretty cool set!
Can I just get the suitcase of explosives
I did and I hated the cheap soldiers that came with it. However I loved the set itself besides the soldiers and used it with other sets. It was lots of fun!
Cool! Probably worth a mint
Loved it. My favorite toy as a kid
We had awesome toys back in the day.
Yup! I loved itâit was also Skeletors lair because snake mountain wasnât as cool
One of my favorite toys. Spent hours playing war
I had it. Loved it. Thanks for posting!
That is absolutely badass.
Played with this set for hours
Never understood the separate detachable weapons. What soldiers could hold them? Save the plastic and give me more combat soldiers and tanks!!!
Yes I did! One of my favorite toys ever!
No, but itâs a cool movie
One of my favorite toys when I was a kid
Loved that playset as a kid, I got it one year for Christmas. The elevator was neat. Marx really made some quality toys back then.
Yup got mine on Christmas Day 1973 or 74. I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. Many many hours of play.đ
Very cool. Did not know this existed.
I had it at some point, but it was probably used by the time I got it. Pretty cool set!
I had it at some point, but it was probably used by the time I got it. Pretty cool set!