I had no playsets growing up. Cardboard boxes and blankets and old vic 20 cartridges with lego furniture were my playsets growing up.
My first playset I bought as an adult was in 2001 headquarters which was cool but the whole tower thing was kind of useless besides the top level. Then I got the original 92 headquarters in a lot buy locally but it has the same issues and worse colours
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Then i got ok version of the original mcc which was cool, but I'm missing stuff, and have some some broken parts like the hinge door that closes it up. Also very few vehicles fit in it. Plus the way it was depicted in the comics as being able to actually be opened up to the air was a big detract. I prefer to think of the different layers just how to actually play with it not that it actually seperates into that many layers.
Then i got the 83 hq but I'm missing stickers and possibly missing parts and a few broken parts (jail door) , then I got me a flagg that is mostly complete. Just missing a few things and can't justify the ridiculous replacement costs. (Anyone do 3d prints?)
Picked up an okay terrordrome last year but missing quite a bit of the lower level stuff on it and my firebat is mostly just a shell (luckily i have the re-release one).
So I love playsets. These are the things I wish i had as a kid.
I think my favourite to look at is the flagg for sure when you load it with planes, but the one I like the most is the 83 hq.
Its just got everything right about it. It has a command centre, a better jail then the mcc or the 92 hq, a place to park your vehicles, all the different ways the early vehicles could interact with it. It can handle a decent amount of figures. Its big but because you can take it apart you don't need special large bins. Its just right in all the ways. Plus i love that particular story line in the comics when cobra commander was captured and storm shadow came to break him out. the play value is amazing.
Maybe one day i will try and return all these things to their former glory.