Playmates Toys' THE SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR Alien Spaceship set
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THE SIMPSONS "Treehouse of Horror 2" and "Christmas" Playsets

Last year, they released the superb set that had the Springfield Cemetery as a backdrop and contained 4 exclusive figures that have featured prominently in past "Treehouse" episodes (King Kong Homer, Fly-Bart, Ned Flanders as Satan and Mr. Burns as Dracula). It was a hard-to-find set that ended up getting gobbled up by collectors who turned around and sold it on eBay for upwards of $80-$100 dollars.

This year, someone must have been even wiser and nabbed all of the "Treehouse 2" sets - they're impossible to find. The new set is the spaceship run by Kang and Kodos who pop up in just about every "Treehouse" episode. With their see-through domes and saliva drooling, the green-skinned, octopus-looking Kang and Kodos are designed perfectly and come with a Homer figure (and a rectal probe) so they can do optimal damage.

This is a pretty heavy playset too. Just lifting it up, it weighs more than any of the previous SIMPSONS playsets and no wonder. It will take you at least 30 minutes to plow through the very complex packaging to get all the pieces out before you put the spaceship backdrop together. To the defense of the tight packaging: it also ensures no matter how much damage the outer packaging receives, Kang and Kodos' domes will not be broken or damaged.

As always, there's a plethora of familiar phrases the three figures say culled from their various episodes. Again, you wonder if this is indeed designed for adults or for kids, especially when one of the phrases includes, "We've reached the limits of what rectal probing can teach us."

The bottom line find this now before price gouging puts it out of anyone's range.

Also out this Halloween from Burger [IMG2R]King are 15 fun mini-figures featuring the Simpsons characters in various Halloween garb. Little sayings are emblazoned on tombstones and other platforms, and when you hook them to the plastic base they light up. It's a clever little device and the toys are well worth paying for a Happy Meal to collect them all (though it might be even harder now that Halloween is officially over though that hasn't stopped THE SIMPSONS from airing their annual Halloween special a week after Halloween).

Finally, collectors should start looking early for the Toys "R" Us exclusive Christmas playset. This one features five exclusive figures including Marge with Christmas trimming in her hair, Homer dressed as Santa, Lisa in her "nice clothes," Maggie riding on Santa's Little Helper and Bart wearing a Santa cap. A Christmas tree and Simpsons family living room are also additional accessories included. Though the "Treehouse of Horror" sets definitely stand out as the best of this holiday kind, since the first episode ever of the SIMPSONS was the Christmas one, this playset will have a soft spot for many fans. Though it would have been nice to have Snowball to go with the set, this is still quality toy making designed for SIMPSONS fanatics everywhere.

Though only two years old, Playmates' SIMPSONS line continues to get better and better. And although the next set of figures certainly could do without Mascot Homer, we will be getting a chance to have Bleeding Gums Murphy, Professor Frink and Snake to turn our shelves into SIMPSONS shrines in the coming new year. Keep them coming and we'll keep Playmates rolling in the "D'oh."