Hand built Muppet Theatre Playset

March 28, 2011 5:03 PM

When Palisades Toys went bankrupt in 2006, they ceased production of The Muppet Show collection of character figures, Lance Cardinal took it upon himself to craft an intricately detailed Muppet Theatre Playset by hand.
posted by rhapsodie (20 comments total)

Wow. That is an amazing piece of work.
posted by eyeballkid at 5:17 PM on March 28, 2011

The level of detail on this really makes me happy, especially all the tiny grommets and ropes. Yay!
posted by phunniemee at 5:17 PM on March 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

But where are the king and the Wizard of Id?
posted by bicyclefish at 5:29 PM on March 28, 2011

The attention to detail is amazing.
posted by drezdn at 5:33 PM on March 28, 2011

That's a beautiful model set, but it's no fully functional hand-built Ferrari 312PB.
posted by mosk at 5:39 PM on March 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Hmmm... I got the impression that the fire extinguisher wasn't actually functional.

Good try though.

(holy shit that was impressive).
posted by el io at 5:40 PM on March 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

(O).(0)

*slow clap*
posted by AzzaMcKazza at 5:40 PM on March 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

This last panel is me right now.
posted by codacorolla at 5:51 PM on March 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

good christ! amazing!
posted by Lutoslawski at 6:15 PM on March 28, 2011

There are thousands of tiny hearts floating above my head.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 6:22 PM on March 28, 2011

It makes me so, so happy that anyone in the world is this dedicated to The Muppet Show.



I also really, really want that Jim Henson figure with the banjo. It almost made me cry when I saw it.
posted by louche mustachio at 6:28 PM on March 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

Granted it's from the first movie and not the Muppet Show itself, but as Kermit said:

"Millions of people happy...."
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 6:39 PM on March 28, 2011

Wow. I'd never seen those toys for sale - I would have coveted them something fierce.

I have a pretty Spartan looking house, but one of the few items I keep out where I can see it at all times is a set of plush dolls of 8 Muppets. It's pretty awesome. We just had a party and I kept coming into the room to find people playing with them and doing some pretty good vocal impressions. I can understand the devotion to crafting this (though I'd never have the patience or skill). There are so few things that are as thoroughly good as the Muppets.
posted by Miko at 8:14 PM on March 28, 2011

He kitbashed the backstage set, too!

This is absolutely unbelievable. First I was impressed by the baroque paneling and the scallop footlights, but then I saw the curtain rigging... and the ropes in the flys... and the whole back wall... If Lance Cardinal doesn't get the chance to work with the Henson Company after this, there is no justice in this world.

Does anybody have high-quality scans or photos of these posters?
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:18 AM on March 29, 2011

Sweet! The first one to invoke Too Much Time On His Hands gets a beating.
posted by Scoo at 4:19 AM on March 29, 2011

This is insanely awe-inspiring. What devotion!
posted by PepperMax at 8:29 AM on March 29, 2011

That model plus the backstage model are great, but where is Statler & Waldorf's balcony?!
posted by mostlymuppet at 9:40 AM on March 29, 2011

i love this so much. that backstage wall is awe inspiring.
posted by sawdustbear at 10:57 AM on March 29, 2011

If ever there was a man who deserved to wear this shirt...
posted by Ian A.T. at 8:47 AM on March 30, 2011

mostlymuppet: "That model plus the backstage model are great, but where is Statler & Waldorf's balcony?"

At the bottom of his blog entry (the primary link in the FPP) he says he has plans for more pieces:

Watch for future Blogs where I show you the process of creating these models form idea to completion! I am not done creating parts for this series. I have plans to create:

-Musicians pit for Muppet Theatre
-Box Seats for Statler and Waldorf
...
posted by yiftach at 9:23 AM on March 30, 2011