Fun With the Dukes of Hazzard Punch-Out Fun and the Ertl Playset

Remember way back in March of 2012 when I wrote about actually shrinking a package of Dukes of Hazzard Shirnky Dinks?  That was a lot of fun and I promised in that post that I would soon play with a Dukes Punch-Out Fun set.  Well, it took a while, but I'm finally fulfilling that promise.  Here is a punched-out set of Punch-Out Dukes of Hazzard fun.  And I built all of the Hazzard County buildings in an Ertl 1/64 Playset.

Full disclosure: I haven't lost my mind and decided to open my valuable Dukes toys.  When I was in Sperryville in April before the grand opening of Cooter's in the Country, I did some museum curating.  I got to set up the Dukes displays and play with Dukes toys for two days.  It was incredible. I shared a little bit of the experience with the world on a blog post, but the store hadn't opened yet so I didn't want to share too much.  

I spent the weekend hanging with Ben and Alma and playing with Dukes toys.  Wow.

I wanted to do a few displays that are different from the ones at the Nashville and Gatlinburg Cooters. Alma had a few extra Punch-Out Fun books so I talked her into letting me punch-out one.  For the next few hours, a couple of other workers were building shelves, hanging pictures, painting, and I was on the floor folding together a little Hazzard County.  I am so lucky!

The book has thick cardboard pages and everything is perforated.  There are instructions on each page.  Some of the interior pieces, like the base of the General Lee have little perforated holes that can be very tedious to puncture.  This isn't a project you can do quickly.

It seems to me that a lot of engineering went into the creation of the Dukes toy.  Each car has over ten pieces and the instructions are very intricate.

The General Lee and Rosco's Patrol Car are built similarly.  There is a lot of correct detail on both cars.  The Gen'ral has vector wheels and the CNH-320 plate.  I can't think of too many other Golden Era toys that include the CNH-320.  The completed cars really look like the actual cars.  This is probably the most correct Rosco's Patrol Car toy that was available during the Golden Era of Dukes. I guess the AMT model was pretty accurate.

There is one building in the book and it takes up a bunch of pages.  I thought it was really cool to build a paper replica of Cooter's Garage while I was in Cooter's Place.

The Cooter's Garage consists of the front of the building, with a working garage door, a soda cooler, and office.  It's made up of of only four pieces of paper, but stands very nicely.

It's incredibly accurate! It really surprises me how much detail was put into this set.

It's also a perfect scale when compared to the cars and figures.

Oh, you didn't know there were also figures in this set?  We'll get to those bad boys.

The Jeep model is the most detailed and difficult item to put together.  Unlike the police car and General, it has a detailed interior.  It has a tiny steering wheel, gear shift, and steering column.  They were kind of tough to get punched-out without damaging them.  But I managed.  The seats and roll bar along with the spare tire all add to the detail of Dixie.

Along with the cars, figures, and building, you also get props!  You get to build hay bales, a road closed sign, and a ramp.  There is so much going on in this book!

How cool is all this stuff?

This figures are all one piece that gets folded on the bottom so they stand.  The fold is even angled so the lean perfectly.  Daisy doesn't have a base and is meant to be folded to sit in her Jeep.  You even get a tiny Flash.  Bo, Luke, Cooter, Uncle Jesse, Daisy, Rosco, Flash, and Boss Hogg are included. My only complaint with this set is that it didn't include Enos (or Cletus depending on when it was released.)

Here is the entire completed set.  It takes a good bit of work, but when completed, you get a really cool display piece.  I bet young Dukes fans back in the early '80s had a blast playing with this set.

Daisy looks great behind the wheel of her beloved Dixie.  Uncle Jesse approves.

It is so cool that Flash is includes in the set.  The ramp makes jumping over Rosco a breeze.

I put the set inside a glass case at Cooter's in the Country.  It was a perfect fit.

You can see the set anytime you visit the newest Cooter's Place.  I've been back several times and each time I see people checking out the Punch-Out Fun set.  I've had even the most seasoned Dukes fans, *cough Billy Lambing* ask me what it was.  A lot of people have the book in their collection but wouldn't dare open it and put it together.  I have a few in my collection and when I'm ready to display more, you better believe I'm punching-out another set.  It was a lot of fun, and people love seeing such a unique and detailed item.

This is a picture of one of my 1/64 Ertl Playsets.  It is nearly mint and is a Corvette variant.  I'll never open it.

Alma, on the other hand, found one in her collection in this condition.  The cars were missing but everything else was there.  When I came across it, I said I had to build it.  She agreed.

The first thing I came across were the amazing instructions.  Though a little damaged, they are just so cool.  After I used it to construct the playset, I framed it.

Inside the set are several buildings, signs, and trees.  They are similar to the Punch-out Fun set, but more simplistic in their design.

The walls are individual pieces that have inserts that go into holes on the connecting pieces and get folded inside.  It was a little more difficult to get these little buildings to stay together than it was the cars and buildings in the other set.  I'll admit that I used a little tape.

The playset includes Cooter's Garage, but it has a more generic look.

The Hazzard County Court House is a fun little building.

Somehow I ended up with two court houses.

You get the Boar's Nest, Cooter's Garage, The Duke Farm, and the Court House (or two.)  I wish they resembled the actual buildings more like the Cooter's Garage in the Punch-Out Fun set.

You also get a few trees, a tiny bridge, and a place mat that has a highway and a dirt road.  This is a fun set and the 1/64 cars fit nicely on it.  It is a highly sought after collectible piece that, again, a lot of people have, but will never open .  I'm glad I got a chance to play with one.  We kept the box and all the extra material.  I even put the used Punch-Out Fun book in the playset box.  I couldn't bring myself to throw that stuff away.  

The completed playset is on display in the child's bedroom area of Cooter's in the Country.  I placed most of it  where it is in the faux bedroom.  Man, I have a fun life.