Winnie the Pooh's 'Travelin' Tree House'

Some years ago, Fisher Price approached me to design a large tree house playset for Winnie the Pooh.
I have probably designed a dozen different Pooh playsets over the years, for Disney and different toy makers who have held the license, and they all had their own unique spin.

One that I designed for Fisher Price focused on the 'Tigger & Pooh friends: Super Sleuth' features (which introduced the character: Darby).  Among the array of toys designed and produced for that property was this super-secret changing tree house playset:

     










In spite of the fact that the play figures for these were only a couple of inches tall, these were pretty formidable and busy sets.  But the required exploration garnered plenty from which to choose in whittling down to the essentials, ..which produced the next round of drawings:  several smaller sets, separated into individual features, playing up the launching 'sleuth scooter'. I went simpler and more compact on the actual tree house;

..And here is how it all turned out when it was produced;

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Pooh's Travelin' Tree House was different in a number of ways, one being that it was classic Disney Pooh, and not focused on the Super-Sleuth property.  It was also different in that it folded up and could be carried or pulled on wheels by extending the handle, much like a rolling suitcase.  Although this playset started out being pretty formidable, like the aforementioned Sleuth tree house, it stayed largely unchanged.  It ended up being quite a big item in the Pooh line, and consequently a heavier (but still popular) investment for parents.
It may bear mentioning this item was produced exclusively for the European market, and though it's no longer in the retail stores, it can still be found in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia, mainly on ebay.

Anyway, here are the drawings I did in designing the Travelin' Treehouse;

open view

Treetop cottage detaches for separate play

wheels remove and open into accessories

 

































































I think it's evident I had a lot of fun with this, and getting the most play out of every part.  The creatives at Fisher Price loved it as it was conceived.  Other than eliminating the removable cottage (scale and cost issues), it was produced pretty much as is;