As we all know, PlayMates releases more figures each wave than fit on the playsets that are released each wave. This causes a serious lack of sensor-pegs in my display and I'm always on the lookout for cool solutions to the shortage problem. Back in June I created a custom Sidewalk playset from an extra Town Hall.

This will cost you between $25 and $30, and will leave you with three more sound-pegs which will work with 23 out of the 39 currently released figures.

Stuff list:

Town Hall playset
File/sander/scraper
Sharpie marker
Black or dark gray spray paint or other paint
Screwdriver
Pointy thing
Sculpting clay of some kind (optional)

1. First, you take a Town Hall playset and open the puppy up.
2. After you get the screws holding the playset to the box off, keep going and unscrew all of the scres holding the bottom plate of the playset to the top.

Inside you'll see, each screwed to the top of the playset individually:

3 buttons
3 sensor peg assemblies
Main circuit board
Speaker

You'll also see screws holding on the two walls.

3. Unscrew the walls from the set and discard them. (Alternatively, leave on the Town Hall facade and redo it as some other store or building's facade). I suggest discarding the "back" wall, either way.
4. Unscrew the 3 sensor pegs and the 2 buttons on the lower level of the set.
5. Unscrew the plastic thing that holds the speaker on.
6. Move the speaker and unscrew the podium from the set.
7. Discard it or think of something else to do with it
8. If you like, remove the circuit board and set the lower portion of the base aside, with circuitry. You can also just tuck the sensors and buttons in unused space inside the casing.

9. Mask off the entire upper portion of the base, including the steps with masking tape or whatever is handy (i used priority mail tape!). Mask so that the line goes down the side of the base from the step ( ---| ) Imagine that the dashes are the lower level, the | represents the way your tape should be on the sides.
10. Spraypaint / paint the lower portion of the base black or dark gray. This is your "street" level.
11. Let your paint dry. You may want to put on a clear coat afterwards, and let that dry, too.
12. Remove your masking tape.
13. Scrape, file, or sand away the red paint from the upper level and the top step, leaving only one red "step". If you plan on sculpting the top step off with clay, scrape, file or sand the top of the bottom step off, too.
14. Also sand away the paint from the depression that the podium used to sit inside. This isn't seen very clearly, so it's not particularly important.

Now the red carpet looks like a nice fresh piece of cement!
And what do we do with fresh cement? We write things in it or run our skateboards through it!

15. Use your pointy thing or dremmel if you have one (I don't) to write "EL BARTO" or "LISA *HEARTS* NELSON" or what have you in the cement.
I used my sharpy and then resanded to give the graffiti more color and make it stand out more. Feel free to be as detailed as you want.
16. Now, sharpie or paint the bottom of the depression that used to house the podium. It looks like a storm grate/drain, so now it will look even more so.
17. Paint or sharpie the gray pieces of the two lower level sensor pegs and buttons.
18. Redo the electronics.

Congratulations, you have a Springfield Sidewalk 30 Minute Custom playset.

Images -

Front View
Top View
Side View
With Other Playsets

Enjoy!