The G.I. Joe USS Flagg: the Story of the Grandest Toy Ever Made

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There are a lot of cool toys and playsets out there that every kid can only dream about owning But was there one from the ‘80s that stood above them all?

The USS Flagg was a 7-foot aircraft carrier for G.I. Joe and made by Hasbro in 1985. It is based on a Nimitz class aircraft carrier and is considered the ultimate playset.

The 1980s were the golden age of toys with so many new brands and franchises being released.

There were so many choices and options, it could be overwhelming and parents hated it. Even staying within one franchise, there were so many options that you could never own all of.

If you liked Transformers, there were so many figures (that weren't cheap) that collecting all of them was probably out of the question.

Same for He-Man. Between the characters and playsets, there was a lot to get, and this would take a lot of allowances, Christmas, and birthdays to accumulate.

If you grew up in the ‘80s, you didn't have an interest in just one of these things: but a wide variety of toys.

G.I. Joe would always be at the top of the list, and as a toy, it was probably the hardest to even try to accumulate.

There were hundreds of figures and over 250 vehicles. You could dream about them all—but then Hasbro put out the crown jewel of all toys: The USS Flagg.

What Was the USS Flagg?

This was it, the toy you could only dream of. It was a massive toy but actually, more of a playset as it was so big you couldn’t move it around anywhere.

Even though it was technically a boat, it couldn’t float or be used in water, like the G.I. Joe "Killer W.H.A.L.E." hovercraft.

The USS Flagg measured in at a whopping 7ft 6 inches and is the largest toy playset ever made.

In 1985 it sold for $109.99, which converted for today is around $254.17.

It’s named Flagg with two G’s as they name it after General Flagg who was an original G.I. Joe character.

He was used in the comics—and in fiction—is credited with creating G.I. Joe. The USS Flagg was available in 1985 and 1986 but stopped being produced in 1987.

The USS Flagg came with one action figure: Vice Admiral Keel-Haul. He was a character that was featured in the comics but was never seen on the cartoon show.

Instead, they had Admiral Ledger who was captain of the USS Montana.

What Was the USS Flagg Based On?

The USS Flagg is not considered a supercarrier and is often mistaken for a CV-66. This is because the number of the ship is 99--but the stickers for it are technically facing the wrong way.

To identify the numbers on an aircraft carrier: the numbers should be facing you if you were standing on the deck.

The USS Flagg is classified as a CVN-99 and the C stands for “aircraft carrier." V indicates fixed-wing, and the N means it’s nuclear powered.

As of right now, we’re up to aircraft carrier #78 that is used by the U.S and it’s the CVN-78 USS Gerald R Ford.

Right now, they have planed up to CVN-80, and It’ll be interesting to see what they would call it when they get up to the 99th one.

This toy is massive but if it’s not built to scale. A G.I. Joe figure is 1/18th scale which means to build a toy aircraft carrier in the right proportions: the USS Flagg would have been 63 feet long and 13 feet wide.

Also, the carrier itself is 1/145th scale size of a real aircraft carrier.

What Was the USS Flagg Made Up Of?

To start off with, this was a legitimate playset and came with an electronic public address system.

It also came with a two-piece utility vehicle that was part tractor and part fuel delivery system. The USS Flagg has radar, missile launchers, an “Admirals Launch," and an elevator deck.

It also came with an arrestor cable. If you’ve ever seen a video of planes landing on an aircraft carrier, you’ve seen that when they land they have a giant hook coming off the back end of the plane.

That hook catches onto a giant cable on the deck which helps to slow it down.

They would also use a catapult assisted take-off which would slingshot the plane off the deck as it took off.

None of the toys--like the G.I. Joe "Skystriker" plane--had the hook that would slow it down on landing, but the USS Flagg came with one that could be fitted into the back of the Skystriker rear stabilizers.

The deck of the carrier is made up of some huge plastic pieces, some more than 2.5 feet wide and 3.5 feet long.

They used some heavy-duty deck plates that were made out of the same kind of plastic used to make playground equipment.

Since some of the pieces were so big they came with massive stickers. The stickers had trouble staying glued to the toy.

Some of the lane marker stickers were so long that they wouldn’t stay in place, and reproduction replacement stickers could cost up to a hundred dollars.

The whole deck is so big that it’s held up by support beams to try and reduce the plastic use.

From the back, it looks more like scaffolding than anything else. It’s fair to think of the USS Flagg as a playset as opposed to a toy.

Putting the USS Flagg Together

It starts with 9 different trusses to help support the deck. But these were known to be pretty fragile and could break easily.

On top of this framework would be the 5 different deck plates. Small little clips would be crucial for keeping the deck plates attached securely to the trusses and they would hold up pretty well.

The tower was made of several light gray pieces that would snap together. These pieces were also flimsy and prone to breakage.

The whole tower would then slide into the main deck plate. The tower is held in place with a couple of Y-shaped pins which tend to go missing easily.

Next, there is a long flexible plastic strip that runs alongside the hull to make it look like it’s a contained unit.

This whole thing is really not designed for mobility. If you want to move it you’d need a team of people or would have to take it apart and reassemble it in another location.

You would need help just transport the whole thing as the box it came in was a massive 42 inches.

Was It Just a Toy for the Elite?

The USS Flagg but was an interesting toy that may have isolated a lot of kids. You need to look at it as being a high-end choice for more fortunate kids.

Not only was there a steep price tag, but you also need to look at it from the viewpoint of a playset.

To use the USS Flagg properly means you would have to have a lot of the bigger and more expensive vehicles that it was designed for.

There are certain areas and elevator parts designed for specific G.I. Joe vehicles, and the set implies that you either had all of these toys or would be getting them.

You also had a giant toy that couldn't move. This means you probably had a massive bedroom or playroom in order to set it up and use it properly.

Wrapping It Up

The USS Flagg is a whopper, not only in physical size but in its significance.

It’s crazy to think that a toy like this would have ever been dreamed up. The fact it got past the pitch process to a design stage and onto shelves is pretty remarkable.

This is 1985, and it’s arguably the best year for toys in a period that was an entire golden era of toys.

Since most kids had an interest in a variety of brands and franchises, this was an attempt by Hasbro to try and shine through a year of extremely epic toys.

Remember, this was right when the Transformers were just taking off and becoming an epic toy.

G.I. Joe itself is at the forefront and we’re right in the heart of the monumental Cabbage Patch Kids craze. And don’t forget that Star Wars is still going strong: Return of the Jedi was only a few years back so they were still hot.

The USS Flagg was an attempt to stand out among the rest. It wanted to be the best and most epic toy during a decade of other extremely epic toys.

The USS Flagg definitely made an impact. The hype surrounding this thing put it into a toy mythology category.

It was like Bigfoot: you knew about it, but the odds are you had never seen one with your own eyes.

No matter what you thought of it, you were aware of it--and it remains the pinnacle of giant toys and playsets today.

On the collector market, even a poor-quality old USS Flagg will still cost you hundreds.

If you’re looking for a high-end mint one: good luck. Even if you find someone willing to part with it, it will run you thousands.

Either way, the USS Flagg remains an iconic part of a toy line that is, itself, already iconic.

The odds are you won’t see a toy like that again anytime soon because they don’t build ‘em like that anymore.

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