PlaymoFriends

Getting Started => Welcome! => Topic started by: The_Mad_Hadder on July 03, 2016, 12:34:59

Title: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: The_Mad_Hadder on July 03, 2016, 12:34:59
To the members of Playmofriends,

I have taken the dive into the world of Playmobil after a 15 year hiatus. My first set gifted to me was playmobil 3056 and I remember the Christmas when I got set 4033, 4120,4121 and 4122.  I also remember the year when my younger brother decided he could ride on top of the rail cars of said set, damn you fisherprice (c) and putting into the minds of young children that you can ride on any toy..

Fast forward to 4 months ago where I came across the bin with all the bits and pieces and the memories came flooding back. I started by finding as many parts on ebay to replace all the bits that were broken. Hence how I came across this site and although at the time I could not use the search function someone had linked in their posts to playmobilDB where I was able to get the piece numbers for each item. Well as you will soon see I did not stop with just fixing my old sets, I now have about 100 meters of brass track, 118 mint in the box of the apox 257 sets plus add-ons ever made for the western theme (I include Indians and civil war into this theme).

My goal is to have them all mint in the box never opened, but do not worry I still lots out of the box that are for dioramas. I am not a big fan of the new horses, so you will not be seeing any of them in my dioramas. I supposed this is because when I was playing with these toys as a child they were of the older style and that is what I am accustomed to.

When I am not hunting down playmobil sets in my free time I am usually outdoors hiking, biking, canoeing or traveling the world.  Work keeps me busy as I am a manager in the freight fowarding deparment of a customs brokerage firm. I also volunteer at a mens shelter doing food prep on Saturdays.

If any of you are interested I will be doing up a post with pictures of my collection of mint in the box toys and will update the post as new ones (well new to me, some of these sets are older then I am) arrive to add to my collection. Oh and if anyone knows someone selling set 5799 Civil war duo-pack please PM me.

Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: tahra on July 03, 2016, 16:28:22
Welcome from Portugal!

I do not collect MIB sets - I mean, they are only MIB till I get there! I am currently trying (and failing, I suppose? :-[ ) to organize my collection. You are wise - and VERY VERY strong - to keep to one theme. Something I could never do...

Looking forward to seeing your pics :)
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: Raven on July 03, 2016, 17:54:12
Welcome, The_Mad_Hadder.

I hated the new horses when they first came out ... but now I love them.  I still have a soft spot for the old ones, though.  Happy memories of collecting different colours and markings, and how just a change of head position could give them a different look and personality.
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: Tiermann on July 03, 2016, 21:36:22
Welcome from Oregon!
Good luck on the 5799. It's more legend than fact, very limited release I think.
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: Macruran on July 04, 2016, 03:35:45
Welcome and yes please share pictures of your piles of loot.
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: BlueWizard on July 04, 2016, 04:00:11
Hi, MH... and welcome from Victoria, BC.  I hope you have lots of fun here.

David
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: Birdie on July 04, 2016, 06:50:14
Hi there! Welcome from Antwerp, Belgium  :wave:

I'd love to see pictures of your collection  8-)
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: StJohn on July 04, 2016, 19:10:07
Welcome to PF with best regards from Munich!

Im almighty impressed by your Western collection (http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=15705.msg283865#msg283865/), and that assembled in the span of 4 months! 8} Keep up the good work!

Best wishes
StJohn
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: GrahamB on July 04, 2016, 20:28:08
Welcome T M Hadder from the UK (still part of Europe  ;))

That is a really impressive list of Western/ Indian/ Cavalry sets you posted. I hope you may be tempted to show us the contents of some of the MISB sets as well as the boxes... especially for older sets which are difficult to inventory. But then they would no longer be MISB of course!

I hope you enjoy sharing here at Playmofriends!
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: The_Mad_Hadder on July 04, 2016, 20:47:12
Most of the sets I have copies of.  The list I posted was just for the mint in the box never opened though some of the bigger sets the stickers that seal the boxes may have been cut but the contents are all there with the brochures, posters, sticker sheets ect. and all the pieces still sealed in their little pouches.

I will do what I can, but some of these things came shrink wrapped and I will not be opening those.
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: Pynedor on July 04, 2016, 23:41:34
Welcome! :)
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: davidnbun on July 07, 2016, 14:12:39
Welcome from Brooklyn NYC!  :wave:
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: Iclaudius on July 08, 2016, 05:01:35
Welcome from Norwich, England!
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: leefert on July 26, 2016, 22:04:00
I'm sorry that I'm delayed in saying "welcome!"
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: The_Mad_Hadder on July 27, 2016, 14:28:55
I'm sorry that I'm delayed in saying "welcome!"

Better late then never
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: basilsdad on July 28, 2016, 14:57:48
Welcome from Pennsylvania, USA.  :wave:
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: Basie10 on September 18, 2016, 03:14:44
Welcome aboard ;) 8-)
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: Oliver on September 25, 2016, 19:17:24
Hello!

Quite a collection already! And such restraint sticking to one theme.
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: The_Mad_Hadder on December 15, 2016, 20:24:44
So I have signed up to the PCC, just waiting on

"
Your membership to PLAYMOBIL Collectors Club is pending approval

Hello, The_Mad_Hadder

Your profile details must be approved by the Administrator before you can become a member of PLAYMOBIL Collectors Club. You will receive an email once your profile is approved. (Withdraw Request)
"

Takes deep breath,
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: Birdie on December 16, 2016, 19:00:16
Hmmm, I don't remember having to wait for approval... but then again, that was years ago, maybe they changed their policy.
Hope you hear from them soon.

Patience is a virtue and all that  ;)
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: The_Mad_Hadder on December 16, 2016, 19:57:33
I have got my account now and it has opened a world, not to sure how the ordering works for all the special stuff.
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: Birdie on December 16, 2016, 20:50:42
I have got my account now and it has opened a world, not to sure how the ordering works for all the special stuff.

You're in Canada, right? At the PCC Community discussion forum there is a thread called "USA & Canada | Collective Orders 2016".
The guidelines are all there, and you can ask questions there as well.
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: The_Mad_Hadder on December 16, 2016, 20:57:41
Great,

Thank you

I also sent you an e-mail to give me access to the PCC on this fourm
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: sunshai on December 19, 2016, 19:36:46
Welcome :-)
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: tonguello on April 19, 2017, 17:23:44
A warm belated welcome from Buenos Aires!
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: The_Mad_Hadder on September 22, 2017, 00:38:35

You haven't signed up, Mad Hatter, have you? You should. The bunch of you (Tahra, GrahamB, etc. included) should just post in English and invite German responses, and use these for passive learning of the language. Nobody expects more from you, JLMatterer just keeps posting away! It is a very nice bunch over there.

Best wishes
StJohn

I did not want to take this off topic on Tahra's posting of looking out for naked feet with long legs  :love: but I wanted to take a moment to explain why I came to be here and what my intended purpose was then and is now. I know it is going to be a bit of a long read but here goes.

Growing up we always had Playmobil in the house. My father had the pirate ship Playmobil set 3050 and it always sat up in his room. We were not supposed to play with it unless he brought it down for us and we all sat around in the living room.

My older sister (+3 years) was given the Victorian theme and my younger sister (-1 year) the Knights. I was given the western theme, I do not remember the first set I got, but I do remember coming down for Christmas to find 4034 set up around the Christmas tree when I was 8. I loved that train set so much and would put it away in its box every time I was finished playing with it. Then my younger brother came along (he is 8 years younger then me) he had fisher price as a small child so he got into the habit of riding on top of things. When I was 12 years old and he was 4 he pulled out my train set and tried to ride on every single rail car. He broke them all save for the locomotive, tender and flat bed.
I kept all the pieces in a bin, the box became long gone being that I was not really into playing with Playmobil any longer. Fast forward to turning 30 last year and coming across this bin of broken train bits and then that of my western fort and calvary sets when I was looking for something else. It brought me back to my childhood and those found memories that I wanted to share with my kids when I have them. So like any novice I contacted Playmobil Canada in the hopes of getting replacement parts and was advised that they no longer carry them for the train set. At that point I took to ebay and there I met a wonderful seller from Germany who sold parts and I was able to get the majority of the bits I needed. He happened to use to belong to a forum called Playmofriends and suggested I go there if I was interested in seeing others collections and sharing mine.

I lurked around on this site for a few months before I decided to shell out the 10 dollars for a life time membership and it has been well worth it. At first I wanted to just get help finding the missing pieces to sets I already owned and that was going to be the extent of it as I was not planing on making dioramas or making stories. I just was not planing on playing. Then started talking you guys and gals only to find to my horror that the sets I loved so much as a child had been discontinued. So way to go on that, and as of this year Playmobil has killed the western theme, they have even pulled it as a tab from their site and all that is left is a few sets like the train station being put up as direct service item only.

So I made a decision as it became a race against time. I wanted to save one of each set of the western, Native American, Union Soldiers and Confederate Soldiers as an MISB as well as get an open copy. I wanted to save my childhood. My plan is to place them all on display so individuals can just come and see what these amazing toys use to be. Plus it well help me recuperate some of the 35,000 I have spent in the last year finding each and every one since I will be charging administration.

I have currently have known list of about 100 more sets to get. Some are just a different version of a set I already own but the box art work is a bit different. Though about once a month I come across a set that is MISB that I did not even know exist. It is not even in the playmobil collector book. I have 8 such sets that are not even in there. I know there will be a few sets I may never be able to acquire either due to cost or just no MISB sets remaining but that is just something I have accepted.

I have been enjoying hunting them all down and hearing the stories from the sellers I buy the toys from. I think it gives a few of them peace of mind that the items they are now letting go of that they held so dear to their hearts and cherished are going to someone who is not only going to take care of them, but someone who is going to allow others to see them. I'm not here to collect, only to hide them from the rest of the world like a private art collector, I want people to see the old box art work, I want people to see the old toys complete.

Tarha made a comment

I believe to actually be a part of a forum, it is necessary to actually read and participate, not just go through a few choice topics and look at the images, which is (mostly) what I do there.

I know myself that I have not been as active as I should be on this forum and I have a few reasons for such:

1. Work; I am a manager in a private firm that has taken on a lot of big clients over the past few years and has required us to not only grow, but for me to take on the added responsibility of teaching which I am not always the best at trying to convey what it is that I wish to say. I am not one for being very articulate.
2. My significant other; She is not to fond of this new hobby of mine, nor the amount of money that I have put into it within the last year (Yes it has only been a year since that spark). I understand where she is coming from and this is probably the biggest reason, not because I have to hide it, but more so because it is a toy after all and here it is just not as accepted for grown ups to play with little children's toys.
3. The other themes just do not intrest me as much because they where not my child hood memories, yes my older sister had the Victorian theme but playing house was boring to me for being a boy. Though I must say I have enjoyed seeing some of the dioramas. Knights where fun but Playmobil is still making them soI am not as fearful of those disappearing.
4. I am a bit embarrassed myself, being 31 and collecting toys but again its because here it is not common for playmobil. Star-Wars would be understandable, even Lego, but Playmobil, it is just not as common a toy.
5. I do not have a lot of open sets that I can set up and display for you all at the moment and I know that most of you are not interested in looking at boxes which to be fair is what I have since I am not opening them. I do not travel around with a klicky in my pocket to take pictures of when I do travel, but I do like reading all of your stories.

Thank you. Maybe I should invest more time there... since I am usually talking to myself here, anyways. ::) I talk too much, I know. :-[

Tahra has a point, but maybe not the one she thought to make, there are about 25 really active members on this forum, I feel I came in on the tag end  since it seems most members last log in was in 2015 and I know for me it can be discouraging when it seems no one takes interest in what you do or have to Say. It makes me question sometimes if what I am trying to achieve is meaningful to others, does it even matter. But that shouldn't matter, because at the end of the day it is what is important to you. I collect these items because it is important to me. Tahra posts her amazing acquisitions because it is important to her if only to have a time stamp of when things arrived.

I think of this place as a journal of the toy that you all find so dear and cherish, one that brings happy memories, one that connects you to your parents even if they are now gone, to your siblings, to your children, your friends.

I am so very happy that I found all of you and cannot express the gratitude for all the help you have provided me with, the time you have taken to assist me.

I am truly grateful to each and every one of you, even those who no longer visit the forum but have left a lasting mark on it.

Sincerely,
James C. Byrne
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: tahra on September 22, 2017, 08:28:47
When I was 12 years old and he was 4 he pulled out my train set and tried to ride on every single rail car. He broke them all save for the locomotive, tender and flat bed.

Amazing he survived. How.. restrained of you  >:D

So I made a decision as it became a race against time.

And you make impressive progress!


Tarha made a comment

That was, of course, imo.  And not everyone is inclined to blab, or has the time (and will) to.

I understand where she is coming from and this is probably the biggest reason, not because I have to hide it, but more so because it is a toy after all and here it is just not as accepted for grown ups to play with little children's toys.

Not anyone else's business. You are not harming others --> your business alone.

4. I am a bit embarrassed myself, being 31 and collecting toys but again its because here it is not common for playmobil. Star-Wars would be understandable, even Lego, but Playmobil, it is just not as common a toy.

See above. Just because it is "common", doesn't mean it's right, good, or desirable.

But that shouldn't matter, because at the end of the day it is what is important to you. I collect these items because it is important to me. Tahra posts her amazing acquisitions because it is important to her if only to have a time stamp of when things arrived.

True. Which is the only reason my threads are still going. In a more minimized way, but going. I keep a more detailed record for myself these days...

Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: Birdie on September 26, 2017, 19:04:51
What a wonderful reminder of why collecting Playmobil and being on this forum is so worthwhile, James. Thank you for that  :)
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: GrahamB on September 27, 2017, 14:53:01
Thanks for sharing that background, James. Your passion for collecting MISB Western sets needs no justification here and it is heartening that you hope to be able to share your collection more widely in order to spread the love for these wonderful toys!

I am lucky that my better half also loves PM, though I haven't spent as much of our income in 5 years as you have in one (Cdn$35k = £21k) and I do sell some surplus sets each year to feed my habit! I agree that collecting Lego and Star Wars toys is probably more popular amongst adults- and more widely understood - than collecting PM. I don't tend to talk about my interest in PM to anyone outside my immediate family though.
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: Tacbe on October 01, 2017, 19:23:58
A warm welcome from Holland.
By the way, are you never afraid there is no playmobil in an unopened box. I know I would :yup:

And do share pictures of dio's if you have some.

Enjoy your stay here
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: The_Mad_Hadder on October 02, 2017, 13:21:42

By the way, are you never afraid there is no playmobil in an unopened box. I know I would :yup:

That is a good question to ask and the answer is simple, no. Reason being is I look at sellers ratings before I purchase as well the box condition. You can tell if a box has been resealed or new shrink wrap placed on it based on the box condition.

Some sets where the stickers have been cut or no sealing stickers at all I do carefully open to view contents but as such I have had no issues.
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: GrahamB on October 02, 2017, 15:43:56
Can't you just shake the box? :omg:
Title: Re: Hello from Hamilton, Ontario
Post by: The_Mad_Hadder on October 02, 2017, 20:00:18
Can't you just shake the box? :omg:

Well yes, the boxes all have weight to them, doesnt mean that is what is inside the box.

Hence box condition and the newer sets I bought direct from toy stores or playmobil so if the contents of those boxes do not match what the box says should be in them then that is on Playmobil but still its an MISB set the way Playmobil made it, errors and all.