PlaymoFriends

General => News => Topic started by: Jay on February 04, 2014, 16:10:08

Title: Alternative buildings
Post by: Jay on February 04, 2014, 16:10:08
I was at TRU yesterday looking around, (seems there are a few new pirate things I hadn't seen listed?)  and came across a small display with the figures that seem like little plush cats or bears or something.  There were a few sets of small shops with accessories and the like. I looked very closely at the buildings and accessories, and could really see where, with the execption of the animal figures, these could fit in perfectly with the PMB buildings. Actually, they looked slightly better.  (I won't mention the brand name here, but I think you probably have seen it)
So, what's people's take on these?
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: tahra on February 04, 2014, 16:26:19
Why not mentioning the brand name? I believe I showed a couple of those in the neverending PROCESS.

Downside is, they're impossible to find here (wait, that may be an upside! :-[ )  and they're expensive as Hades.
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Jay on February 04, 2014, 16:31:44
Well, if it's okay here.  The ones I saw were Calico  Critters, but I've seen Sylvania or Sylvanian buildings  in  England which are very similar.  I saw some incredible Sylvanian buildings but I recall these were very expensive. 
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: tahra on February 04, 2014, 16:36:31
I think it's the same brand, yes...

They used to be around (rarely, but still ) here when I was little. Haven't seen them here for ages now. Bought some in London - there is SUCH awesome stuff! Food items, for instance... The grapes :love:

We have a couple of buildings, interiors, and smaller stuff too... Most fits very well.
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: bonniebeth on February 04, 2014, 16:47:17
Yeah, Calico Critters are made by Sylvanian Families. I used to play with them as a child, and the licensed Maple Town toys (from a cartoon of the same name), also made by Sylvanian Families. They are awesome toys. They're on the same aisle with playmobil at TRU, and I have to just not look or I'd start collecting them too. They're well-made, with well thought out sets and lots of details, though not as great as playmobil of course. ;) I still have some old Maple Town furniture hanging around, and while it doesn't exactly blend with Playmobil, it is to the right scale. In fact I discovered a Maple Town pot in with my playmobil pots the other day; it blended right in because it was the same size.
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Birdie on February 04, 2014, 17:18:34
Yeah same here. I am one inch away from starting a Sylvanian collection, but for now I just buy what is useful for Playmobil diorama's.

The vegetables, fruit, sandwiches, desserts and dishes look perfect. It's a different kind of plastic, of course, but for small items that doesn't matter.

The buildings itself are a bit too large for PM scale, I think, and the sets are pretty expensive. But those animals are awefully cute, the little ones are even cuter and the babies, well, you'd just want to eat them up or something  ;D
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Salamander on February 04, 2014, 17:23:42
Anyone know if Calico/Sylvanian does parts orders?  Occasionally I'll see an interesting accessory that would work with a Playmo project, but invariably I don't need the whole set.
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: playmofire on February 04, 2014, 17:24:31
Sylvanian Families do some nice vehicles too:

http://www.sylvanianfamilies.com/product_info.php?cPath=18&products_id=1213

http://www.sylvanianfamilies.com/product_info.php?cPath=19&products_id=884

http://www.sylvanianfamilies.com/product_info.php?cPath=19&products_id=993

http://www.sylvanianfamilies.com/product_info.php?cPath=19&products_id=1303

They used to have a vintage bus, too:

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2514/4102888038_027d905078_z.jpg

I'm not sure, however, how they compare with the Playmobil figures for scale.
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Birdie on February 04, 2014, 17:41:29
The animals actually have the same height as PM clickies, up to the shoulders. Their head, however, is huge in comparison  :) 

The animals need big chairs and seats, so they don't topple over. That doesn't match with Playmobil. But other furniture seems fine.
The cars look great  :love:  But they're too big, I'm afraid.

No idea if they do spare part orders.


Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Jay on February 04, 2014, 20:07:54
Wow, I love that Regency Hotel.  Not a terrible price, but shipping costs would be way too much.  I also like that the 'chef' is named Basil. I didn't see a Manuel character, however.
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: tahra on February 04, 2014, 20:30:59
Sylvanian stuff, from the PROCESS (easier for me to find, I guess  :-[ ) :

- Fridge (http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=8205.msg176937#msg176937), more to the end of the post.
- Bakery and foodstuffs (http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=8205.msg179861#msg179861)
- Ice cream (http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=8205.msg227815#msg227815)

A lot of the food is also on the romanish dio (LINK (http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=13217.0)): namely - pt 2 (http://www.playkingdoms.com/temp/romandio/dio2.html) (including my BELOVED grapes), pt 3 (http://www.playkingdoms.com/temp/romandio/dio3.html) and pt 4 (http://www.playkingdoms.com/temp/romandio/dio4.html) (loads of food)
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: DrDalek6 on February 04, 2014, 21:30:27
You had me scratching my head for a while until someone mentioned Sylvanina Families. We've got photos of a decent sized house we had as a kid think it had little paper chains up in it as well, I personally remember having a duck and a frog figure and having a piano which was quite good and a TV in a cabinet which I really liked because there was a slot for you to insert a bit of card which inevitably led to a few homemade cards  ;D. They do seem to be good quality sets whether it would have ever occured to me to intermingle the with the Playmobil I don't know coudl have made for some interesting stories
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Hadoque on February 04, 2014, 21:33:27
Sylvanian Families do some nice vehicles too:

But not trimaster-ships I suppose?
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: playmofire on February 04, 2014, 22:18:06
But not trimaster-ships I suppose?

'fraid not, Erwin.   :(
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Skywalker on February 05, 2014, 00:30:59
these are great sets  :)
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: bonniebeth on February 05, 2014, 02:01:09
That vintage bus and the bakery are so fantastic! :love: :love: :love:
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: sunflower on February 05, 2014, 08:09:13
So cute  :love:
I love the cars! But I am definitly not going to buy them.
The food also looks great though.

I still have some of my old sets a little house with the kitchen and some mouses and bears. I remember the furniture being less detailed and a bit bigger than Playmobil. I bought those in the eighties. I don't think I have seen it around for a long time in stores now.
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: GrahamB on February 05, 2014, 08:26:37
Anyone know if Calico/Sylvanian does parts orders?  Occasionally I'll see an interesting accessory that would work with a Playmo project, but invariably I don't need the whole set.

I think not. Geobra must be the best toy manufacturer on the planet for supplying spare parts (Lego might be better, but I know very little about THAT toy!) which coupled with the fantastic resource which is PlaymoDB makes the tracking down of specific parts a realistic possibility. I suspect Lego probably is even easier to get spares for with sites such as Bricklink (what happened to that idea to do something similar for PM?).
Sylvanian Families is big in UK (my daughters love it, I don't 'do' fluffy bunnies) and searching on ebay.co.uk for spares is sometimes worthwhile.
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: bonniebeth on February 05, 2014, 14:14:11
I remember having a little calico critters tea set when I was a kid, that consisted of a table and chairs, plus all the teacups and such but they were all attached to a tablecloth that could be put on the table or removed. So there weren't a lot of tiny pieces, but it still had all the details. I remember at some point I lost the tablecloth, though, and never did find it. I still wonder what happened to it. :P
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Pynedor on February 05, 2014, 22:10:40
They look a bit strange to me. At first I thought the little animals were kind of cool, but after looking at them some more they seem very odd. :lol: Some of the vehicles and buildings are nice-looking though.
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Playmo_80 on February 09, 2014, 17:57:57
my daughter has also Sylvanian/Calico Critters toys. I did take some pictures.

Playmo_80
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Playmo_80 on February 09, 2014, 17:59:38
Playmo_80
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Playmo_80 on February 09, 2014, 18:00:44
Playmo_80
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Playmo_80 on February 09, 2014, 18:01:27
Playmo_80
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Rasputin on February 09, 2014, 18:10:48
to me is seems that calico critters fit much better in the playmobil world than playmobil fits calico

Thanks for the scale pictures Playmo-80
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: tahra on February 09, 2014, 20:07:10
Thanks for the pics :love:

There's sooooo much cute stuff!
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Birdie on February 09, 2014, 20:11:31
Oh thanks for the pictures, they're great to check the scale.

The house itself seems to fit Playmobil imo, and the furniture does too, apart from the chairs. The vehicles are way too big. Funny pictures  :)
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Cloud Strife on February 19, 2014, 16:49:42
Thanks for the photos Playmo_80, I have that red-roofed townhouse and it is quite versatile for setting up various scenarios - it can actually be a small mall or restaurant when accesorized accordingly.

There's also this dress shop that fits in exactly with the roof width of the new mansion, so my example shows the Calico Critter ground floor with System X 2nd Floor and Grande Mansion Roof.

(http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af212/krljosue/Playmobil/TownAB.jpg) (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/krljosue/media/Playmobil/TownAB.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Birdie on February 19, 2014, 16:55:02
 :omg:  That's absolutely gorgeous! It all blends in perfectly. I'm sold  ;D

Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Daniela on February 19, 2014, 17:02:16
MOOOOORE PICTURES, PLEASE!!!!!

That´s so beautiful!

I have Sylvanian and Playmobil since a long time, but I never had the idea to mix them, like you did with the dress-shop house.  :o

Marvellous!!!

And again, the green stuff fit´s also wonderful!  :love:


Daniela
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Cloud Strife on February 19, 2014, 17:56:59
Hi Daniela and Birdie :wave:

The solarium on the right side of the castle is also Sylvanian (or Calico Critters in the US), makes a nice addition to the Playmobil Fairy Tale Castle

Please pardon the color mismatches on the castle ramparts as it is a WIP until I figure out what to do with the parts or finally just paint them once and for all.


(http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af212/krljosue/Playmobil/TownC.jpg) (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/krljosue/media/Playmobil/TownC.jpg.html)

Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Daniela on February 19, 2014, 19:06:45
*deep sigh*

 :love: :love: :love:

Daniela
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: tahra on February 19, 2014, 21:38:08
:love:

Those look amazing. I never thought of actually mixing them in ONE building!
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Birdie on February 20, 2014, 17:32:41
That is exquisite!!!  :inlove:   :inlove:   :inlove:

I totally love the way you repainted the castle so it doesn't have as much pink as the original. The building in itself is gorgeous. Great lay-out., very interesting. Not to mention the added solarium!!

Can I come over and play?  :lol:
Title: Re: Alternative buildings
Post by: Cloud Strife on February 20, 2014, 18:24:16
@Birdie, heh heh anytime in fact everyone is welcome to play, except toddlers who want to eat everything. :lol:

There's not much room to move though (I can not hold out my arms 90 degrees from my body and not hit something  :hmm: and this is my main beef with my space.  I can't have my entire collection out at once.  When I change my mind (and I will) and go back to medieval stuff I will have to take all this down and haul out the Steck in storage.

I saw a layout of Versailles at macgayver I think, and it was depressing that their entire table was bigger (gross exageration for effect) than my apartment!  Ah New York City apts.  What are you gonna do?  I did not win the Mega Millions yesterday so that plan is out.

Here's a balloon from Fisher Price that is holds one Klicky fine enough but here's hoping Playmobil takes the hint and makes their own official hot air balloon

(http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af212/krljosue/Playmobil/BonVoyageD.jpg) (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/krljosue/media/Playmobil/BonVoyageD.jpg.html)