PlaymoFriends
General => Report & Review => Topic started by: Sir Gareth on September 29, 2007, 17:39:19
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I just love this set, to me it is one of the best buildings Playmobil has ever made just on looks alone. Construction of it was quick and simple and when complete it is a good solid structure. I did have one problem with it though and that was how it was packed, the parts are just thrown into a large box so the grey rocks bashed against the lighter stone of the building and left a few marks.
Again the figures are of a good design and colour scheme but the officer seems to be missing something around his neck, he looks unfinished, but with the printed design it is difficult to know what to put there.
One nice surprise was to find that the flame at the top does light up and flicker of course batteries not supplied and it turns off after so long.
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Apart from the light at the top the Lighthouse it doesn't really have many other features.
Theres a trap door, yes another trap door in a playmobil building that drops the figure into a cave below that you get too by pulling a rock out of the way. The only new thing about the trap door though is how it operates from a lever that sticks through the tower wall and is operated from the outside.
The part at the front behind the double gates has a rather good sized space and the rocks at the back create a seated area, so there is plenty of storage room in there. It's just a pity that you don't get lots of barrels, crates and provisions to store in there.
The crane at the top has a very simple operation and it rotates the full 360 degrees of the tower, but it has no hook, you have to tie things on to pull them up, how odd.
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Thanks for the review, Gary, and you're quite right - the officer does need something around his neck. I think he also needs anothe hat as thta bicorne just does not look right with the rest of the uniforms. A hat like the one Count Bogro wears would be suitable, or simply the Spanish helmet maybe with a plume.
The flickering light has obvious uses for fire and rescue fans (in fact, I realise I've already seen it in use in a fire and rescue setting on klickywelt) as in the past I've made my own with flashing LEDs. If when you have a moment Gary you'd post the part number(s) for it, I'd be very grateful.
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... the officer seems to be missing something around his neck, he looks unfinished, but with the printed design it is difficult to know what to put there.
How about a ruff?
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/Martin_Milner/ruff.jpg)(http://www.ffaire.com/conq/painting1.JPG)
Popular neckwear at the time, this one is borrowed off a clown figure.
Perhaps a trifle large but it could be trimmed down, not too much or it might break.
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Spot on, Martin. Just the job.
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.. as to the missing hook - the picture on the box clearly shows one ??? ???
Bogro
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.. as to the missing hook - the picture on the box clearly shows one ??? ???
Bogro
I wonder if the plans do?
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Hi i was wondering if you could show how it is put together ? Is it a system X type and can it be expanded ? thanks. we will not see that set here for over a year so for now i only get to admire your pictures .
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Wow!, great review, Sir Gareth. :yup:
Thanks for posting the pics. It looks like a
great lighthouse. I like the separate "dock" as well.
I would like to get a hold of a couple of those large
jugs for my Christmas Nativity scene.
Thanks again,
Best regards,
Jimbo
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I just love this set, to me it is one of the best buildings Playmobil has ever made just on looks alone.
Thanks for another really splendid review from this theme, Garry!
After looking at your excellent photos, I totally agree with your comment about this being one of the best looking buildings made by Playmobil. (Of course I would have preferred Steck System rather than System-X) ... ;)
Again the figures are of a good design and colour scheme ...
Regarding the figures, I respectfully disagree, Garry ... :(
Ralf Gemein (http://www.ralfgemein.de/seiten/lukas.htm) created one of his imaginary Playmobil "Specials" of a conquistador. Ralf made his conquistador from existing Playmobil parts and in my opinion it looks a lot better than any of these new figures. (see attachment)
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.. as to the missing hook - the picture on the box clearly shows one ??? ???
Bogro
The hook as shown on the box back image is actually a pulley and if you look at the box front image and on the plans it is hooked through the eye on the arm of the hoist. There are lots of Playmobil hooks out there that they could of added to this rather than giving the pulley 2 uses.
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Hi Sir Gareth
And thanks for the review it certainly looks a great piece. I wonder if this could be used in a Roman scene although not quite the Lighthouse of Alexandria - I think that was the first big one ? - Craig
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This set isn't system X, there are no red connectors and only 2 yellow connectors are used to join the deck to the light house base, hence a quick build time.
There are only 8 light wall sections used in this set to build the basic lighthouse and each piece clips together. There are also only 3 rock sections, 2 clip onto the base and the other is the one for the cave opening.
I was a bit concerned after I built this set has to how I was going to take it apart and put it back into the box. The only way to do it is to take a flat screwdriver and push on one of the pegs to get it out of it's slot and pull on the part you want to remove. To my surprise it came apart very easily and without damage and went back into the box in just 3 built up sections.
Gordon, the part number for the light unit is 30 80 2452, It looks like one bulb remains on and 2 led's flash on and off in a certain sequence to give the flickering effect.
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Regarding the figures, I respectfully disagree, Gary ... :(
Ralf Gemein (http://www.ralfgemein.de/seiten/lukas.htm) created one of his imaginary Playmobil "Specials" of a conquistador. Ralf made his conquistador from existing Playmobil parts and in my opinion it looks a lot better than any of these new figures. (see attachment)
Hi Richard,
I would rather of seen more use of clip on armour for these new Spanish soldiers it does indeed give a better look to the figures. Playmobil could of done a lot better with the officer in this set and it wouldn't of taken much to improve him. These figures certainly aren't the best Playmobil have produced and probably wouldn't feature in my top 50 of Playmobil figures.
I would of liked to of seen a shorter version of the original Playmo chest plate made, so it would fit just above the sword belt. You can find one in the new Knight special 4666 that is the right colour but it would work better shorter I think for these new soldiers.
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Gordon, the part number for the light unit is 30 80 2452, It looks like one bulb remains on and 2 led's flash on and off in a certain sequence to give the flickering effect.
Thanks, Gary. It will go on my next DS order. :)
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This set isn't system X, there are no red connectors and only 2 yellow connectors are used to join the deck to the light house base, hence a quick build time.
There are only 8 light wall sections used in this set to build the basic lighthouse and each piece clips together. There are also only 3 rock sections, 2 clip onto the base and the other is the one for the cave opening.
I was a bit concerned after I built this set has to how I was going to take it apart and put it back into the box. The only way to do it is to take a flat screwdriver and push on one of the pegs to get it out of it's slot and pull on the part you want to remove. To my surprise it came apart very easily and without damage and went back into the box in just 3 built up sections.
Thanks for the explanation about the construction of this set, Garry. Playmobil did the same darn thing (using clips) with their Roman Colosseum ... :(
(I sanded the clips slightly on the Colosseum so that they still hold, but come apart a bit easier.)
I don't know who designs these things, but someone needs to give these "designers" some lessons in the use of Steck and SystemX. I was very disappointed in the construction part of Playmobil's "design team" when I was assembling the Roman Colosseum. Seems like the same incompetent bozos were allowed to show their lack of talent once again with the new Lighthouse assembly ... >:(
Hi Richard,
I would rather of seen more use of clip on armour for these new Spanish soldiers it does indeed give a better look to the figures. Playmobil could of done a lot better with the officer in this set and it wouldn't of taken much to improve him. These figures certainly aren't the best Playmobil have produced and probably wouldn't feature in my top 50 of Playmobil figures.
I would of liked to of seen a shorter version of the original Playmo chest plate made, so it would fit just above the sword belt. You can find one in the new Knight special 4666 that is the right colour but it would work better shorter I think for these new soldiers.
BIG improvement, Garry!
Your "upgraded" Conquistador is so much better than Playmobil's sorry looking figure! ... :wow:
Neither the "clip on" construction nor the poorly designed figures can be blamed on Playmobil's constant search to save money ... This is just an unfortunate example of a lack of talent (and very poor management) of Playmobil's design team.
I hope that Zirndorf reads this and wakes up!
Thanks again for a really great review, Garry!
All the best,
Richard
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Very detailed and interesting review, Garry! Thanks for taking the time to photograph all the various elements and explain the construction. :)
I've been trying to resist buying any large sets due to a severe lack of storage space, but I'm very tempted to get the lighthouse now. ;)
The neck ruff Martin added to the officer figure does seem to be the ideal finishing touch. :yup:
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... These figures certainly aren't the best Playmobil have produced and probably wouldn't feature in my top 50 of Playmobil figures. ...
Sorry Gareth and Richard. I disagree. I really like the new figures. I really do, allthough I must admit that the ruff would indeed improve the figure a lot. The only thing I don't like is the officers hat. Somehow it looks wrong to me, but I think that has been discussed elsewhere before.
Bogro
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The only thing I don't like is the officers hat. Somehow it looks wrong to me, but I think that has been discussed elsewhere before.
Bogro
It is wrong, about 200 years wrong. :o
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It is wrong, about 200 years wrong. :o
Thank you, Gordon ... You are absolutely correct!
I don't understand why Playmobil does things like this ... ???
German artist, Ralf Gemein (http://www.ralfgemein.de/seiten/wandmalerei.htm) is no stranger to Zirndorf. In fact, several of his paintings adorn their walls.
Ralf has freely given them (and all of us) an incredible number of his imaginary Playmobil sets constructed entirely from available Playmobil parts.
Please see attachment to understand how easy it would have been for Playmobil's designers to have correctly produced the figures for this set! ...
Thanks again, Gordon!
All the best,
richard
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Great review Garry,
some little faster as me ! ;)
Here are some more pics !!
ENJOY !!
world greets
Andi
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Thank you, Gordon ... You are absolutely correct!
I don't understand why Playmobil does things like this ... ???
German artist, Ralf Gemein (http://www.ralfgemein.de/seiten/wandmalerei.htm) is no stranger to Zirndorf. In fact, several of his paintings adorn their walls.
Ralf has freely given them (and all of us) an incredible number of his imaginary Playmobil sets constructed entirely from available Playmobil parts.
Please see attachment to understand how easy it would have been for Playmobil's designers to have correctly produced the figures for this set! ...
Thanks again, Gordon!
All the best,
richard
A beautiful imaginary set from Ralf. I've seen a lot of his stuff on Garden Wargames, and am always impressed. Constructed entirely from available Playmobil parts is or course the clincher - either they don't know what they're doing wrong, which means they've not done enough historical research, or they do now and don't care, because "it's only for children", which is worse. It's not because they don't want to specd the money creating the moulds, because the moulds are there.
I think Playmobil is a fantastic educational toy, WAAAAY better than any other action figures out there it has to compete with, and most of their stuff is bang on for details like this.
I can only hope by the time I have children of my own they'll have improved, or else I'll have lots of fun with the kids correcting Playmobil mistakes.
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A beautiful imaginary set from Ralf. I've seen a lot of his stuff on Garden Wargames, and am always impressed. Constructed entirely from available Playmobil parts is or course the clincher - either they don't know what they're doing wrong, which means they've not done enough historical research, or they do now and don't care, because "it's only for children", which is worse. It's not because they don't want to specd the money creating the moulds, because the moulds are there.
I think Playmobil is a fantastic educational toy, WAAAAY better than any other action figures out there it has to compete with, and most of their stuff is bang on for details like this.
I can only hope by the time I have children of my own they'll have improved, or else I'll have lots of fun with the kids correcting Playmobil mistakes.
I agree with you, Martin, and I am very sympathetic to Gordon's criticism.
Often I think the defense "Remember, it's for kids" is similar to the cliche "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel".
There are details PM could pay closer attention to without necessarily effecting cost. And, past medieval sets illustrate this greater attention to detail. So, there seems to be either a lessening of talent or a lessening of interest in the medieval sets--or else simply a greater ruthlessness in exploiting the fact that kids don't know better anyway.
I wonder if Hans Beck was the driving genius behind the early medievals? The current line of modern theme sets shows the same attention to detail as the early medieval sets. So it isn't as if Playmobil is losing its spirit. It just seems as if the people who like to read history books or visit museums have all been shot, and younger, hipper designers who are more familiar with the truncated universes of contemporary fantasy novels have taken over.
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Often I think the defense "Remember, it's for kids" is similar to the cliche "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel".
But have Playmobil ever used the defence "Remember, it's for kids"?
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But have Playmobil ever used the defence "Remember, it's for kids"?
Not Playmobil, but certainly on this and other forums I've seen this line used to defend Playmobil's occasional shortcomings.
Thank you, Gordon ... You are absolutely correct!
I don't understand why Playmobil does things like this ... ???
German artist, Ralf Gemein (http://www.ralfgemein.de/seiten/wandmalerei.htm) is no stranger to Zirndorf. In fact, several of his paintings adorn their walls.
Ralf has freely given them (and all of us) an incredible number of his imaginary Playmobil sets constructed entirely from available Playmobil parts.
Please see attachment to understand how easy it would have been for Playmobil's designers to have correctly produced the figures for this set! ...
Thanks again, Gordon!
All the best,
richard
I'm trying to think of reasons why Playmobil have chosen to move away from Medieval castle life generally, and more towards battles and sieges.
Is it chasing/saving the almighty dollar? Is it because the designers can't be bothered? Is it because boys don't play non-combat castle games, or is it responding to public demand?
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Is it chasing/saving the almighty dollar? Is it because the designers can't be bothered? Is it because boys don't play non-combat castle games, or is it responding to public demand?
Parents on a short budget probably ask their son what he wants--he can only buy one--and he picks the set with the swords. The daughter buys something modern from the hospital.
If this is true, then from a dollar standpoint it doesn't make sense to continue to create sets that the boy is less likely to select.
Granted, as a boy I didn't exclusively select the military themes. I also liked animals and had plenty of women figures. I think the Merry Men set would have attracted my curiosity.
It seems modern times, though, are about efficiency and not those softer touches that appeal to the fringe.
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We shouldn't forget that fight for customers is tough out there. Since the 70's a lot of money has diverted from the traditional toys to the electronic "arts". the remaining "dollars" and other currencies have been fought over by a lot of "traditional" companies.
Apparently, Playmobil is making the right decisions as they are still growing while a lot of others are slimming down. That these decisions aren't necesarily to our likings is something else. But for new sets to rise that we do like ... the company needs to keep on making a profit. If Geobra goes bankrupt, no new sets will be produced ... period.
Still ... even as a child I remember that I liked the sets with canons and swords better as the medieval live - sets ... Which goes to show that not everyone knows how to value the true worth of items ;D
Bogro
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Just got my 4294 Lighthouse set yesterday, so I thought I'd revive this thread to add a couple more observations.
The wooden dock 30 28 2410 looks like a very adaptable part. It has 4 holes on the long side and 2 on the short sides, to connect system x yellow connectors, so you could connect several together to make a stage, a dias for a lord's table at a feast, or longways to make a bridge across a river. Just a few ideas that spring to mind. I'll be adding 5 to my next DS order and hope they let me have them.
Regarding the lighthouse construction, Playmobil seem to be developing this new non-modular system, so that each set is complete unto itself but CANNOT be connected to anything else. I san see why they do this (easier construction, easier to move about in one piece) and I can see why some people hate it.
I've got about 20-30 Spanish figures waiting for this lighthouse fort to become their base.
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Nothing new, everything's been said.
I won't help saying that the hat is ("about 200 years") wrong, and this is BAD to me. (Small, aye? But Yes: it confuses kids.)
And add that the collar is missing. (Small? Kids could have been better taught by Zirndorf ... -- aren't they concerned about this? (...) We know they ... say they are.)
Playmobil needs History consultants, besides designers. "Oh, but they have them already ..." These guys need hearing this, and get more mature.
& Playmofriends: we need (official) "ambassadors"/attorneys/fan-consultants/similar-profession in &/or from Zirndorf, maybe in Klickywelt, where people speak local speech . . .
As for the Lighthouse & its parts and bits, it's marvelous!
Gus
:blackhair:
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Thanks to Lars, we can all watch the videos of the Lighthouse, the Spanish soldiers and the Pirates... Click HERE (http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=2392.new;topicseen#new)!
(Just look for the post from Lars ... Post#55.)