Circus pictures...

[Knight Train]

Well, I finally set up a few train tables with the intention of making a train display with castles and the like using the train tables (see this post http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=2706.0, but I got a new Circus Ring 4230 set (http://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=4230) for Christmas, so my daughter wanted to build a circus display with a train running around it (to appease me no doubt).

So anyway, here's a few pictures of the display.  It contains four Circus Romani 3720 sets, one Circus Arena 3553 http://collectobil.com/catalogue/items/3553.htm set, the Cirucs Ring 4230 set, the 3145 zoo http://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=3145 and a bunch of smaller sets and a bunch of circus cars.  Even with all this stuff, the overall shots show the setup is a bit sparse.  It using 3 of the now painted train tables (8 foot by 12 foot overall).  But the angled shots look pretty good.

Anyway, here's a few overhead pictures followed by even more pictures.

[Knight Train]

Here's even more pictures...

[Knight Train]

Okay, last group...

[Gepetto]

Those are just incredible Knight Train! Your daughter must really love you to go through all that trouble! I especially like the parade with the accordian wielding clowns, how long did it take to put all this together? Thank you very much for the photos!




Gepetto

[Knight Train]

My daughter was in charge of the parade and placing the klickies around the outside.  We both worked on it together throughout the Christmas holidays, but only for a little bit at a time - small 30 to 60 minute chunks.  I'd say it took about 5 hours to get all the structures set up (probably 30+ minutes to built the new circus ring), then another hour or so of fine tuning. 

One of the problems is that when I painted the plywood the grain lifted, so the surface is not as smooth as it was.  This means that stuff doesn't slide as easily as it should, so moving and positioning stuff in the center of the table was more work than it should have been.

The biggest headache for me was getting all the sets and bins together.  There is playmobil stuff piled up in a giant corner of my "office" in bins and boxes in very precarious positions.  I'm getting a couple of shelves this week and organizing it!!!

[macgayver]

Nice pics

Thanks for sharing

[Jimbo]

What an impressive circus and train set up!
Well done, Knight Train

A little sanding and repaint will take care of the grain that
lifted up on the surface of the plywood.  It usually takes
2-3 coats of paint for a smooth finish.  Just my 

Best regards,
Jimbo

[Gepetto]

I am curious how you will be able to differentiate the different sets when it is time to put it away or will you just combine it and worry about that aspect later if at all?

I think that part of the beauty of Playmobil is that it is something that parents can participate in with their children.



Gepetto

[Knight Train]

I am curious how you will be able to differentiate the different sets when it is time to put it away or will you just combine it and worry about that aspect later if at all?

If I have a box, I actually spend the time to put everything that belongs in the box, back in it.  Thanks to Heather's great web site, I can do inventories on boxes when I unpack them and make a list of what's missing so I know what was in the box when we started.  When we set up the display, we tried to make it easy to pack away sets by putting the klickies together.

In this case I don't have too many boxes - two boxes for circus romani, the circus ring, the zoo, the hazmat guys, one horse with jugglers set, and one circus truck set. 

The other thing I'm trying to do is group like stuff together so finding something takes a lot less time - like fences.

[Gepetto]

Thank you for the reply Knight Train, I always wonder how other people keep track of their sets.



Gepetto