Novelties 2020: Jul-Sep

[StJohn]

I think it's been mentioned elsewhere, but is the rule that you can order spare parts from the licensed sets but not the figures? I definitely ordered parts from Spirit house, so I hope that's the case

Are you ordering through the UK service? I believe there you can order whatever you want, no questions asked. Good for you! Other DS services are much stricter.

[Klickteryx]

Thanks for the update! The Space Police theme did show up at last, then. And the zombie Egyptians in the Scooby Doo set... they're brilliant!

On that note, has anyone ever tried figuring out what kind of helmet that would be? 'Cause it looks like a hodgepodge of different models.

I suspect it owes something to the "holdon" knight's helmet:



...and then had a visor stuck on it. That helmet is a norman helmet with the flared skirt meant to be the chainmail neck protector - which is how such helmets were commonly portrayed a few decades back.

[Tiermann]

Brown squirrels have been around for a while.  May be a different color of brown though.

[Oliver]

Are you ordering through the UK service? I believe there you can order whatever you want, no questions asked. Good for you! Other DS services are much stricter.

I have ordered through the UK, but only things that are listed on the website, so I assume they're available everywhere.

[StJohn]

I have ordered through the UK, but only things that are listed on the website, so I assume they're available everywhere.

True: those are available in all shops. Where it differs is what they do with requests for non-listed or out-of-stock parts (received via form or e-mail with attachment). In my experience Playmobil UK is very generous and sells you anything you ask for. Germany, by contrast, is very strict: the purchase of figures and figure components is here strictly verboten.

[Hadoque]

Germany, by contrast, is very strict: the purchase of figures and figure components is here strictly verboten.

Since when is that? Is it a recent policy?
I haven´t ordered figures through the belgian DS for a while, but in the past I (almost) always got what I ordered as long as they were still in stock. I´ve always assumed it worked exactly the same way in Germany...

[GrahamB]

If you have the ETN for a part (8 figure number), it is worth requesting it from DS, even if it is not shown on 'Find Spare Parts'. This includes figures (though some Licensed figures are not available this way, but Novelmore figures are). The U.K. System does seem to have very few parts it will not supply, at least for current and recent sets.

Another reason for asking for what you want, even if it's not listed, is because the DS staff do have lists of 'alternative' parts which they can supply (though they do look things up on PlaymoDB to find alternatives too!).

One final tip; don't order spare parts until after Christmas, they only offer a skeleton service at busy times.

[Ismene]

I think it's part of the Heidi stuff, so they are meant to be Victorian 

I think so too. I have a couple other Heidi sets on my mental wish list for the Victorian klickies and parts.

Not only that, but I think the Heidi sets have produced the first ever brown/wooden bed in Playmobil history? (maybe an expert can correct me...)

I'm not sure about that shade of brown. There has been light brown and red-brown. They are the exception, rather than the rule though.

[StJohn]

Since when is that? Is it a recent policy?

Like, forever? Falling at the mercy of German DS after enjoying UK services greatly added to my sense of a paradise lost, and the policy (nor the feeling  ) hasn't changed in the 4 ½ years since.

[PMatt]

Since when is that? Is it a recent policy?

As far as Italy is concerned, I distinctly remember being able to order figures in the past (that's how I got a couple Carabinieri). I can't pinpoint when things changed, but for the last few years, Italian DS has been operating exactly like the German one: you don't stand a chance requesting klickies, whether they are licensed or not.