Too many dragons ...????

[Giorginetto]

Been looking at reviews and pictures of the new dragon / magic / mediaval sets ... Not as excited as i was with the romans or more especially when the revised castles and varius mediaval sets came out in the early / mid 90s....


I  hope they bring back some short of revised mediaval town houses and shops. For so many years Playmobil made these , and houses like TownHall, Potter shop and Museum are truly awesome. The roof of the museum  the klickies of the townhall ( with the once very rare red necklace ...) were once - before the ebay and internet days - some of the most sought after sets..... i knew someone who paid 100 dollars and that was quite a few years back for just a mint museum knight ......

The new Mediaval sets , all these dragons and press the button items are well interesting but somehow are not so playmobil in classic design terms in my opinion. And dont get  me wrongo , the new big flying dragon is awesome for example ( havent got it  but looks very good ) but well  two dragon kingdoms , actually three , and one kings castle - which is nice but the new design walls and towers  feel and look SMALLER than the older design walls and take ages to set up etc etc -  , ok thats great but where are the rest ?? robin hood, town houses etc etc . The mediaval theme reached its peak in the mid 90s and since then its shrinking not expanding . Nice touch the special sets that give us some great klickies like the temple knights etc but i think there are  TOO MANY DRAGONS ....  these days ....

They blamed Mozart for 'too many notes'   but when it comes to playmobil mediaval i think the cannons sets , mixed with Knights and lots of dragons , lots that is is somehow messing things up. For someone who want to set up a big mediaval set he / she is limited and has to  inevitably go back to old sets ...
 

I guess i never really liked the new mediaval walls  also ... does anyone share this view or i am just been  pointless ? 

[Martin Milner]

Not missing the point at all, you're absolutely bang on as far as most people on this board feel.

We liked the variety of Medieval life represented in the 90s sets, and we are extremely disappointed by the entire focus being on knights and combat in the current knights theme. I think almost everyone here who collects Knights would prefer a return to the style of the 90s.

We like Steck for its variety of build options, and dislike System X castles because they are too limited. Odd you should say it takes ages to set up, as it was designed to make it easier, with larger pieces, especially the 3268 keep pieces (which I hate btw), but we all know the pain of those stupid red and yellow connectors, so maybe that's what you were referring to.

The new Dragon Knights theme is Playmobil going off on a Fantasy tangent. We have yet to see if this will replace the standard Knights, I suspect they'll run side by side for many years yet. If the fantasy theme went on with orcs, trolls and goblins then I'd like it better; dragons while impressive are too big to have many, but that may be a bit too obviously LOTR for Playmobil to pursue. The dragon "tower" castles look to be the same style as the recent Spanish lighthouse, not a building system I like with no variation possible at all, though i'll no doube be getting one of each at least eventually.

If we assume Playmobil have researched their market, then this is what they think will sell to boys, and we'll see more fantasy and dragon stuff and less realistic medieval life, if less than the current offering is possible.

At least we all still have the option of building our towns and marketplaces using DS and accessory items, though I'm not expecting much joy from ordering DS items in the US from all reports on this forum.

For realistic historical sets it looks like we'll be relying on the Romans, Egyptians and whatever follows. The Romans were also sadly thin on life outside the army, the Egyptians doing slightly better for civilians, but I think the days of bakers, potteries, museums and blacksmiths are long gone. With no Hans Beck to steer things that way, those old sets are going to command higher and higher prices on eBay.

[Klickus Mobilius]

I agree with you 100%, Georginetto.

I started collecting only since last year, but I have seen what used to be available in the Medieval theme, and I wish they were still available.  They are much better than what is offered now.

[Rasputin]

Hi Georginetto 

   Like Martin stated most on this forum preferred the steck system and how in the 90's there was a more balanced representation of army and civilian life. Playmobil's new focus on the army life seems to be a reflection of what is going on in the market place. Playmobil is finding itself competing with young boys and girls who are increasingly drawn to video games (& violent ones at that) at early and early ages. Now with the news that the large knight castle is being discontinued I wonder if it is going to be replaced or the new focus set on the dragon knights theme?

I do feel that Playmobil has tried to appease some of us classic collectors by reintroducing the market stand and the red, blue & yellow framework houses. I have seen and myself was able to achieve a lot of civilian representation through these limited sets.

I was not shocked, disappointed yes but when Hans left he must have had some influence on things as things changed quite rapidly.  I do realize that if Playmobil does not follow market forces they would not be able to afford new molds and could shrink as a company. The opposit is happening as they are doing something right in these challenging times. After reading more articles on the history of Geobra I am starting to wonder what could happen to Playmobil when Mr All Mighty departs?

   Rasputin "The Mad Monk"

[Bill Blackhurst]

I'm a collector of modern theme sets myself  , but my fascination of the Steck Medieval castles, & houses is always present  ! I gave in to buying the wizards workshop 3839  , & have been battling not collecting the 3666, & 3667 castles ever since! I just wish that PM would listen to what customers like! We spend a lot of money supporting them, & you would think they would be more a tuned to our desires! BTW, I favor the old dragons in sets 3345, 5732, & 3840  , not the new ones with chicken wings  !

[Giorginetto]

I do feel that Playmobil has tried to appease some of us classic collectors by reintroducing the market stand and the red, blue & yellow framework houses.
   Rasputin "The Mad Monk"

Noe thats something i dont have . i have about 16 houses , white , red, yellow , one green  houses but still dont have the blue one !!! they seem quite rare and frankly had forgotten all about them .... when were they released ? are they really that hard to find?? only a couple on ebay waiting from someone in the US to tell me if he can ship to greece .. they seem more rare than the others though.....

[Rasputin]

but still dont have the blue one !!! they seem quite rare and frankly had forgotten all about them .... when were they released ? are they really that hard to find??

Hi Giorginetto 

   They were released some where between 2006 or 2007  and were discontinued in 2008 . When the yellow one came out the blue one went . We can still get the red and yellow for $35 from Playmobil USA. Unfortunately we do not have too many stores that carry the Add-Ons so it is hard to find stock left over and sellers on ebay seem to always try to capitalize on this with unrealistic mark-ups .

   Rasputin "The Mad Monk"

[Giorginetto]

Hi Giorginetto 

   They were released some where between 2006 or 2007  and were discontinued in 2008 . When the yellow one came out the blue one went .
   Rasputin "The Mad Monk"

bought a blue one just now from Britain on ebay .comes with a coupe of klickies also drinking beer !!! excellent !!!!

 

[Martin Milner]

bought a blue one just now from Britain on ebay .comes with a coupe of klickies also drinking beer !!! excellent !!!!

 

Yup, that sounds like a British house.

[playmofire]

I've always felt that the fantasy themes of Playmobil (I include the ghost pirates in these) were a step in the wrong direction, conjuring up ideas of cheap tat and just getting in on the market, so I'm not surprised nor sorry to see them go. 

Moving maybe off topic a bit, one thing I have noticed is that Lego are duplicating Playmobil's new lines very quickly indeed and, of course, Lego's nature allows them to do this.