PlaymoFriends
General => Report & Review => Topic started by: Rasputin on March 10, 2011, 19:14:18
-
Around 30,000 years ago, during the last ice age, tribes of people arrived on teh freezing plains of eastern Europe. These people quickly adapted to living in such cold and empty places. They became experts at hunting the mammoths that wandered across the plains, and they made almost everything they needed from the mammoth's bodies.
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc457/Koretsky/5100.jpg)
Hunting mammoths
Like other people at this time, the mammoth-hunters used a weapon called a spearthrower, which allowed them to throw their spears much farther than before. This made it possible to attack dangerous animals, such as the mammoths, from a safe distance.
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc457/Koretsky/5102.jpg)
Mammoth-bone huts
There were few hills or caves on the plains, so the mammoth-hunters had nowhere to shelter from the snow and wind. Because hardly any trees grew there either, people had no wood to build huts. Instead, teh mammoth-hunters made their homes from mammoth bones and skins.
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc457/Koretsky/5101.jpg)
Music and dancing
The mammoth-hunters made some of the first musical instruments that we know about. They used mammoth skulls and shoulder bones as drums, and hollowed out small bones to make flutes.
People probably danced to the music. Dancing may have been a way of bringing everyone in the tribe closer together. It may also have been part of a religious ceremony.
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc457/Koretsky/5103.jpg)
Warm clothes
In the winter, the mammoth-hunters wore warm leather clothes made from mammoth skins sewn tightly together. They also wore leather boots and fur mittens.
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc457/Koretsky/5104.jpg)
Shells and beads
Sometimes, people made strings of beads from shells and animal teeth, and used ivory from mammoth tusks to make bracelets. Burials have been found where the person's clothes have hundreds of beads sewn on in patterns, perhaps indicating their status. Tribe leaders may have had their own special decorations.
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc457/Koretsky/5105.jpg)
-
I must say that after doing some reading to the kids on this subject Playmobil did a really great job on this theme. It actually look like they used the images I was reading as their inspiration when designing this theme. I do hope the mammoths skull on the hut is removable as I would want to make a skull drum. The beads from shells could be made from the mermaid shells. There is more on the subject that is relevant to the cave and the fact that this is the when people began painting pictures
-
Thanks for this information, Ras; it was very interesting. Nice to see that playmobil has done it again! Their historical accuracy is always dead-on, or in this case their pre-historical accuracy. ;)
-
Astonishing accuracy! :D
These are great sets,
I think I may buy one or two when they come to the us. ;D
-
... I do hope the mammoths skull on the hut is removable as I would want to make a skull drum. ...
It is.
According to the German site you should be able to construct a complete skeleton from the set.
-
Yes, i noticed that too, which is really cool, great for a museum. ;D
-
Very neat :thanks:
-
It is.
According to the German site you should be able to construct a complete skeleton from the set.
What would be the body ? Isn't the body the hut covering
-
http://www.playmobil.de/on/demandware.store/Sites-DE-Site/de_DE/Product-Detail?pid=5101&cgid=Steinzeit It looks like either the bones of the body are under there, or maybe they are included separately and not pictured.
-
Yes, i noticed that too, which is really cool, great for a museum. ;D
right !
There are already some other neat skulls and skeletons as well!
-
The best new theme this year!!!
-
I love the futuristic theme too.... both extremes! :love:
-
I can't wait for this theme. Looks good!
-
Neither can I ...
-
Again I'm the oddball: I'll pass.
-
I love this series and may well get it sent to me from Germany rather than waiting the year for it to show up here.
The sets have a man throwing a spear but not an actual spear thrower - called an atlatl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlatl) . It was a brilliant invention.
-
I hoping this will come to TRU this year like the new zoo and treasure hunter theme came last year.
-
That would be great!!! :D I'd love to get my hands on it early.
-
That would be fantastic, a dream come TRU. :D
-
:lol:
-
I hoping this will come to TRU this year like the new zoo and treasure hunter theme came last year.
That would be very great and even better if they made some mixed up new sets as exclusives. I will be able to wait as I always have and getting them early in the US also might complicate all the other sets I really really need
-
Yeah, I always wait. You pay waaaay too much for sets when you buy them ahead of time on ebay.
-
We went to a TRU Express tonight and they had NO Playmobil at all, but they had plenty of a knock-off brand that was a horrible copy of Playmobil, but I could find the brand name ???
-
One of the nicest Playmo-themes I've ever seen, can't wait for it to be released-great customizing possibilities too, and finally some companions for all those old "caveman" specials I've got! :)
-
We went to a TRU Express tonight and they had NO Playmobil at all, but they had plenty of a knock-off brand that was a horrible copy of Playmobil, but I could find the brand name ???
Could you sneak a picture of them. Try not to have employees see you as I think they do not like people photographing in side of stores for some reason, maybe management thinks you planning a great playmobil heist :lol: At least I have been told not to before but then I look incriminating and you do not ;)
-
Yeah, I'm always really nervous to take pics of sets in store, afraid I'll get in trouble! So then I look suspicious because I'm looking around nervously. :lol: I've never actually been told to stop, though. But now I have a much bigger camera with a big telescoping lens, instead of a little pocket sized point-and-shoot, so I think it would draw a lot more attention!
-
Thanks for some wonderful info Ras!
I'm definitely getting this series, I think not to would lead to much regret later on. One good thing about the limited lifespan of many current themes, and I don't see this lasting longer than the Romans or Egyptians, is that you can complete a theme and box it up for safekeeping as a separate unit, and bring it out for play as required.
-
We were at a mall out of town.... I should have taken a picture! :doh: We looked everywhere on the box for a brand name and their wasn't one, but it was obviously a bad rip-off. They even had a Playmobil-like face in the corner of the box. They had both medieval and pirate themes and the box was even blue! I got excited from far away because I thought for a moment that it was Playmobil :hmm:
-
Camera on your phone is best for this sort of photography. It doesn't need to be a high quality shot and a phone isn't going to draw unwanted attention.
-
Great thread! 8-) I think the cavemen are the best new theme in years. Let's hope there will be more of them! :)
-
Great sets !!!
-
We were at a mall out of town.... I should have taken a picture! :doh: We looked everywhere on the box for a brand name and their wasn't one, but it was obviously a bad rip-off. They even had a Playmobil-like face in the corner of the box. They had both medieval and pirate themes and the box was even blue! I got excited from far away because I thought for a moment that it was Playmobil :hmm:
Oh how I hate the disappointment when from across the store (usually a discount store) you see that cherished blue box in the distance. Your heart rate starts to beat a little faster and then your get a little anxious as you see a child approaching the same area. You want to pick up a lamp or any damn object on sale to throw their way in a feeble attempt to distract them for your chance to beat them to it. Your in luck, as their short attention span is easily distracted by some cheap Chinese junk, buying you that precious time to get around the slow ladies shopping cart. As you get nearer feeling victory in the back of your throat all your glory is flushed down the toilet in an instant as you realize its only some f-ing knock off. Then you look around as you feel so embarrassed at the whole event and at the things you were willing to do for some more playmobil that you have mountains of already ;D
-
:lol: :lol: :lol: This had me in stitches, Ras! I could just see it all playing out!
-
:lol: :lol: :lol: This had me in stitches, Ras! I could just see it all playing out!
Thanks but I sure hope the CCTV cameras never caught me in action as I really do not want to pay for those lamps :lol: that would be less playmobil I could buy ;D
-
I can just see you sprinting through TRU, knocking over little old ladies and running over kids with your shopping cart, all caught on surveilance cameras and ending up on world's dumbest criminals, the guy who injured all these people and fled the scene, all over a mistaken-identity toy. :lol: But then, that could happen to any of us here, I'm sure! :lol:
-
Their historical accuracy is always dead-on, or in this case their pre-historical accuracy.
Not exactly. The ACW needed some work. (Not enough to complain about, though- Except that they never did MONITOR or VIRGINIA.)
-
We went to a TRU Express tonight and they had NO Playmobil at all, but they had plenty of a knock-off brand that was a horrible copy of Playmobil, but I could find the brand name ???
We were at a mall out of town.... I should have taken a picture! :doh: We looked everywhere on the box for a brand name and their wasn't one, but it was obviously a bad rip-off. They even had a Playmobil-like face in the corner of the box. They had both medieval and pirate themes and the box was even blue! I got excited from far away because I thought for a moment that it was Playmobil :hmm:
Is this one of the sets that you saw?
I was at a ToysRUs and took this photo with my phone. It is made (in China) by a company called Sun Mate which seems to have a whole catalog of really awful Playmobil knock-offs. Here is a link to their website: Sun Mate playsets (http://www.sun-mate.com/product_subcategory_3_37_1_play-sets_a.html)
-
Oh great, those are the ones I see people listing on ebay in the Playmobil category. Why does TRU feel the need to carry playmobil and a knock-off version at the same time? They do the same thing with legos and Mega-blocks
They look so bad
-
Hi Rasputin - you are so right - they are really horrid looking! I suppose the reason stores carry them is because the icky castle set I photographed only costs $25 whereas a Playmobil version would cost 5 to 10 times as much. But you get what you pay for. ;)
By the way, excellent review of the Mammoth Hunters - these are sets that I will definitely want to get when they arrive in the US! :)
-
I can just see you sprinting through TRU, knocking over little old ladies and running over kids with your shopping cart, all caught on surveilance cameras and ending up on world's dumbest criminals, the guy who injured all these people and fled the scene, all over a mistaken-identity toy. :lol: But then, that could happen to any of us here, I'm sure! :lol:
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Is this one of the sets that you saw?
I was at a ToysRUs and took this photo with my phone. It is made (in China) by a company called Sun Mate which seems to have a whole catalog of really awful Playmobil knock-offs. Here is a link to their website: Sun Mate playsets (http://www.sun-mate.com/product_subcategory_3_37_1_play-sets_a.html)
Yup, those are the ones :no: I just hope TRU isn't testing the market. I especially hope parents don't buy these instead. One of the qualities that makes Playmobil so great is the quality....I imagine these don't compare whatsoever! Thanks for the pics!
-
I am so glad I put on those horse blinder thing-ies on when I go to TRU ;). I bet I could walk blind-folded from the parking lot to the playmobil section, then to the register and back to the car all with out seeing anything else. I get so distracted by other shinny object :-[
-
It is.
According to the German site you should be able to construct a complete skeleton from the set.
Wow! ... that's really clever! :o I can't see so many bones though ... But there are, indeed, pieces everywhere.
That's very interesting, and much better than the previous puzzles they tried, with other themes.