PlaymoFriends
General => Collector's Corner => Topic started by: GrahamB on February 04, 2024, 17:59:13
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I thought I would display a few interesting parts and sets, especially things which are a little harder to find. I will try to add to this regularly, though I doubt I will be as diligent as Jim Matterer, who manages to post something new nearly every day.
First up, a fairly recent part, from set 70909, Starter Pack Dino Rise: Fire Scorpion, released in May 2022. I liked the look of this beastie, so added its part number (30 65 0455) to a recent parts order. It cost £4.30; set against what the set would have cost at the time (£15.99 at Playmobil.co.uk), this is quite good value- the set contains this scorpion, 4 small scorpions, some crystals, some bones, rocky scenery, one klicky (Ian) and accessories.
(https://i.postimg.cc/d0wc1s6j/IMG-7466.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/63bkYdXM/IMG-7467.jpg)
As you can see, the Fire Scorpion has a flexible tail and sting, flexible front limbs and chelae (pincers). It is studded with orange jewels. The ‘walking’ legs don’t move. The translucent orange and red parts look great. Fully extended it measures 16cm, so it should give a nasty shock to any klicky it meets!
(https://i.postimg.cc/ZRqk8w19/IMG-7468.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/fy36FJWD/IMG-7469.jpg)
When I first picked it up, I was strongly reminded of Lego, possibly because the tail articulation looks quite like Lego Technic!
A very nice animal and quite reminiscent of a real scorpion.
(https://i.postimg.cc/PqN64Nt4/IMG-7470.jpg)
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He's gorgeous :love: - I got him too..
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I really like the fire scorpion too. I just got the big one from set 71024 but while larger it isn't really more articulated than the little guy, so only has a tiny bit more play value for a much higher price.
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That is one groovy looking arachnid 8-)
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That is one groovy looking arachnid 8-)
Don't call him that! :0
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???
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???
I'm terrified of spiders... :-[ doesn't everyone know that yet? :P
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Oooh that is quite beautiful indeed. Recent, so I hadn't noticed it yet. Thanks for sharing!
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I doubt I will be as diligent as Jim Matterer, who manages to post something new nearly every day.
It is less diligence & more of a way to keep busy & entertain myself without TV being involved. TV is the little mind killer.
Thanks for the review; I had missed getting this one when it first came out, but I've just found it on eBay from a US dealer. Well done.
71024 probably won't be available here; certainly not in stores as no new Novelmore (except for the Fi?ures set) is being sent out to them. Perhaps the website will eventually get the new sets but I'm not counting on it. 71024 is on eBay.... maybe this weekend when my PM budget is back in action....
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It looks like LEGO
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Thanks for your comments, guys. Diligence or TV avoidance, your work lights up every day on PF, Jim!
Here is a friend for the scorpion, sent to me by a PM friend. They look like soulmates to me!
(https://i.postimg.cc/7Y098LRM/IMG-9729.jpg)
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They look great together
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Next is Riverdale Station, 4301.
I wanted this beautiful set for a long time, but had almost given up hope of getting hold of it when one came up on eBay for a not-too-unreasonable price and I went for it. Its got RED STECK! And Red toasts!
(https://i.postimg.cc/fRkHDk69/IMG-8219.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/7ZpN493F/IMG-8236.jpg)
The secondhand set I bought was almost complete. As usual with sets of this vintage (1987), the building instructions do not show all the set contents.
(https://i.postimg.cc/sgZpTWkw/IMG-8240.jpg)
Trying to find out what the set originally contained was a bit of a challenge, especially what the figures are wearing. I eventually decided that the girl with the yellow dress is wearing a red bow round her neck, the same as the bow worn by the boy clown in set 4787 Musical Clowns (https://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=4787).
Eventually, I amassed all the parts of the set, apart from one sticker. I appealed on here (https://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=17870.msg322980#msg322980) and, amazingly, Indianna was able to send me a scan of the original stickers!
(https://i.postimg.cc/YqTX2tkD/riverdale-labels-high-res-1.jpg)
So here are pictures of the set…
(https://i.postimg.cc/2ymcDGDk/IMG-8217.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/y85LdsHr/IMG-8218.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/VNCD0pss/IMG-8220.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/c4FDpf5W/IMG-8223.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/qBXDGPsz/IMG-8221.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/HsYZv6z3/IMG-8226.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/7619mzTp/IMG-8224.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/gJb4VsrV/IMG-8225.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/6q90SQrT/IMG-8227.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/8Pz4mjk0/IMG-8228.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/T1YV04xD/IMG-8230.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/FsCZWN7s/IMG-8233.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/YqP6NRsv/IMG-8237.jpg)
And here are the set contents, laid out
(https://i.postimg.cc/XYZgtmCK/IMG-8231.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/9F0PqKJ3/IMG-8238.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Zqpx5NjC/IMG-8234.jpg)(https://i.postimg.cc/T17r4J2H/IMG-8235.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/7PmMhw1M/IMG-8239.jpg)
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Your own Riverdale station, how very exciting :yippee:
It's one of the few sets on my list of must-but-don't-haves.
Yours looks to be in supreme condition when it's a used set :o
Red steck :love: Red toasts :love:
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That's a great addition to any collection, Graham
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Great buy
I’ve also been watching out for a more complete train station but most on EBay go for very high prices. I’ve seen complete ones at $300
Your look very clean and complete , great find and addition to your collection
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A real beauty of a set :lens: :camera:
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Next is Riverdale Station, 4301.
I wanted this beautiful set for a long time, but had almost given up hope of getting hold of it when one came up on eBay for a not-too-unreasonable price and I went for it. Its got RED STECK! And Red toasts!
That set is a real beauty, Graham - congrats on finding all the elements! And thanks for the great photos!
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In my opinion this is a great example of how playmobil was once a great German design. It has childish colors but yet is appealing to adult collectors. The use of stecks system that kept production prices down. Stecks allowed for multiple sets to be combined if you chose, making builders want more of the same set. It fit with so many other stecks sets that you could combine other buildings or safari foundations together. Simple yet very effective, thought out engineering but effective .
One of these days I think it would be prudent to get a Chinese manufacturer to mass produce the golden year parts and give Geobra the bird
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It's an awesome set and yours is wonderfully complete. Congratulations
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Loving that Riverdale Station set, so quaint and beautiful!
Did you manage to recreate the stickers from a picture? Would be curious to hear more about that!
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Did you manage to recreate the stickers from a picture?
No, I used the scan of original stickers sent to me by Indianna to print off new stickers on self-adhesive printer paper. As far as I can see, these are as good as original stickers.
Stickers do tend to deteriorate over time, so I often have to resort to remaking them, sometimes by using images found online, sometimes scanning existing stickers, sometimes recreating them in software.
Here, for example is a scan of a pirate flag done on a scanner/copier:
(https://i.postimg.cc/Hx2dQMcP/Pirate-FLag.jpg)
And here are the flags for the Houseboat 3540 I created in Word.
(https://i.postimg.cc/Xvysfv9d/3540-houseboat-flags.jpg)
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Are they vinyl or paper decals
That’s one unfortunate thing about buying used Playmobil that was not properly stored in a climate controlled vacuumed chamber, those darn decals
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Thanks Graham. But how to manage getting the right scale / size?
And yes, also more details on the paper quality used would be interesting. I'd love to renew some of the stickers on my older 80's sets.
Also, how to source the original sticker set?
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Are they vinyl or paper decals
And yes, also more details on the paper quality used would be interesting. I'd love to renew some of the stickers on my older 80's sets.
I use self-adhesive photo paper in an ink jet printer. Glossy, matt and transparent versions are available, depending on the sticker you are replacing. I have not tried vinyl.
But how to manage getting the right scale / size?
Trial and error to some extent. When photocopying (scan/print) existing stickers onto self-adhesive paper, they come out the same size as the originals, pretty much.
Also, how to source the original sticker set?
That's the big question!
1. Buy on eBay (older sets often had assembly instructions printed on the back of the sticker sheet)
2. Search pictures on PlaymoDB, sometimes there are high resolution images of sticker sheets (not often for older sets)
3. Look on Datenbank-Setinhalt at klickywelt.de, sometimes there are images of sticker sheets (pre-1990 sets)
4. Ask on here if anyone has the original sticker sheets, or a scan
5. Buy new stickers from PM as spare parts for recent sets. Sometimes these are the same size and shape as the stickers on older sets - e.g. signs for old buildings
6. Recreate the designs using software and print out
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Great pictures of your collection, GrahamB!
That fire scorpion is nice. It'd be great if some of the parts from those sets would be released again in other sets (including in different colours). They would work nicely in many fantasy settings (and it doesn't seem like the Dino Rise theme has done very well :-\).
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6480 Black and Red Sea Serpent
It took me a long time to find this lovely beast for sale. Not surprising it’s hard to find, as it was only available direct from Playmobil between mid 2016 to mid 2017. It appears in the German and UK 2016-17 DS catalogues for this period (it’s probably in the catalogues for other countries too) for 24,99 Euro (20 GBP), but it’s not in the subsequent catalogues.
It is made from the same moulds as the green and yellow Sea Serpent found in sets 4805 (2008) and 70467 (2020) (http://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/your_set_list.pl?setlist=4805,70467).
(https://i.postimg.cc/0NN83qbM/IMG-8283.jpg)
It came with a counterweight so it floats steadily. An underwater motor can be fitted to the counterweight.
(https://i.postimg.cc/4d7XfbvX/IMG-8278.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/KjTcNr40/IMG-8284.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/8P8zC3n9/IMG-9840.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Cx7hmKLp/IMG-9841.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/0NH81Hwt/IMG-9844.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/130Tk2Jk/IMG-9854.jpg)
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That's a great set! :D
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Ambulance Station 3432
Now its white Steck and white toasts!
(https://i.postimg.cc/W3T7JymD/IMG-9793.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/mZVm7T5T/IMG-9792.jpg)
This set maybe gets its name from the three ‘Ambulance Station’ signs on its walls. In my part of the world, an Ambulance Station is a place where ambulances go when they are not out and about, attending medical emergencies or queueing to deliver patients to overcrowded hospitals. This set is really a hospital and there is not an ambulance to be seen!
Anyway, it seems to be much sought-after and it has some nice parts, at least 8 of which are unique to this set (white Steck wall parts, grey door and window parts).
(https://i.postimg.cc/gknHR8hK/IMG-9799.jpg)
Some of the white building elements can also be found in the vacation cottage 3771, and the floor parts are also in the Riverdale Station set (see above). These floor parts can be used to provide floors for the Steck buildings in the theme ‘Old Houses’ (https://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/sets.pl?theme=Old+Houses&sortby=theme&focus=all&pics=on) (see here (https://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=17462.msg315381#msg315381)), but were never included in those sets. 18 white toasts fill the gaps at the tops of the walls not occupied by signs.
(https://i.postimg.cc/66HhyY83/IMG-9790.jpg)
There is a partition dividing the building into two unequal-sized rooms. There are five windows and two side doors in grey with grey frames and horizontal slats.
One end wall has two large white doors and internal shelving.
(https://i.postimg.cc/QMpbCD7G/IMG-9800.jpg])
(https://i.postimg.cc/x8FGhTwH/IMG-9791.jpg)
The base consists of 12 pieces:
(https://i.postimg.cc/XYBxMd7v/IMG-9797.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/k4svNywT/IMG-9798.jpg)
The roof has 9 parts. There are two large red cross symbols on stickers on the roof.
(https://i.postimg.cc/J4vcQ0cC/IMG-9801.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/L8PkQSNY/IMG-9802.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/43CPXymQ/IMG-9794.jpg)
There are six signs for the outside of the building, each with stickers;
• three long ‘Ambulance-Station’ signs,
• a sticking-out wall sign with (on both sides) a red cross and the word ‘Unfallhilfe’ (Accident Assistance),
• a sticking-out wall sign with (on both sides) a clearway symbol and the words ‘Ambulance. Zufahrt Tag u. Nacht freihalten’ (Keep access clear day and night)
• a flat-to-wall sign with the wording ‘Besuchszieten Mo-Do 1600-1800 Sonntags 1400-1600’ (Visiting hours Mon-Thurs 1600-1800 Sundays 1400-1600)
There are also stickers on the two charts attached to the hospital beds and circular red cross stickers for the roof (two, large), suitcase (two, quite small), cap and cuff badges (7, small).
(https://i.postimg.cc/T1kQxcDK/IMG-9795.jpg)
Inside the hospital are two beds with medical charts and an operating table with light. The two orange wheelchairs are a departure from the commoner white one and the orange stretcher is rarer than the usual grey ones.
There are 5 red cups and a red jug, but no table to put them on!
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Ambulance Station 3432
I love that set.. so many beautiful parts...
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A very unusual and a very nice set, Graham, lucky you!
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It's a great set. I have the structure but it didn't have the klickies or accessories with it. They need to release a Steck system Safari Animal Hospital set using the end wall with the double doors mold and some of the other interesting parts, plus the freight station understructure. Link it to Wiltopia maybe.
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Now its white Steck and white toasts!
Those parts look very nice! :)
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Circus truck 3129
(https://i.postimg.cc/4N5KvHsj/IMG-9311.jpg)
PlaymoDB calls this set “Circus Truck And Lion Trailer,” stating it was first released in 1980, has 2 figures, but no parts are inventoried and there is no set picture. Of the 76 Circus sets listed in PlaymoDB, only three have no picture.
Collector describes it as an Exclusive set, issued in 1980 and rates it as ‘absolutely rare.’ Collector does have a picture of the set box, which I used to identify the set contents.
I bought this from a German seller. Its in lovely condition. I had to find the grey ramp and steps for the lions’ trailer, the two lions, the two keepers and their red accessories, a green push-broom and handbrush and a red bucket. Luckily I had most of these, even the bucket!
(https://i.postimg.cc/CxrzXyZN/IMG-9312.jpg)
The truck is similar to the Police truck in set 3223 (https://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=3233x), perhaps a brighter green colour and with different stickers.
(https://i.postimg.cc/nrfs2vsf/IMG-9313.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/763PxjLj/IMG-9314.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/L5kJbnfY/IMG-9315.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/L88Jx4s5/IMG-9316.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/1zgfZWwZ/IMG-9317.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/X77NbH6D/IMG-9318.jpg)
The trailer is similar to set 3514 (https://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=3514), though this one has a green truck with a red roof, rather than blue and red.
(https://i.postimg.cc/YCvp4v96/IMG-9319.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/CKDSN9bd/IMG-9320.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/NGbYp628/IMG-9321.jpg)
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Two more circus sets. Again, neither has a picture in PlaymoDB.
3529 from 1986, a small set with 3 klickies and 18 accessories, many resembling those in set 3512 (https://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=3512).
(https://i.postimg.cc/L8ygmjPx/IMG-0004.jpg)
I based the set contents on a picture of the set box at klickypedia (https://www.klickypedia.com/sets/3923-ger-clown-and-acrobats/)
(Set 3529 possibly did not have a sticker on the seat of the chair).
The acrobats can perform various stunts using the blue parts and the chair:
(https://i.postimg.cc/4Ng9PfZQ/IMG-0006.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/DyPbY9wk/IMG-0007.jpg) (https://i.postimg.cc/cCQ8Wj73/IMG-0008.jpg)
And set 3194x, an Orange Circus from 1979, similar in many ways to the Circus Arena set 3553 (https://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=3553) and the Circus Arena Blue set 3510 (https://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=3510). 3194x is called ‘Red Circus’ in PlaymoDB, but has no picture nor details of contents. It has 105 pieces, not including 27 stickers.
There is a bandstand with bell (I forgot to add a string to pull to ring the bell);
(https://i.postimg.cc/mkJb8xd9/IMG-9743.jpg)
The band have green suits with yellow trim. Their instruments include a trumpet, bass drum with cymbals (badum-tish), a string bass and a violin. Their desks are yellow. There is a baton for the conductor.
(https://i.postimg.cc/9M2wY942/IMG-9732.jpg)
The billboard shows the acts included in the circus:
5 Klickanis, Los Mexicos, Fraulein Amanda, Peppino & Co., Red Devils.
(https://i.postimg.cc/GtFCJBsW/IMG-9750.jpg)
The ring can be set up with fences, lions (3 males) and a trainer,
(https://i.postimg.cc/zD0HTVqm/IMG-9730.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/ZKHHBTM0/IMG-9736.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/4ytQqpyJ/IMG-9733.jpg)
Another act has four black horses with red plumes,
(https://i.postimg.cc/Wpkb1zt6/IMG-9738.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/w38C19fw/IMG-9739.jpg)
All the parts laid out:
(https://i.postimg.cc/Z5JxsBSS/IMG-9746.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/fLWTbftV/IMG-9747.jpg)
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The orange set is really rare I think. It looks great, and yours is in beautiful condition. The old acrobat acts are great, and I think that may be the only circus horse act with black horses, they are usually white. Thanks for sharing these great photos