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General => Brainstorming For Playmobil => Topic started by: playmovictorian on April 14, 2018, 10:54:28

Title: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: playmovictorian on April 14, 2018, 10:54:28
Good morning dear Friends  :wave:

Following the huge success of the Sylvanian Families New Town Series, I very much hope that Playmobil will follow the trend with a few Victorian / 1900 Collector pieces or even reviving the theme  :love:

I have a feeling that one should never say never in life and that also applies to Toys Brands following trends...

I will certainly be keeping you updated as Inspector Karim is back on the case  :lens:
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Oliver on April 14, 2018, 16:48:49
I'm very surprised that none of the smaller sets haven't been re-issued via Direct Service - though I have seen a couple of the Yellow Lady from the Park Fence 5360 set pop up on eBay from some Maltese sellers, which did make me wonder if some little sets were coming for Direct Service.

We've had the various re-issued Cars/Ford-T Trucks, the piano, the lamp post, park fence and the advertising column.

Personally I'd love to see 5503 (Lady with luggage) or 5400 (flower seller) which would be affordable and fill in gaps in lots of people's collections.

I doubt they could revive the mansion of the simply fact that (certainly in the UK) you can easily pick the house up for maybe £150 on eBay with furniture, less if you're willing to hold out. When they stopped making 5300 it was selling for £125 in the shops, so it's hard to see how they could sell it.

What I would personally love to see is a revival with a smaller house/shop - so one room/3 windows wide, with a shop on the ground floor and then a floor and attic above, with a gable rather than a hipped roof. Their could be a range of shop interiors, and it would mostly be recycled moulds, and it would be a different range for them.

I'm sure I read somewhere that they designed a Town Square Fountain for the 1900 range that was never produced, which obviously I'd LOVE to see!
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Macruran on April 14, 2018, 17:00:31
Strange that they don't take a leaf out of Sylvanian's playbook and do the theme for years, slowly adding new bits here and there. Collectors love that kind of thing.   :eh?:
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: tahra on April 14, 2018, 18:12:21
Strange that they don't take a leaf out of Sylvanian's playbook and do the theme for years, slowly adding new bits here and there. Collectors love that kind of thing.   :eh?:

Well... you kinda answered yourself...
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Oliver on April 15, 2018, 12:16:45
Strange that they don't take a leaf out of Sylvanian's playbook and do the theme for years, slowly adding new bits here and there. Collectors love that kind of thing.   :eh?:

Do Sylvanian Families Families do 'themes' ?

I've read a few times that toy sales are very novelty led, which I assume is why they constantly launch/revamp new themes

Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Macruran on April 15, 2018, 20:10:38
All Sylvanian sets fit into a retro Victorian theme. (there are no cyberpunk Sylvanians). Compared to PM, Sylvanian is all one theme.
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Oliver on April 15, 2018, 21:19:33
That's sort of my point - you can't really be adding to a theme if you only ever made one theme - in fact, the town sets are being billed as a big new development
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: playmofire on April 15, 2018, 21:45:27
All Sylvanian sets fit into a retro Victorian theme. (there are no cyberpunk Sylvanians). Compared to PM, Sylvanian is all one theme.

Not all, there are two 1950/1960s cars in the range, a Morris Minor and an Austin A40 and a more  modern one, maybe based on a Peugeot, a mini-bus type vehicle and camper van and an ice cream van.
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Macruran on April 16, 2018, 04:26:05
Right, and the point is that PM has (had) a theme that they could continue doing for a long time. The Victorian theme. That's what they should/could have been doing all along. Is my point.  :wave:
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Giorginetto on May 09, 2018, 16:54:36
Back in 2011 I bought 10 victorian houses and lots of victorian sets ( see my vid in my youtube channel) and i have to say its one of the best themes/collection ofsets that playmobil ever created. I am sorry to say but in my opinion today's sets pale in comparison to the quality, attention to details, aesthetics and ethics of the old sets  :)
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 ThemeEthic
Post by: Macruran on May 10, 2018, 01:08:44
Ethics?  Were the old klickies better behaved?  ???
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: The_Mad_Hadder on May 10, 2018, 21:00:35
He may have been making reference to how Playmobil had allowed the ability to add onto buildings and themes rather then make stand alone sets that could not be expanded upon. "Ethics" may have been a poor choice of words as unless Playmobil is marketing a product as made in Germany when it is actually made in China, or dumping toxins into the environment I cannot see this company as being unethical.
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Birdie on November 09, 2018, 19:16:01
Good morning dear Friends  :wave:

Following the huge success of the Sylvanian Families New Town Series, I very much hope that Playmobil will follow the trend with a few Victorian / 1900 Collector pieces or even reviving the theme  :love:

I have a feeling that one should never say never in life and that also applies to Toys Brands following trends...

I will certainly be keeping you updated as Inspector Karim is back on the case  :lens:

Are you referring to the beautiful new Sylvanian series with Victorian (?) boutiques and a tram?

(https://i.imgur.com/fw7yvwC.jpg)

It is simply gorgeous! I do hope you're right.
If Sylvanian can do it successfully, why would Playmobil not be able to revive the theme?

I just bought the new house from the Spirit series (9475) Lucky's house, and with this set I think they have actually found a way to make detailed, historically sound houses that are less 'difficult' or time-consuming to assemble and also less heavy and less costly to produce. They could very well do a Victorian house, a shop etc. in that new fashion. Granted, the house is not steck, it only has a front and one side wall, but it's the best I've seen in a loooooong time. It has windows that open and shut, it has curtains, paneling, appealing colours, pretty details on the roof and so on. I'm a fan!

(https://i.imgur.com/h8rQZtX.jpg)

Edit: added a photo from the current Sylvanian series
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: bml87 on November 09, 2018, 19:50:45
I just bought the new house from the Spirit series (9475) Lucky's house, and with this set I think they have actually found a way to make detailed, historically sound houses that are less 'difficult' or time-consuming to assemble and also less heavy and less costly to produce. They could very well do a Victorian house, a shop etc. in that new fashion. Granted, the house is not steck, it only has a front and one side wall, but it's the best I've seen in a loooooong time. It has windows that open and shut, it has curtains, paneling, appealing colours, pretty details on the roof and so on. I'm a fan!

Does this mean we'll see a new diorama of Birdie soon? :yup:
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Birdie on November 09, 2018, 20:12:41
Does this mean we'll see a new diorama of Birdie soon? :yup:

Alas, I've only just found the time to catch up on the forum  :lol:

But if a revival of the 1900 theme were to happen, I'd gladly quit my job to have the time to make a dio or 2  ;D
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: playmovictorian on November 14, 2018, 05:38:32
I totally agree with Giorginetto with regards to the quality of the original Playmobil Victorian house  :love:

I am nevertheless grateful to the Sylvanian Families Town Series new range which inspired me to start my New Regent St project with the Grand Department Store, the restaurant and so on.

My only frustration is that the range is mostly aimed at the Japanese market and Europe is far behind when it comes to the release of sets such as the Elegant Town Manor which I am waiting for in order to complete the grand avenue of my project.

Once again, I very much hope that the SF Town Series will inspire Playmobil for a revival of the Victorian theme, one day  :cloud9:

In the meantime the SF Town Series buildings are perfectly Playmo compatible as demonstrated in my dedicated thread in the Story Telling section  ;)

Karim
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Giorginetto on November 14, 2018, 13:59:40
The 9475 set  looks good surely... but only from the front.....  It lucks the playdoll house design as in the legendary 5300, ie proper surround walls and room walls, stairs etc. 9475 its just a wall with floors behind. May sound harsh but its very much what some  other playmo sets of today are like. not enough detail /depth if you ask me

Compare this 9475 to the small FAO Schwarz victorian house , might only be one room but the attention to detail and parts included is outstanding for a playmo set

The original victorian/1900 playmobil series is yet to be surpassed by far if you ask me  :)
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Oliver on November 14, 2018, 22:51:25
While I agree it's not up to the design of the original Victorian range (since it's basically a set), it's no worse in that sense that the Sylvanian sets, and to my eye the design is more crisp and better. Sylvanian stuff is the same scale, but I don't think the detailing is there. So I can see that the Lucky House would be fine for building dios, but not so good for playing sadly.

Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 ThemeEthic
Post by: Giorginetto on December 10, 2018, 12:04:21
Ethics?  Were the old klickies better behaved?  ???

Absolutely. Just have a look at todays klickies and compare them to the 70s/80s ones. There are too many points to raise from faces, posture etc. , etc.

The old klickies portrayed by their permanent features had a far higher degree of ' innocence' in their design / looks
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Basie10 on February 02, 2019, 07:13:32
Be great to see some more uniformed figures from some non-red or blue coated regiments of that era. Plus the object of my desire....a highlander in kilt playing the bagpipes :love: :love:
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Pharaoh Ru on March 16, 2019, 05:07:29
I also agree with Giorgionetto, I find myself going backwards instead of forwards with Playmobil.  I love the Victorian theme.

I only wish I had bought into the Victorian back in the 1990's.  However I have been fortunate to have bought a 5301 Victorian house in the last two years and then found a few of the amazing sets.

I also wish they would revisit some of the Marchen(Fairy Tales) theme.

But I certainly wish they would be re-inspired to create some Victorian sets.
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Macruran on March 16, 2019, 12:13:40
But I certainly wish they would be re-inspired to create some Victorian sets.

Do you really want to see "Fire Victorians versus Ice Victorians"? Because that's what they'd make.  ;D
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: GrahamB on March 17, 2019, 10:15:23
With cogs on their socks and specs!
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: tahra on March 17, 2019, 13:59:01
Do you really want to see "Fire Victorians versus Ice Victorians"? Because that's what they'd make.  ;D

:lmao: :lmao:

Though.. I suppose it is really not funny, being true..
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Hadoque on March 17, 2019, 21:40:58
I have no need for a new Victorian Theme, I´d be satisfied with "HMS Victory"  ;D
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: GrahamB on March 17, 2019, 21:45:37
With cogs on their socks and specs!

I should explain... I was referring to this gem (but I didn't realise it was over a year old :-[)

Utterly stunning work! I might even change my opinion about steampunk, which heretofore has been well expressed by this comic!

(https://i.imgur.com/rYosxB7.jpg)

 :hehe:
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: tahra on March 18, 2019, 20:25:00
I should explain... I was referring to this gem (but I didn't realise it was over a year old :-[)

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

I remembered that - thanks for digging it up again - HILARIOUS :D
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Pharaoh Ru on April 27, 2019, 04:36:06
Some of us new people are just getting our feet wet in the playmobil fun, exploration of some of the better made and older sets is something I was seeking to collect.  For me personally most of the new sets are not of interest to me.  In years past the company seemed to facilitate collectors obtaining sets by repeating a certain theme.
Now the playmobil execs are seemingly hell bent on destroying the company.
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Bolingbroke on June 06, 2019, 17:12:21
Sylvanian Families is indeed a Japanese product. New releases that have not yet hit the European market can be ordered directly from Japan however, from online retailers like Amiami and HLJ - both of them reliable shops that I use (very) frequently.

Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Giorginetto on January 07, 2020, 13:02:19
Sylvanian families.. my oldest daughter bought a few sets and my youngest plays with them a bit but hey both prefer the Playmobil sets , thank god I say as well.

Still nothing on the revival of the 5300 set and its accompanying sets …. >:(
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Janilew on March 12, 2020, 03:25:33
Nothing would make me happier to at least bring back the mansion. It was the first thing my mother bought from Playmobil when I was only four months old. Sadly, under unusual circumstances, the upper half of it vanished after a move. We've been steadily getting replacement parts to at least bring it back to it's former glory. Thank God for eBay.
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Macruran on March 12, 2020, 04:40:42
It was the first thing my mother bought from Playmobil when I was only four months old.

You are now a strong contender in the "Earliest Encounter With Playmobil" competition.
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Janilew on March 12, 2020, 08:21:24
Lol, who's my competition?
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: playmovictorian on March 12, 2020, 08:43:13
Good morning dear Friends  :wave:

Since my extended No1 Regent St could not travel to the UK due to its size, it is thanks to the Sylvanian Families New Town Series inspired by the 1900's that I have developed my New Regent St project.

This is next best thing after the iconic and sadly discontinued Playmobil Victorian theme and from a conversation I had from a friend who was at both London and New Toy Fair earlier this year, the SF New Town Series will soon be discontinued to the lack of demand worldwide apart from the Japanese market. I was really hoping for this theme to be developed with such great finds as the Elegant Town Manor, but it is sadly not meant to be.

Those who are following for 10 years old thread already know that I am customizing the SF buildings and that it really took my little Victorians into a new dimension evolving from a grand Victorian mansion to a busy and thriving early 1900's London community  :)

Karim
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: klickyklack on March 12, 2020, 10:16:21
from a conversation I had from a friend who was at both London and New Toy Fair earlier this year, the SF New Town Series will soon be discontinued to the lack of demand worldwide apart from the Japanese market. I was really hoping for this theme to be developed with such great finds as the Elegant Town Manor, but it is sadly not meant to be.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear it's being discontinued.  I actually much prefer the older Sylvanian's buildings (cute little cottages & cottage shops), but there were things I liked about the town series.  I liked the stackable buildings so kids (& adults) could add to their street/structure, & I LOVED the tram (the tram is the only piece I bought & it's so neat!).  What I didn't like was the colour of the new sets - all the pastels, lilac & pink were making it feel much more gendered & geared towards "girls" (I don't buy into all that at all)

I'm walking away from this thread laughing about the steam punk cartoon (steam punk  ::)  :wall: ) & trying not to get sucked in by the Spirit house.  :love:
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Janilew on March 12, 2020, 13:53:53
Good morning dear Friends  :wave:

Since my extended No1 Regent St could not travel to the UK due to its size, it is thanks to the Sylvanian Families New Town Series inspired by the 1900's that I have developed my New Regent St project.

This is next best thing after the iconic and sadly discontinued Playmobil Victorian theme and from a conversation I had from a friend who was at both London and New Toy Fair earlier this year, the SF New Town Series will soon be discontinued to the lack of demand worldwide apart from the Japanese market. I was really hoping for this theme to be developed with such great finds as the Elegant Town Manor, but it is sadly not meant to be.

Those who are following for 10 years old thread already know that I am customizing the SF buildings and that it really took my little Victorians into a new dimension evolving from a grand Victorian mansion to a busy and thriving early 1900's London community  :)

Karim

1. I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS! If this is indeed true, I'm just heartbroken! I loved that line because of the Victorian theme!  :hissyfit: When I told my Mom this, even though she was skeptical, we put all the buildings we missed in the shopping cart. Luckily we got the main structure and a few others already, and the Delicious Restaurant is already on its way anyway.

2. Since Amazon is doing international sales now, is it possible to still buy the items there? Or is it purely on Japanese based sites?

Even though the SF (Calico Critters in the States) Town Series are discontinuing, I hope you still continue your work one way or another. You are so talented.  :sorrow:
Title: Re: Wishing for a revival of the Victorian / 1900 Theme
Post by: Macruran on March 13, 2020, 01:45:47
Lol, who's my competition?

Good question, might make an interesting thread.