Why did PM change the sheep and why no more Gnus?

[Timotheos]

Hi
1) Anyone know why Playmobil changed its sheep (see photo)?  According to Tiermann's website, the new sheep were introduced in 1995.  Was there a drive then toward better realism?  I actually like the cartoon-like older sheep better (but don't have any).

2) It appears that playmobil has retired the gnu.  I don't believe it has been released since the early 80s.  I wonder why?  It's the sort of strange looking animal that I think kids would be attracted to.

I've attached photos.  The photos come from Tiermann's Animobil site (http://animobil.info/).  It's really an amazing site.

-Tim

[Richard]

Hello, Tim ...

Who the heck knows why Playmobil does anything the way that they do?

The numbering of their sets has always been a disaster!

They have introduced and retired sets (and themes) almost randomly ...

Why did they create and invest heavily in time and money in developing a great building system like Steck, only to abandon it for a nightmare of "fiddly little red & yellow bits to attach/lose/swallow/tread on etc."? (Thank you for that wonderful description, Martin Milner!)

So you ask, Tim, "Why did PM change the sheep and why no more Gnus?" ... 

We could also ask, "Why did they change the horse?" (see attachments)

[Richard]

We could also ask, "Why did they change the cow?" (see attachments)

This was a wonderful animal that we used (as an ox) to haul cannon and wagons.

[Richard]

We could also ask, "Why did they change the burro?" (see attachments)

"Our magnificent burro who carried men or supplies and could also haul wagons!" ... 

[Richard]

And, we could also ask, "Why did they discontinue one of the most revered symbols of the American West ... the longhorn??" (see attachment)

[Richard]

So you see, Tim, we ask these questions all the time. There are no answers! Even those of us who actually know the decision makers at Zirndorf get no answers to these questions. However, most of us suspect that there's a basement "dart board" where all major decisions are made. (Let's just hope that your favourite set, or mine, isn't hit by a "random dart") ...


All the best,
Richard

[Martin Milner]

I prefer the new sheep, the one you show is waaay tooooo taaaaaall for a sheep. 

I prefer the old horses, though. Someone on Playmoboard pointed out that the new ones are OK if they're strolling along grazing, but they don't have that "galloping" look.

[Tiermann]

The animals have been redesigned over time in a less abstract way and more towards a "realistic" juvenile style along the lines of Fisher-Price and others. I think it in part has to do with the trend of Playmo in general towards more specific realistic pieces and away from the interchangeability of the early figures and accessories.

[Arizzo]

The animals have been redesigned over time in a less abstract way and more towards a "realistic" juvenile style along the lines of Fisher-Price and others. I think it in part has to do with the trend of Playmo in general towards more specific realistic pieces and away from the interchangeability of the early figures and accessories.

I totally agree.

Most of the changes are good ones, I'd say. But some changes are a mystery to me.

To the old burro you could attach a saddle and a figure which isn't possible with the new one

Ans the new horses do look more realistic, but they just look lame when it comes to cavalry charges 

[Timotheos]

I initially was thrilled by the new horses and cows (it was my "look at all that changed" re-intro to Playmobil).

But, the old horses could rear-up (and be left standing).  For the horses, I'd call this a functional defect, considering capability was lost.

On the other hand, I like the color and shape of the new cows a lot. 

To Tiermann and Richard:
Where do you get what little info you get about Playmobil's inner workings?  Do you hear this at conventions?  Or do employees periodically correspond? 

If the Playmobil division is run anything like an American company, the plans and decisions are probably classified as "Geobra Proprietary" and an employee could get fired (or face criminal prosecution) for leaking it to the public. 

Plan B: Find a disgruntled Geobra employee....  there's got to be a few out there... Geobra surely isn't the snapshot of 1950s harmony that it presents itself as.... if so I want a job... in heaven, apparently...

-Tim