Author Topic: Vintage Playmobil gems in Japan  (Read 3687 times)

Offline matchboxluc

  • custom master
  • Playmo Lover
  • ***
  • Posts: 348
  • Gender: Male
  • seventies lover
Vintage Playmobil gems in Japan
« on: January 18, 2018, 18:35:18 »
Hello everyone!

It has been quite a while again, but I wanted to show something I saw while I was on vacation in Japan.

As I was walking through a shopping mall with lots of collector goods (Nakano Broadway in Tokyo) I saw this little shop:



It was jam-packed with all sorts of secondhand toys, so I decided to have a look.
When I walked past one of the showcases, I spotted something blue and familiar at the bottom shelf. Upon closer inspection, they were some vintage Playmobil sets:



Seeing those old sets in Japan is quite rare. Unfortunately that reflected in the prices as well, as they were quite steep: 4000 and 5800 yen (around €30 and €42) for the single klicky sets; that police truck set was even well over 10000 yen...

So I had to pass on those (that truck was tempting though).

Not that I didn't got any vintage set, but I got that chance one when I was in Osaka. There is a secondhand toy store called Mandarake and on their website I spotted a single klicky set that was a lot less (well, 3000 yen, but I found that acceptable).

So I went for that one and here it is:





A traveller klicky 3322 from 1975 with sealed contents and a lovely little catalog. A pretty rare one considering its condition, so I'm glad I went for it. I nice reminder of years long gone...
phantasy is in the mind, realisation is in my hands!

Offline tahra

  • Playmo Guru
  • ******
  • Posts: 14759
  • Gender: Female
    • playkingdoms
Re: Vintage Playmobil gems in Japan
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2018, 18:54:14 »
What a great find! That little truck! :love:

Thanks for sharing :)

Offline playmofire

  • Klicky Firemeister
  • Playmo Guru
  • ******
  • Posts: 10894
  • Gender: Male
    • Copt Hewick Volunteer Fire Brigade - probably the world's smallest fire brigade!
Re: Vintage Playmobil gems in Japan
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2018, 19:30:33 »
Welcome back, matchboxluc,  :wave: , and thank you for sharing the photos and your buy.  Vintage klickies rule OK!
“Today well-lived makes every yesterday a day of happiness to remember and every tomorrow a vision of hope.”

Offline The_Mad_Hadder

  • Playmo Addict
  • ****
  • Posts: 532
  • Gender: Male
Re: Vintage Playmobil gems in Japan
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2018, 20:06:39 »
Very cool
"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop." Lewis Carroll

Offline Pynedor

  • Playmo Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 3849
  • Gender: Male
Re: Vintage Playmobil gems in Japan
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2018, 22:34:56 »
Nice finds! <*)
~Pynedor~

Offline playmo73

  • Playmo Pal
  • Posts: 5
  • Gender: Female
  • I fell in love with Playmobil in 1974 <3
Re: Vintage Playmobil gems in Japan
« Reply #5 on: January 22, 2018, 20:41:06 »
I love the sweet little umbrella!

Offline GrahamB

  • Moderator
  • Playmo Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 3358
  • Gender: Male
    • Playmofanatic
Re: Vintage Playmobil gems in Japan
« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2018, 21:43:02 »
I think we have seen that shop (the Tokyo one) on PF before.... the prices seem familiar  8}

And thanks for sharing the contents of your 3322 set, it's always good to see what's in the box! Especially as the box picture is a bit misleading as far as the umbrella handle goes!
At that moment the ship suddenly stopped rocking and swaying, the engine pitch settled down to a gentle hum. 'Hey Ford.' said Zaphod, 'that sounds good. Have you worked out the controls on this boat?' 'No,' said Ford, 'I just stopped fiddling with them.' (With thanks to Douglas Adams)

Offline Macruran

  • desperate but not serious
  • Moderator
  • Playmo Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 3634
  • Gender: Male
  • Hiya!
    • my incomplete collection spreadsheet
Re: Vintage Playmobil gems in Japan
« Reply #7 on: January 23, 2018, 14:09:08 »
There's a phrase in the vintage car world: "barn find". It means an old car that's been forgotten in storage for years and is then discovered, to great rejoicing by the discoverer's bank account. For PM it seems that Japanese toy stores are our barns. :gift:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_find

Seriously though have you ever thought about how many rare sets are out there somewhere, in attics or basements?  :lens:
"We like things in little." - G. Stein  
 :roman:

Offline matchboxluc

  • custom master
  • Playmo Lover
  • ***
  • Posts: 348
  • Gender: Male
  • seventies lover
Re: Vintage Playmobil gems in Japan
« Reply #8 on: January 23, 2018, 18:34:51 »
There's a phrase in the vintage car world: "barn find". It means an old car that's been forgotten in storage for years and is then discovered, to great rejoicing by the discoverer's bank account. For PM it seems that Japanese toy stores are our barns. :gift:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_find

Seriously though have you ever thought about how many rare sets are out there somewhere, in attics or basements?  :lens:
Years ago, there were several small shops in my country where vintage sets could still be found. There was this quaint little toy shop were I live that had old Playmobil klicky sets for 20 year old prices.
Those were interesting times...
 
phantasy is in the mind, realisation is in my hands!

Offline The_Mad_Hadder

  • Playmo Addict
  • ****
  • Posts: 532
  • Gender: Male
Re: Vintage Playmobil gems in Japan
« Reply #9 on: January 23, 2018, 20:25:58 »
Years ago, there were several small shops in my country where vintage sets could still be found. There was this quaint little toy shop were I live that had old Playmobil klicky sets for 20 year old prices.
Those were interesting times...

Then the internet and ebay killed that, now people know what they have is worth if they put a little time to look it up...
"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop." Lewis Carroll