What's wrong with Playmobil? 2

[Oliver]

The build-ability of playmobil has been talked in great length. When Playmobil started with stecks it was considered the golden years. The medieval, western and safari sets to this day are quite the collectors choice. Then slowly Playmobil went for systemX which in my opinion worked great for modern theme sets.

Then some paper pusher , sharp pencil numb nut decided to go for (as Tahra calls it “system y”) the modular, un-expandable hunk of junk that seemed to appease some lazy parents who were too concerned with no wanting to spend 30 minutes with their child and build a set. “Let’s dumb down the whole brand for a few lazy parents” was probably the marketing pitch.

I'm kind of in 2 minds about this. I don't think that Playmobil is ever going to successfully be a 'building' toy - anymore than I think that Lego ever successfully works as a narrative/dolls house toy.

The flexibility of Steck often seems to be exagerated. As a child, I owned more Playmobil (by a long way) than anyone I knew. Was there much I could do to build interesting, varied buildings? Not really. The Victorian sets aren't actually compatible with any others, the Framework window walla have built in connectors, and in general you just don't have that many parts as a child. But I think it hits the sweet spot where children can build it themselves, it's easy to assemble and the parts are reusable in new sets. I'd also say that for narrative-play the building is probably the least important part, compared to the figures and the accessories.

System-X is obviously more flexible, and I'm sure it was designed with an eye towards build-ability. And while I do think they've gone way too far in the opposite direction with the huge pieces that can only really be used for one design, I can see what pushed them in that direction. As someone who assembled the 3186 Airport (which isn't even the worst of them) - I can understand why the average parent didn't find inserting 5,000 red connectors to be a joyful way to spend time with their children.

[Rasputin]

Education never seemed to be much of a “joyful” activity. Just look at math homework

I found the big hospital and large school to be time consuming (especially repeating it a dozen times) but yet I just added a little sugar to help the medicine go down

I too never found stecks to be super customizable with the current parts, but it’s so simple and attractive when built.

Just need a about 50 of set 7400’s

Guns and emotions seem to be the flavor of the month so perhaps those will get Playmobil attention

[Tiermann]

When the PCC was set up there were 5 of us representing collectors that attended. I am the only one still active here I think.
At the big meeting we had with the department heads and president, the collectors brought up the concept of Playmobil as a building system. Management at the time felt that the steps they had taken in that direction with System X showed that it wasn't viable.  My opinion is that at the toy scale Playmobil is in, the parts are too big and you need too many to do anything creative. Serious collectors like many of us here do end up with that much stuff, but the average toy buyer who is trying to raise kids simply can't afford that. What Rasputin says about the large parts and parents is spot on, that is definitely one thing that was also said at the meeting.

I don't believe any of the Playmobil staff that were at that meeting are still with the company.
Their underlying problem is at the board of directors level, and the inability to stick to a management scheme.
The guy who was in when they developed Novelmore and the beginnings of Wiltopia clearly knew what they were doing, but they didn't give them enough time to make progress.

The collapse of their online storytelling videos due to mismanagement of their business relationship with the producers of them was also a huge error. It really led to collapse of support for Novelmore and the entire Ducklas fiasco since Duck on Call was supposed to be supported by a full video series. They were attempting to follow LEGO in having video series support for their lines like LEGO does with Ninjago. But then they messed up their relationship with the video makers; I suspect by trying to micromanage and holding back payments to them that caused them to go bankrupt. It's a huge error to make and hopefully whoever was really responsible for it is no longer with the company. Sadly as any of us who have been in the world of work knows, it's just as likely that the people who messed up are still there and the good people have all run for the exits seeing what's happening. Once that happens it is incredibly hard to reverse the trend and keep the best people.

[playmofire]

"Sadly as any of us who have been in the world of work knows, it's just as likely that the people who messed up are still there" and have probably been promoted!

[kaethe]

When the PCC was set up there were 5 of us representing collectors that attended. I am the only one still active here I think.
At the big meeting we had with the department heads and president, the collectors brought up the concept of Playmobil as a building system. Management at the time felt that the steps they had taken in that direction with System X showed that it wasn't viable.  My opinion is that at the toy scale Playmobil is in, the parts are too big and you need too many to do anything creative. Serious collectors like many of us here do end up with that much stuff, but the average toy buyer who is trying to raise kids simply can't afford that. What Rasputin says about the large parts and parents is spot on, that is definitely one thing that was also said at the meeting.

I don't believe any of the Playmobil staff that were at that meeting are still with the company.
Their underlying problem is at the board of directors level, and the inability to stick to a management scheme.
The guy who was in when they developed Novelmore and the beginnings of Wiltopia clearly knew what they were doing, but they didn't give them enough time to make progress.

The collapse of their online storytelling videos due to mismanagement of their business relationship with the producers of them was also a huge error. It really led to collapse of support for Novelmore and the entire Ducklas fiasco since Duck on Call was supposed to be supported by a full video series. They were attempting to follow LEGO in having video series support for their lines like LEGO does with Ninjago. But then they messed up their relationship with the video makers; I suspect by trying to micromanage and holding back payments to them that caused them to go bankrupt. It's a huge error to make and hopefully whoever was really responsible for it is no longer with the company. Sadly as any of us who have been in the world of work knows, it's just as likely that the people who messed up are still there and the good people have all run for the exits seeing what's happening. Once that happens it is incredibly hard to reverse the trend and keep the best people.

And a big thank you to you, Tim, and the others for going to Germany to meet with them.  I treasure my PCC card, and the memories of the great sets from the early days, as well as our klickies with non rotating arms.  I think you should start a separate post with PCC in the title and put an explanation in there for the newer members who are unaware.  Or you could start a “history of playmofriends post” to acknowledge the group start up, Heather and the data base, etc.  Just a thought.   

[Macruran]

Can I suggest here that we refer to this entire mess as "Playmogate"? 

[JPSA]

I'm kind of in 2 minds about this. I don't think that Playmobil is ever going to successfully be a 'building' toy - anymore than I think that Lego ever successfully works as a narrative/dolls house toy. . . . As a child, I owned more Playmobil (by a long way) than anyone I knew. Was there much I could do to build interesting, varied buildings? Not really.

I think it depends on the child.  Some kids are narrative-play oriented — in which case, it's all about the figures and accessories, as you said, with environments being secondary to optional.  And, for other kids, it's all about construction-play and environment design: world-building ( which includes construction, but not only ).  The latter typically transition to building dioramas, and have a greater chance of sticking with the brand into their teens ( and a few into adulthood, though there is often a pattern of rediscovering the toyline, when getting kids, same as AFOLs ).  ...That was me.  Growing up in the 1970s and early 80s, I still have fond memories of configuring my steck castle.  I had sets 3450 and 3449, and eventually combined them into one big castle, at one point ( I built and rebuild the castle several times ).  I guess one might say that, to me, the environment was a character, serving the storytelling dimension.

The question isn't wether Playmobil should be a narrative or a building toy.  It is clearly, primarily, the former ( opposite of Lego ), but there is — or rather was — a construction aspect, without which, you likely wouldn't see many of those gorgeous dioramas at conventions, today.  I think the construction aspect has been neglected in recent years, and should be revalorized, and enhanced to some extent.  ...Even the 'new' building system — let's call it 'tabs' — could be designed to allow some combining and reuse, so one isn't stuck with the one form the toy came with.  Ex: Being able to add floors to the Violet Vale tower, or to link two such towers.  Stuff like that.  Other example: Let's say I want to build a seaport with my son.  I could get a used set 5139 ( Pirates Soldiers Fort with Dungeon ), for not too much money, but what if I want another dock — or a bridge that connects to another structure?  Where do I attach that?  As a Dad, given a choice, I'd much prefer combining several 7376s ( Pirate Prison Fortress ) and make one long System-X port, so as to have room for several boats to dock to.  Or better yet: several 7400s!  The problem, is neither sets are made anymore, and cost a lot of $$$, used ( ...because they are versatile and add value ).

Then some paper pusher , sharp pencil numb nut decided to go for (as Tahra calls it “system y”) the modular, un-expandable hunk of junk that seemed to appease some lazy parents who were too concerned with no wanting to spend 30 minutes with their child and build a set.

I think it's fair to say that Playmobil has a "hunk of junk" problem, which is all the more striking when compared to the steck re-releases.  It's like night and day.  The re-releases are beautiful, substantial toys.  Quality.  Toys you could stand on! ☺ ...You definitely get your money's worth.  And, they are extendable!  However, the cheapo new stuff — hum, 'cost-optimized' — well, it's just going to end up partly disassembled, clogging the toy bin, never to be played with again once the singular, unmodifiable, design grows stale ( which is pretty quickly! ).

The build-ability issue isn't going away, and the reason it is still a subject of ( passionate ) debate is simply because it matters, and makes the Playmobil experience better.  Being able to build stuff, and make dioramas in and around those creations, is one of the things I, and many others, like about Playmobil.  You're not limited to a singular kind of play — at any age — or at least, shouldn't be.

[Rasputin]

Not many impulse buyers are willing to invest lots of funds just so their family can build. Not only is it expensive but Playmobil is considerably larger and requires quite a bit of space

Us nut cases are too few

[JPSA]

...Now that's a bridge!!!  That kid (you?) is doing fine.   ...That's what you want: a kid with ambition!

PM construction-play costs aren't that bad.  Just buy two used steck castles, or system-x hospitals, or space bases, and a budding engineer / designer already a lot to play with.  We're talking $350 on the US Ebay, at most — much less if you live in Europe — which is fairly reasonable.  Also, given that Playmobil tend to keep their value, and can be easily resold, that isn't such a bad deal.

Also, if anyone thinks PM construction-play is expensive: try Lego!!!    Yes, they're small, but they reproduce very quickly ( ending up costing an arm and a leg, before you know it ).

Room-wise, well...

I think that a Chinese company should just start making Playmobil with out permission from Branstater Company.

...Forget that.  I think Brandstätter should consider moving production to the US, instead!  With the energy crisis going full bore in Europe, I heard Germany is rapidly de-industrializing, and many deutsch companies are now electing to move production to the good ol' US of A.  ...Funny how geopolitics work; it almost seems by design! ☺

[Rasputin]

And there is the problem …..

How does a long lasting durable toy that collectors choose to buy multiples of used on 3rd party sites , that can be again resold help playmobil’s balance sheet?

I doubt many target customers are buying with the consideration  of future resale value

Me think the target customers are interested in wholesome educational concepts

Me think moving production to the US will destroy the brand. If the Chinese take over then they can move a production facility to Mexico, then i can sent some of my amigos to go “dumpster diving” as is done at Malta