PlaymoFriends
General => Report & Review => Topic started by: Rasputin on November 07, 2008, 17:37:54
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Well here we have one more of the new packs form Playmobil . " The Crusades were a series of religion driven military campaigns waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents. Crusades were fought mainly against Muslims, though campaigns were also directed against pagan Slavs, Jews, Russian and Greek Orthodox Christians, Mongols, Cathars, Hussites, Waldensians, Old Prussians and political enemies of the popes. Crusaders took vows and were granted an indulgence for past sins ( how convenient )." Wikipedia makes them sound like some sort of Religious extremist who were quite intolerant of others . Some how the smiling face makes them seem so innocent 0)
(http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/2708/p1010191yr5.jpg)
Here we have one of the Klickers that is basically a 4625 special with some minor differences . The flag & pole are not included
(http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/921/p1010207ri0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/4354/p1010211hf6.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
The other fella is also similar to an older special, the 4534 Temple Knight , but again with some differences ( different helmet )
(http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/5070/p1010209dm3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/9813/p1010210ld6.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
The pack is a great bargain even though it is missing a few parts . I picked it up on sale for $2.49 and i have not found any other deals this good . I hope Playmobil will now introduce a Muslim blister pack and we will be able to recreate the bloodshed for their God's sake, and get some stories for Garden War Games ;)
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Hi Rasputin
Good review.
The Wikipedia article over-generalizes.
During the first crusade, at least, most of the nobility were landless second and third sons who were seeking their own place in the sun (no kings went on the first crusade). The church's big reason behind promoting the first crusade was to get the large number of unemployed soldiers out of Western Europe. A recent spate of pilgrims (tourists) being robbed or taken hostage en route to the middle east pilgrimage sites (tourist destinations) was another reason.
So, the image of a mob of religious fanatics setting off for Jesus is an over-simplification.
The thinking of the first crusading army as a mob is not off the mark. The Crusaders of 1099 experienced a series of extraordinary lucky breaks (against the Turks in Asia Minor and against the Egyptians at Damascus and later at Jerusalem). This fantastic luck contributed to them believing that they had god on their side.
Source: Sir Stephen Runciman's "The History of the Crusades" Vol I.
I know far less about the later Crusades. By the third crusade, when Richard the Lionheart and St Louis (the first wave of royal crusaders) entered the fray, the middle east was a mesh of petty kingdoms, some Muslem and some Christian, shifting alliances between each other. The interlopers from Europe (ie. Louis and Richard) were there for glory, didn't understand the subtlety of the political situation, and skirmished with the Christians' Muslem allies. Saladin and his predecessor, Nur ad Din, wielding awesome military might and forcing alliances from the Christian-friendly muslems annihilated the Christian forces in battle after battle.*
* My knowledge of the third crusade is hazier than the first, because I never finished Runciman's "The History of the Crusades" vol 2. The subsequent crusades were sloppy campaigns to regain what was lost in the middle east. One crusading army even sacked Constantinople. Another was butchered to the last man in Asia Minor.
A major ally to the Western Europeans were the Genoese, who profited much from holding monopoly over the sea trade routes from the Levant, and also made money transporting soldiers and migrants to and from the Levant.
The crusades make really good reading.
-Tim
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Thank you for that much more in-depth understanding on the first and second crusades . I guess you have 7 more to go ;D so it sure better be good reading ;) I sure agree wikipedia has a way of giving the shortest answer to what is what and who is who ( leaving lots of room for misinterpretation )
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Encyclopedia's generally do that, Rasputin.
They provide a quick and easy to understand answer or provide a nice starting point for more research but are never ever complete.
Bringing the whole topic back to subject. I do like that blister and would love to buy a few of them here (if ever available) allthough I don't like the helmet of the left crusader (the one with the red cross). I do prefer the original one.
But that's me ;D
Bogro
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Bringing the whole topic back to subject. I do like that blister and would love to buy a few of them here (if ever available) allthough I don't like the helmet of the left crusader (the one with the red cross). I do prefer the original one.
The barbutte helmet PM replaced the spangenhelm with is a 13th century Italian style helmet (modeled after the ancient Greek style). It was a popular infantry helmet among Italian mercenaries fighting in England during the War of the Roses.
The way I see it:
I'm just happy PM didn't give him that stupid bear-faced helmet from the "barbarian" theme.
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I was finally able to find these at my local Toys R Us yesterday. They had a large bin of the blister packs and were $4 each (the regular price is $5 each [20% higher than Playmobil.ca], but they have all the Playmobil at 20% off), so I grabbed 5 packs.
I also grabbed a 5815 and a 5876.
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I think I bought 10 of these!! Nice army building pack these blisters!!!! I only wish we could also get the one with the 4583 sentry in it!
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I think I bought 10 of these!! Nice army building pack these blisters!!!! I only wish we could also get the one with the 4583 sentry in it!
Same here. I remember reading a thread there would be a blister set featuring the Western Theme, with the union and confederate soldiers. Do you spot any of them in Target? I noticed there are two new blisters, one with red and yello pirates, but I am so let down by the boring evil looking red eye captain. His whole look just got ruined :'(
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I think I bought 10 of these!! Nice army building pack these blisters!!!! I only wish we could also get the one with the 4583 sentry in it!
Talking about the 5818....though I dont have it, but it is a good way to get the older specials back. You know what, I am so lucky to get the other half of 5818 from ebay, at US$1.7 USD!!!!!!! Adding the shipping from singapore is still cheap.
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Same here. I remember reading a thread there would be a blister set featuring the Western Theme, with the union and confederate soldiers.
That ACW blister 5799 is one of the recent Playmobil Marketing mysteries. The only person on Playmofriends who has seen it was Gustavo in Brasil.
Here's the thread where we discussed it the first time:
http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=3478.0
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That ACW blister 5799 is one of the recent Playmobil Marketing mysteries. The only person on Playmofriends who has seen it was Gustavo in Brasil.
Here's the thread where we discussed it the first time:
http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=3478.0
Oh...yes!!! I was talking about this one. Do you thinking asking Geobra could track in which part of the world they are now standing??
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That ACW blister 5799 is one of the recent Playmobil Marketing mysteries. The only person on Playmofriends who has seen it was Gustavo in Brasil.
Here's the thread where we discussed it the first time:
http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=3478.0
One would consider with the subject matter being what it is, that more interest/discussion would ensue.
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Hi Rasputin
Good review.
The Wikipedia article over-generalizes.
During the first crusade, at least, most of the nobility were landless second and third sons who were seeking their own place in the sun (no kings went on the first crusade). The church's big reason behind promoting the first crusade was to get the large number of unemployed soldiers out of Western Europe. A recent spate of pilgrims (tourists) being robbed or taken hostage en route to the middle east pilgrimage sites (tourist destinations) was another reason.
So, the image of a mob of religious fanatics setting off for Jesus is an over-simplification.
The thinking of the first crusading army as a mob is not off the mark. The Crusaders of 1099 experienced a series of extraordinary lucky breaks (against the Turks in Asia Minor and against the Egyptians at Damascus and later at Jerusalem). This fantastic luck contributed to them believing that they had god on their side.
Source: Sir Stephen Runciman's "The History of the Crusades" Vol I.
I know far less about the later Crusades. By the third crusade, when Richard the Lionheart and St Louis (the first wave of royal crusaders) entered the fray, the middle east was a mesh of petty kingdoms, some Muslem and some Christian, shifting alliances between each other. The interlopers from Europe (ie. Louis and Richard) were there for glory, didn't understand the subtlety of the political situation, and skirmished with the Christians' Muslem allies. Saladin and his predecessor, Nur ad Din, wielding awesome military might and forcing alliances from the Christian-friendly muslems annihilated the Christian forces in battle after battle.*
* My knowledge of the third crusade is hazier than the first, because I never finished Runciman's "The History of the Crusades" vol 2. The subsequent crusades were sloppy campaigns to regain what was lost in the middle east. One crusading army even sacked Constantinople. Another was butchered to the last man in Asia Minor.
A major ally to the Western Europeans were the Genoese, who profited much from holding monopoly over the sea trade routes from the Levant, and also made money transporting soldiers and migrants to and from the Levant.
The crusades make really good reading.
-Tim
Well the ones that sacked Constantinople were rouges.
They joined the Crusade, but quite just outside of Constantinople.
I believe the men got bored and many people were breaking off and continuing on their own.
So in order to keep them together and to keep them interested they attacked the city.
The First Crusade was not so much luck as the Muslims were surprised and scattered at the time.
The Muslim invasions that had swept threw North Africa and the Middle east, had met little or no resistance along the way.
They would invade a couple towns, threaten everyone to become Muslim or die, then move on.
When they reached the Holy Land, they met the Turks who had very much the same culture.
The Turks adopted the Religion willingly, and suddenly the Muslims were extreamly powerful.
But It didn't work out quite that way. The Turks adopted the religion, and true there were alot of them after that.
But they were spread thin, and there were many groups within the Muslim territories.
Often they fought one another for power.
So when a HUGE resistance appeared, they were completely unprepared. They were swept aside quite easily.
Only after 200 years did they finally band together under the leadership of Saladin.
The second Crusade was called after Saladin retook Jerusalem,
But it lacked the same amount of people as the first, and was very unorganized.
Thus is failed drastically.
The third Crusade, (though not a total success) was better organized then the second and had large numbers of men like the first.
It is called the Kings Crusade because the Kings of Europe finally grew interested and decided the Muslim advance had to be stopped.
The English King Richard the LionHeart, The German Emperor, and the French pooled together and marched to Jerusalem.
The German Emperor drowned and most of his army fled, but they still had the English and French.
They never were able to take the city, but they stopped Saladin's supply lines
And eventually made a shaky truce which allowed Pilgrims to enter the Holy City. (One of the main goals of the Crusades.)
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I could go into more detail about the 3rd Crusade if anyone wants...? ;D ;)
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Hi
That would make a great "History in Playmobil" diorama most if not all the parts are available
Thanks for the history lesson on the crusades. I guess it still rages on ::)
Rasputin "The Mad Monk"
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Thanks for the review, Rasputin. I love these very much.
I always thought the ones with the black crosses were german knights / german order?
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I could go into more detail about the 3rd Crusade if anyone wants...? ;D ;)
Please do! I am quite interested in the crusades. Have been for only a couple of years now. I have travelled over land from Istanbul, through Syria to Jordan, through to Egypt. Saw a lot of crusader stuff, including some descendants!
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I've bought a bunch of these blisters yesterday. I don't know about the 4534 (never owned the original), but as regards the 4625, his cape now comes in a different kind of plastic - it's much 'bendier' than the original. The longer cape of the 4534 is also made from the same material. And the swords they came with are different to the ones shown in these pictures - they're of the newer kind without the fancy hilt. Either way, it's nice to have them in a blister - though they could've kept the original helmet for the red cross knight, instead of this other one.
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I've bought a bunch of these blisters yesterday. I don't know about the 4534 (never owned the original), but as regards the 4625, his cape now comes in a different kind of plastic - it's much 'bendier' than the original. The longer cape of the 4534 is also made from the same material. And the swords they came with are different to the ones shown in these pictures - they're of the newer kind without the fancy hilt. Either way, it's nice to have them in a blister - though they could've kept the original helmet for the red cross knight, instead of this other one.
I much prefer the newest swords. It is about time they got rid of the downward sweeping hilt that impedes how to position the sword in the hand. It appears to be the same mould, but just altered - as opposed to an entirely new design altogether.
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Please do! I am quite interested in the crusades. Have been for only a couple of years now. I have travelled over land from Istanbul, through Syria to Jordan, through to Egypt. Saw a lot of crusader stuff, including some descendants!
The best book I have read on the Crusades is 'Chronicles of the Crusades' by Jean de Joinville and Geffroy de Villehardouin which has been published by Penguin Classics. What makes this book different is the accounts of the 4th and 7th Crusades are made by chronicles who were actually present!
A medieval chronicler is entirely different from a reporter or an historian as we have them today. The chronicler was to 'chronicle' what was going on - just relate facts as to what was happening - not give personal opinion.
You can read about it at Amazon.com here: http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Crusades-Penguin-Classics-Joinville/dp/0140441247 (http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Crusades-Penguin-Classics-Joinville/dp/0140441247) and Amazon.ca http://www.amazon.ca/Penguin-Classics-Chronicles-Crusades-Joinville/dp/0140449981/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281934695&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.ca/Penguin-Classics-Chronicles-Crusades-Joinville/dp/0140449981/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281934695&sr=8-1)
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Thanks for the review, Rasputin. I love these very much.
I always thought the ones with the black crosses were german knights / german order?
They are, those Knights are the Teutonic Knights.
A German order that not only fought in the Crusades of the Middle east,
But also in North Eastern Europe against the Lithuanians. (Pretty sure the Lithuanians...)
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Thanks Rasputin for the review! I had always liked these type of knights! And I have some too! :)
Baden :wave:
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They are, those Knights are the Teutonic Knights.
A German order that not only fought in the Crusades of the Middle east,
But also in North Eastern Europe against the Lithuanians. (Pretty sure the Lithuanians...)
Yes, against the pagans in the area of what is today Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Some of the Teutonic orders of Crusaders were known as Livonians.
In 1202 Bishop Albert of Livonia founded the Brotherhood of the Sword, an Order like the Teutonic Knights. In 1236 the remnants merged with the Teutonic Knights, and were known as the Livonian Order.
Here are some pictures from cover art of Zvezda toy soldiers (25mm) that are made in Russia (Italeri also has a license to release some of them in the West, so you may be familiar with them at hobby shops). The first is 'Crusaders', the second is Teutonic Knights, the third is Livonian and the fourth is Teutonic again.
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For those seeking to make customs, there are companies out there who make decals for wargaming figures that could be used for Playmobil by taking the images and increasing the size so they fit on Playmobil shields - it would take a bit of calculating but the effect could be pretty neat. Maybe just on high quality sticker paper and then cut them out.
This way there woudl be a bit of variety between the different figures.
Here are a couple samples from littlebigmenstudios.com. There are other sites, that have flags and heraldry for free you can download and print off. You just have to search the internet.
In order: Teutonic shields, Teutonic flags and Templar Crosses.
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Cool, thanks for the sticker website! :)