PlaymoFriends
General => Report & Review => Topic started by: Ismene on March 25, 2022, 07:03:28
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The re-released Victorian sets have been going in and out of stock on the US website. The house and bathroom have yet to make an appearance. I finally managed to catch the bedroom and the dining room both available at the same time. The dining room box was squashed and had popped open, so I went ahead and assembled it (to make sure it was okay!), even though it's midnight. :lol: So here's a quick comparison to the original set.
First off, the 70894 is suspiciously cheap, $16.99. I remember the dining room being a comparatively pricey furniture set, so that was unexpected.
The vintage 5320 is on the left; the new 70894 on the right.
Differences:
- I'm not sure if you can tell in the photos, but the new furniture is a slightly darker brown.
- The upholstery of the new couch is hard plastic, rather than that waxy stuff. Mine has a fingerprint-like impression right in the middle. ::)
- The armchair is comparable, although you may notice that the waxy plastic has developed a white "residue" on the vintage pieces.
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The small pieces
Differences:
- Again, we see a color difference. The print on the original table is brown. It's yellow (supposed to be gold?) on the new table.
- The golds on the clock and tea cart are also different. The vintage pieces have an, appropriately, antique gold. The new pieces are more brassy.
- The whites in the vintage set have yellowed. It's subtle until we get to the maid's apron. That looks terrible. I may see if I can order her a new apron.
- Printing! The printing of the new table is off-center. The printing on the old clock is very slightly off-center; the printing on the new clock is just embarrassing. The framing makes it super obvious.
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The rugs
- It's the same print, but the shade is different. The vintage rugs have something of a pink hue.
- Now for the big WHY? The new rugs are cardstock! They look like bootlegged rugs that a collector might make to replace a missing or damaged rug. Will not withstand 30 years of tea parties. I'm not sure what the vintage rugs are made of, probably some sort of compressed synthetic. However, I literally soaked them not too long ago, so they can survive tea.
The misaligned prints are a disappointing mistake. The intentional choice of perishable material for the rugs makes me upset. I was planning to order some replacement rugs (particularly the bathroom rugs) because mine have yellowed over the years, but what's the point if they are cardstock? Textile printing is more accessible now than ever. How much money are they really saving with this idiocy?
Recently, I used some public domain images to custom a pile of rugs in assorted sizes. The two largest ones (and their babies - one upside down, so you can see the back) are in the second photo. These are cotton-linen canvas with cotton interfacing fused to the back. It has texture, which you can't really see in this tiny pic. The edges fray a weensy bit because I used two woven materials, but that allows for drape. The adhesive will prevent major fraying. If it annoys me too much, I can fuse a stiffer melded polyester interfacing to the back.
I am very happy that Playmobil has renewed their interest in historical sets and BROWN furniture. There are some lovely and usable pieces in this set, like the china cabinet and the bookcase. They brought back the tea cart, which I'm mildly obsessed with. The maid is nicely dressed in black and doesn't have ridiculously colored shoes. However, they went too cheap and ruined several of the best pieces. I would have paid $10 more to have it all perfect. And the rugs, the rugs are stupid and not fit for use. I should be able to keep them in okay condition for awhile, but PM's target market is going to destroy them. They should really test their products at an 8-year-olds birthday party.
Anyhow, those are my late night/early morning thoughts. Happy Friday!
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Thank you for the detailed review.
We plan to pass on this one, since we have the old one (and not core!)... I did order a few of the cabinet doors, since we were missing at least one.
I had no idea about the paper rugs. That is VERY lame.
The misprinting, unfortunately is way common. :(
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Thanks for the comparison, Ismene.
Really well done and well writen - makes it very clear to me that I might order some parts, but otherwise I will stay clear of the new set.
... The misprinting, unfortunately is way common. :( ...
Unfortunately, I have a feeling that Playmobils Quality Control has been dropping a lot lately.
Generally, I don't go for "all-was-better-in-the-olden-days" sentiment, but for Playmobil this seems to be the case.
That makes me really sad :'(
Bogro
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Unfortunately, I have a feeling that Playmobils Quality Control has been dropping a lot lately.
Generally, I don't go for "all-was-better-in-the-olden-days" sentiment, but for Playmobil this seems to be the case.
That makes me really sad :'(
Ditto.
The printing quality has been a mess for years, and only getting worse. And the lame printed heads make it even more obvious... Not only messed up printings but also misplaced, like the moron-looking spirit klickys, with the faces printed on the forehead (and it's almost all of them)
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IMO this is a prime example of trying too hard to compete on price. There was even a sale going on (sorry, Tahra), so I paid less than $13 for this set, which is insane. I absolutely got more than I paid for, just in the parts that pass spec. This set was not this cheap in the '90s, and Google tells me that the dollar has about halved in value since 1992. We all love a discount, but that amount of a price dip means corners are being cut.
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Thank you for the side x side comparison
With the prices the original sets were getting on the secondary market, I am very glad there is a re-release of many Victorian sets
$13 for all this , that’s a cup of crappy specialty coffee at the green sea giants
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Thanks for the review.
I had actually wondered about the sofa, since I looked at the instructions and they included assembling the sofa whereas on the old one the seating didn't come off.
It is very cheap, not only in comparison to the original but compared to other similar sized sets they have out
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Thanks for the review.
I had actually wondered about the sofa, since I looked at the instructions and they included assembling the sofa whereas on the old one the seating didn't come off.
It is very cheap, not only in comparison to the original but compared to other similar sized sets they have out
In the states “cheap” has multiple meanings
Cheap as in …..inexpensive
Or
Cheap as in ……low quality
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Thanks for the detailed review.
The misprinting and cardboard/paper rugs are so.... ::)
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Yes! Thank you for the review!!
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I had actually wondered about the sofa, since I looked at the instructions and they included assembling the sofa whereas on the old one the seating didn't come off.
That's odd. It doesn't come apart. The dining chairs came in two pieces.
The issue with the hard plastic couch is that it looks very shiny next to the softer armchair.
With the prices the original sets were getting on the secondary market, I am very glad there is a re-release of many Victorian sets
True, although I would have preferred the blue dining set because I don't have that one.
If they re-release the fence, I'm buying multiples.
Ironically, the print on the rugs is high quality. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to frame them since they fail as rugs.
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Thanks for the detailed review and comparison pictures. If I buy any of the re-released sets in this theme, I'd probably go for this one. That really is too bad about the printing issues and rug material though. :-\
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:thanks: for the review! I was wavering about getting some of these Vicky sets, and you've pushed me firmly into the No camp. :'( but also 8-)
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I really like the way you did the side-by-side comparison. We should do that for all the reissues!
Shame about the quality issues, but some of the differences between old and new (such as the shade of the dark brown parts) could be put down to normal variation between batches of ABS plastic.
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I really like the way you did the side-by-side comparison. We should do that for all the reissues!
Shame about the quality issues, but some of the differences between old and new (such as the shade of the dark brown parts) could be put down to normal variation between batches of ABS plastic.
I'm planning to do a review for the bedroom. Someone else will have to do the others because I only ordered these two.
Yeah, I did consider that the brown may be a batch variation. It's not particularly noticeable, except in the little table because the new one is shiny.
Even if it was a completely different color, I don't mind different. It's different and worse that I mind. I might see if DS has that clock face. All my clock faces are off-center, but this one is bad.
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That's odd. It doesn't come apart. The dining chairs came in two pieces.
The issue with the hard plastic couch is that it looks very shiny next to the softer armchair.
The dining chairs always came like that. Are the dining chair cushions the rubber, or is it hard plastic?
Something I never understood was that they changed the dining chairs for the 'blue' living room set. My only thought - as a rough child - is that the newer design would be harder to break because the seat was solid
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The dining chairs always came like that. Are the dining chair cushions the rubber, or is it hard plastic?
They're rubbery soft plastic, like the original. Same with the footstool cushion.
I looked at PlaymoDB, and there is a part number for the couch base alone. I guess it's for internal purposes, before they mold on the cushions. I'm not sure why they suddenly switched to hard plastic.
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Strange you've got a cardboard carpet, because mine has the same type of fabric as the original one.. Which brings me to the question: could it be that the Victorian sets which are sold in the US are also produced in the US with cardboard carpets?
Or am I dreaming and there's no Playmobil production plant in the US? I kinda forgot? In that case it's weird you received a cardboard carpet....
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Strange you've got a cardboard carpet, because mine has the same type of fabric as the original one.. Which brings me to the question: could it be that the Victorian sets which are sold in the US are also produced in the US with cardboard carpets?
Or am I dreaming and there's no Playmobil production plant in the US? I kinda forgot? In that case it's weird you received a cardboard carpet....
Wait, what? :(o):
I double-checked, in case I misinterpreted it. It's smooth. The original has a somewhat rough texture.
There's no PM factory here, and the box says Made in Germany. They do have the ability to produce specific sets for certain markets, but that's an odd difference.
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I just dug out a pile of Playmobil rugs I have - and maybe I'm imaging it, but I think the rug that came with 5316 (Blue sofa set) is smoother than the one's in the original Victorian sets. So maybe they did change the manufacturing process. Or maybe it's the age?
I also have a rug that's from a 'modern' house set (not sure which one) and I think that one is cardboard?
I need to wait until I get these sets to compare, next time they have a sale on :lol: