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General => Collector's Corner => Topic started by: Corso on July 22, 2020, 15:10:24

Title: Pirates!
Post by: Corso on July 22, 2020, 15:10:24
When I was 8 years old, the Playmobil pirate ship (3550) was my obsession. When I did my first communion, I gathered enough money to actually buy it. A dream came true.
Now - a few centuries later - I still have the ship, but it's very incomplete, some parts are broken and the box is missing.

Then I got lucky online:

(https://imgur.com/6BUXHAC.jpg)
A bit battered but still in decent shape. Seeing this box again in real life for the first time since I was 8 almost felt like a rebirth experience. Wauw! So happy!

(https://imgur.com/KG9IV6v.jpg)
The photo's also promote the custom color thing they just launched back then.

(https://imgur.com/hyREWSu.jpg)

(https://imgur.com/uzaMXkU.jpg)

(https://imgur.com/tT3zBSN.jpg)
Only one flag and the ropes are missing (but I still have those in my own set)

(https://imgur.com/9982DEz.jpg)
It also contains information about differences in two versions of this set. This is V1, the original first version from 1978.

(https://imgur.com/TXppNR7.jpg)
Maybe my favorite klicky's of all time.

So I will replace some assets in this set with the ones I still had left (after all, those are the ones I played with so many years ago) and thereby have the set complete again after all these years. So happy! For me, there's no set that can rival this one. Ever. This is for me the ultimate Playmobil set - a part of my youth.


Then the seller showed me another pirate ship, this one from the nineties: the 3750.
(https://imgur.com/a5OFHQ3.jpg)
Almost the same ship as the 3550, only with different stickers. But I immediately fell in love with the klicky's.

(https://imgur.com/oXIx06C.jpg)

(https://imgur.com/s6wWC9c.jpg)

(https://imgur.com/ZGS75Vx.jpg)
Beautiful photo on backside.

(https://imgur.com/6tmuCxd.jpg)
And again: complete, safe for the flags. But I'll make my own ones anyway, because the klicky's don't really look like pirates to me - more like a happy family.

(https://imgur.com/VdXwbpv.jpg)
In the cabin the stickers also differ from the 3550.

(https://imgur.com/aUEP7sd.jpg)

(https://imgur.com/wcAIURA.jpg)
Pirates? Neh! Just a beautiful, happy family. I like the female character most of all, somehow she's very special. These klicky's made me buy this set as well, and I'm very happy with it.

My next diorama will probably have a strong nautical theme with lots of ships!
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: tahra on July 22, 2020, 17:56:19
Congratulations!

3750 was actually the first pirate ship for us...  the original 3550 came much later...

Still, my favorite is still the 3940.

Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Macruran on July 23, 2020, 01:12:10
Moving account!  :thanks: :)9
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Luftgaengerin on July 23, 2020, 07:59:39
Beautiful :love:
Thank you so much for explaining the differences, all the pics and showing the boxes! I found it very, very interesting; unfortunately I didn't have these ships as a child...
It's incredible how amazing the ships and the klickys are.
Have fun with your fantastic pirates!
Please do your diorama soon!  ;)
 :wave:
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: GrahamB on July 23, 2020, 08:52:50
Great tale, Corso, beautifully illustrated! Like Luftgaengerin, I was not lucky enough to have this set as a child, nor any PM :(. However, when my children were young we did have 3750 (still got it, but no box) which we enjoyed playing with.

BTW, there are two wiki articles here (https://www.klickypedia.com/wiki/3550-piratenschiff-german-versions-and-varitions/) and here (https://www.klickypedia.com/wiki/3550-pirate-ship-international-versions-and-variations/) on Klickypedia which describe the many versions and international variants of set 3550, with differences in box design and set contents. This is probably the set with the most variations known to collectors, which reflects its popularity both then and now.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Tiermann on July 23, 2020, 21:25:18
Great story, thanks for sharing it with us
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Corso on July 24, 2020, 15:40:40
Congratulations!

3750 was actually the first pirate ship for us...  the original 3550 came much later...

Still, my favorite is still the 3940.
You mean in Portugal?

I will check out the 3940, although there can’t be a better ship than the 3550 of course ;)
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Corso on July 24, 2020, 15:42:17
Beautiful :love:
Thank you so much for explaining the differences, all the pics and showing the boxes! I found it very, very interesting;
Please do your diorama soon!  ;)
 :wave:
Thanks, and I will :)
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Corso on July 24, 2020, 15:43:59
BTW, there are two wiki articles here (https://www.klickypedia.com/wiki/3550-piratenschiff-german-versions-and-varitions/) and here (https://www.klickypedia.com/wiki/3550-pirate-ship-international-versions-and-variations/) on Klickypedia which describe the many versions and international variants of set 3550, with differences in box design and set contents. This is probably the set with the most variations known to collectors, which reflects its popularity both then and now.
Thanks for the links, I will check them out!
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: tahra on July 24, 2020, 16:01:57
You mean in Portugal?

No, in our collection :)

Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: GrahamB on July 25, 2020, 08:13:21
No, in our collection :)

....which is in a small, independent enclave in Portugal known as Playkingdom, famed for its mountains....
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: GrahamB on July 25, 2020, 09:13:22

Only one flag ...

I may be able to help you with missing flags. Let me know what you need. Or you may be interested in this (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Playmobil-Etikett-fur-Klicky-3546-von-1978-Raritat-ein-Aufkleber-fehlt/154013350986). The signalling flag stickers there are similar to those in 3550 and 3750.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Corso on July 26, 2020, 16:21:56
I may be able to help you with missing flags. Let me know what you need. Or you may be interested in this (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Playmobil-Etikett-fur-Klicky-3546-von-1978-Raritat-ein-Aufkleber-fehlt/154013350986). The signalling flag stickers there are similar to those in 3550 and 3750.
Thanks for the link! But I just found out that I already had the flags from some leftovers I bought a while ago. And the signalling flags were already in the set I just bought. But thanks nevertheless :)

Now I only need the ropes. Maybe a store for handyman stuff has something similar...  ???
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Corso on July 28, 2020, 15:45:04
Still, my favorite is still the 3940.

That’s a very impressive ship indeed. Incredible big cabin and an elaborate below deck compartment. Very nice. Not so sure about the colors though. Saw some nice customs with more realistic colors.

Thanks for mentioning this one :)
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Indianna on July 29, 2020, 15:04:14
. . . Now I only need the ropes. Maybe a store for handyman stuff has something similar...  ???

I've had more success with a craft or sewing supply store for finding string or cord that can be used for Playmo rope replacement.  The hardware store stuff is usually too thick.  Good luck!   :)

Also, for some wonderful and amazing custom ships, be sure to check out this website  created by the late and beloved PF member Macgayver (http://www.macgayverplaymobil.be/).

Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Corso on July 30, 2020, 16:20:05
Thanks for the tip, Indianna, I will check hobby-shops and the like.

McGyver did some great work, wow. Some impressive customizing there. Thanks for the link!
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Corso on August 08, 2020, 10:03:23
Think I've found the perfect Playmobil rope:

(https://imgur.com/EpnsJpb.jpg)

It's 1.8 mm, white and looks like actual mini-rope. Yes! My pirates will be so happy!
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Janilew on October 21, 2020, 05:46:18
I can't believe there used to be stickers to go in the ship. It's really insignificant, yet it has some kind of appeal. Ahhh the old days...wish I'd been there.  :-\
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: PlaymoGuardian on February 21, 2021, 00:11:27
The 3750 was my first playmobil set and it made me fall in love with playmobil...I definitely remember the black and white sticker inside the cabin, but I absolutely do not recall the other framed picture (it even looks too new for the set, and I’m curious why one sticker would be black and white while the other would be in color)...is there anyway the framed picture did not belong- I mean, my memory recall could 100% be inaccurate, but I’m interested to know. Also, the original pirate ship showed a picture on the back of two dueling pirate ships, one with blue sails. Did this blue sail ship exist? Sometimes toys pictured various versions of sets that weren’t available, but back in the day there wasn’t much of any way to check into such matters. These kind of marketing techniques filled my imagination with even more depth and wonder when it came to the possibilities of collecting : ) so either way, well done playmobil
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: GrahamB on February 21, 2021, 10:43:47
What stickers were included in early PM sets seems to vary quite a lot. Many sets were produced in their thousands, no doubt meaning multiple production runs. Geobra changed the packaging design quite often (leading to the most dedicated collectors seeking every package variant, even if the contents were unchanged; variants are referred to as versions in Collector) because that was relatively cheap to do, compared with creating new injection molds for plastic parts.

Stickers were a relatively cheap way of creating 'new' sets as well. Perhaps with a change of colour of some parts. I am thinking of the early cars (https://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=16580.0) (several designs, relatively few molds, lots of sticker variation) and vans (I will post something on vans on PF in the next couple of days). For example, earlier (1977) versions of the ambulance in set 3254x (https://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=3254x) had 'AMBULANCE' and red cross stickers, whereas later versions (1982, at a guess) had the same stickers, but in addition 'MALTESER HILFSDIENST' and the logo (red Maltese cross) of Germany's largely voluntary medical aid service, giving owners of the later version the choice of which stickers to use.

In short, your memory of a set without the coloured sticker may not be flawed, PlaymoGuardian!

Incidentally, my 3750 (bought in about 1998, though strictly speaking it is the equivalent set 3053) does have the coloured sticker. The set instructions (1997) on the PM website show both stickers and give the part number of the sticker sheet as 3088560, but earlier versions didn't necessarily have both.

I've just noticed that Corso's set box (second picture) shows a sticker sheet as part of the set contents, with a sticker of a framed picture of a sailing ship in colour, different from the later one, but no black and white picture sticker. So, as I said, stickers can vary widely!

Blue-sailed ship, now that I can't comment on!
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: tahra on February 21, 2021, 17:19:37
My 3750 did come with those stickers.... at the time we didn't have extra stuff to add, so..

(those ropes tied to the .. things on the cabin.. it doesn't work)
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: GrahamB on February 22, 2021, 12:01:34
(those ropes tied to the .. things on the cabin.. it doesn't work)

I agree! It never made sense that you couldn't access the cabin without untying the ropes or pulling the things (cleats) out of their sockets. By the time if the 3940 ship they solved this and the rear deck lifts off easily.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: playmorten on August 25, 2021, 14:01:09
What a great thread, and fun to read your comments on both 3550 and 3750! I was pretty sure I wouldn't buy a 3550, since I already had the 3750 ship. But finally I was not able to resist any longer, and this arrived yesterday. I believe this is the very same box version I had as a kid, and I'm very happy to have it again.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: tahra on August 25, 2021, 17:29:24
What a great thread, and fun to read your comments on both 3550 and 3750! I was pretty sure I wouldn't buy a 3550, since I already had the 3750 ship. But finally I was not able to resist any longer, and this arrived yesterday. I believe this is the very same box version I had as a kid, and I'm very happy to have it again.

That's wonderful! I never had one as a kid.. I suppose I've had my revenge now..  >:D
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: playmorten on August 25, 2021, 19:46:33
That's wonderful! I never had one as a kid.. I suppose I've had my revenge now..  >:D

The great thing about being adult! (If you have the money, that is.) My parents actually (and this was the only time this happened)  allowed me to take money from my very small bank account to pay for the 3550. They must have realised that I would play a lot with it ...