PlaymoFriends
General => Brainstorming For Playmobil => Topic started by: PlaymoMan on August 21, 2011, 13:16:36
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I visited the Playmobil site a few days ago and, is it just me, or is Playmobil releasing many more "fantasy" themes? Princess Castle, Ghost Pirates, Top Agents, Treasure Hunters, Adventure, Dragon Knights...in my opinion some of these have to go.
Alright then, now lets get to the point. I've made a list of themes that are "hot" and themes that are "not". Some of you may disagree with my list, so I'd love to here different arguments.
HOT:
Zoo
Police
City Life
Egyptians
Dolls House
School
Fire
Construction
Top Agents
Hospital
NOT:
Treasure Hunters
Adventure
Magic Castle
Dragon Land
Ghost Pirates
Animal Clinic
That's my list. I'd can't wait to hear different replies. :wave:
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Sales.
They produce what sells.
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Yes, and unfortunately they have expressed no desire to produce any more historical themes at this time. :(
But I must say I agree with your list entirely, except for only one theme. I feel animal clinic is hot. A lot of great parts came out of this series (I've seen a custom human-size CAT scanner made from parts from the 4346), it's a good way to get a lot of animals and modern klickys, the bird cage that came with 4343 is extremely useful for zoos, and the 4344 makes a great petting zoo. That said, 4343 is put together using a clip system, which is not cool, but IMO that doesn't ruin the whole theme.
And it seems to have been very popular with children. It's one of the few playmo themes that TRU seems to renew their stock of, and I actually see little girls running to look at it in the store. And as I recall, it got good reviews from parents online. So I think that theme is pretty hot!
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I realy agree with you, PlaymoMan :yup:. Animal Clinic stayed around on the shelves for months until it went on clearence at my local Toys R Us and so did Ghost Pirates. All the series you listed as 'Hot', especially the Top Agents, are extremely popular, except the Egypitans, which didn't do too well around here :hmm:.
Ace :brownhair:
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Same trend here, folks... With the exception of zoo, that did not make it very here either... and unfortunately, no shop puts them in lower prices, nor clearance so they can empty their shelves easier... :(
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Down here ghost pirates is a total flop, as are the "sea princess".
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Same trend here, folks... With the exception of zoo, that did not make it very here either... and unfortunately, no shop puts them in lower prices, nor clearance so they can empty their shelves easier... :(
Panos, haven't you mentioned that there aren't a lot of proper zoos near you? I was thinking that may be why that theme is not a success there.
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Panos, haven't you mentioned that there aren't a lot of proper zoos near you? I was thinking that may be why that theme is not a success there.
Yes that is exactly the case bb... there are no proper zoos anywhere in greece... only animal shelters for bears, wolves, foxes and animals greece has ...
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Same trend here, folks... With the exception of zoo, that did not make it very here either... and unfortunately, no shop puts them in lower prices, nor clearance so they can empty their shelves easier... :(
somewhere i heard that playmobil doesen't allow to lower the prices on retails hmm... :hmm:
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Panos, haven't you mentioned that there aren't a lot of proper zoos near you? I was thinking that may be why that theme is not a success there.
is it succesfull in other countries? i can't think of any zoo in athens .... but even that theme is kind of boring for most children perhaps around 5-6 years ,is good to play with the animals..
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is it succesfull in other countries? i can't think of any zoo in athens .... but even that theme is kind of boring for most children perhaps around 5-6 years ,is good to play with the animals..
Yeah, I think it's done very well here. The main zoo set has 23 reviews on the TRU website with an average of 4.1 stars, And the asian zoo has 7 reviews, 5 of which give it 5 stars.
Pretty good considering a lot of playmobil sets have never been reviewed on there, and buildings often get bad reviews because of being hard to put together.
Makes you wonder if these people have ever tried to put together a wooden dollhouse... that takes several weeks, as opposed to a playmobil house that takes 2-3 hours.
P.S. Hi alex! :wave:
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There aren't big zoos around here (I only know of one in a 200 km radius) and the zoo theme is popular here.
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I still really like the dragon knights theme and, of course, the medieval castle theme. Though, that would sell much better if it were steck :toot: My biggest gripe about the dragon knights theme is probably the quality (thinness) of the castle/rocks. However, I think it's just pure fun.
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a few years ago the ghost pirates and the merpeople themes were on my brainstorming list (some people who i shared this with loved the idea) - when i was back into collecting i was extremely happy to see my wish had come true...it's weird to see now nobody (but me maybe :P) likes these themes
i really don't see why the ghost pirate and the mermaid themes aren't doing well - disney movies should encourage people to like them ???
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I actually do think the mermaids are really cute... but I don't have a single one. I've restrained myself because if I buy one set I'll have to get all of them!
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I actually do think the mermaids are really cute... but I don't have a single one. I've restrained myself because if I buy one set I'll have to get all of them!
Bonnie, it's not so expensive to buy the entire set - i bought all of them at once for like $40 ;) (it's not a really big theme)
;D
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Hey! You're gonna talk me into it! >:(
:P
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Around these parts at stores mermaids and ghost pirates clog up the shelves. They're always on sale but buyers are sparse.
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Hey! You're gonna talk me into it! >:(
:P
>:D >:D >:D
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I'm not overly fond of the ghost pirates - but fell for the Hydra ON THE SPOT.
And I have all these new mermaids too.. bought a few extras of the soldier too (no sense)
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I actually do think the mermaids are really cute... but I don't have a single one
no need to ,you are one ;)
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I hate to say any playmobil is a dud and think there are really great parts in every theme, but the ghost pirates, football/soccer (particularly this one), dragon knights and farm sets dont seem to do too well...not that I go into terribly many stores that sell Playmobil in my town.
I adore the royal palace, faitytale themes though...must be the little girl in me or perhaps it is because I have a little girl!
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I don't think Disney movies about mermaids, sea-creatures or ghost-pirates will automatically lead to more sales for Playmobil in those themes.
Children will want the actual Disney merchandise with figures that look like the ones in the movies, right?
In my view, basics will always do well: houses & city-life, police force, the school, trains, knights and castles...
But if the theme gets too crazy (i.e. Inca caves with green aliens) or too specialised I guess it will sell less.
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I don't think Disney movies about mermaids, sea-creatures or ghost-pirates will automatically lead to more sales for Playmobil in those themes.
Children will want the actual Disney merchandise with figures that look like the ones in the movies, right?
that may be right..
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Around here Ghost Pirates are really a dud. Dragon Knights seem to do okay though, especially at Toys R Us. The Romans also did reasonably well here but not the Egyptians.
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Thanks for all your replies, folks! I'm inclined to say that the Ghost Pirates and the Mermaid series is not my cup of tea, but there has been worse... :P
In my opinion, I think some of the discontinued series have fared much better then current series - compare the Circus to the Western theme. I'd say there's a difference.
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The merfolk are really cool. My second oldest daughter loves them. When they first came out I gave her a set as a reward each time she did something special on her own. (helped with potty training!) I've expanded with various rock sets and they use the magic castle and the ghost pirates get included a bit too. I even bought a My Little Pony mermaid castle for them.
(http://www.toysparadise.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/m/l/mlp_mermaid_pony_castle_2.jpg)
It's the right size and has extra accessories.
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no need to ,you are one ;)
:eh?:
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:eh?:
it's a compliment ;D
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perhaps you might know my opinion ... all these new sets are for the recycle bin (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Others/trashcan-112.gif) no nice productions anymore ..no the good days are gone :( :( :( :( they need some creative people in there ... i wonder all the old sets were desighned by hans beck? :hmm: :hmm: :hmm: :hmm:
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to me the ugliest sets are the top agents and the lost jungle sets with giant iguanas yuck - most people seem to like them though ???
:eh?:
lol i didn't get it either :lol:
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to me the ugliest sets are the top agents and the lost jungle sets with giant iguanas yuck - most people seem to like them though ???
lol i didn't get it either :lol:
yes the top agents are the worst !!! they only have made nice boxes for this theme , i guess because the toy is for garbidge they try to sell with the box design and promotion ....
oh come on... she said i like mermaids i have to buy a few ,and i tell her that she is a mermaid 8-)
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it's a compliment ;D
8-)
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Actually, I thing the agents boxes are TERRIBLE. Almost as bad as the pink ones. Playmobil is supposed to be BLUE. I am attracted to playmoblue.
I think the theme is kinda lame. As for the giant lizards, we (being in restrain mode) decided to order them all from parts... and not buy the huge sets. To this day, I can't touch the spiders...
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Actually, I thing the agents boxes are TERRIBLE. Almost as bad as the pink ones. Playmobil is supposed to be BLUE. I am attracted to playmoblue.
I think the theme is kinda lame. As for the giant lizards, we (being in restrain mode) decided to order them all from parts... and not buy the huge sets. To this day, I can't touch the spiders...
yeah I agree, i hate those agent boxes! they don't look PM at all! and i like some animals from the current jungle sets (like the big spider and the big snake), but those iguanas are freaking weird, not to mention the temple guards :hmm:
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yeah I agree, i hate those agent boxes! they don't look PM at all! and i like some animals from the current jungle sets (like the big spider and the big snake), but those iguanas are freaking weird, not to mention the temple guards :hmm:
We ordered all the animals (that we didn't have) from those sets. I love the big yellow lizard... It's my fave of the lot :love:. I'm terrified of spiders, but we ordered a couple (HAVE to have them)... My sister handled them, I couldn't :-[
The temple guards... AGH. But I just bought a couple, in "individual" sets. Simply cause we didn't have any. They have freakish ray guns (will go to the dark invaders or something).
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Hate the jungle guards, but I like the giant iguana. Of course, it is HUGE. But it reminds me of the giant iguana on top of the Museum of Living Art at the Fort Worth Zoo, best zoo I've been to yet. http://www.fortworthzoo.org/about/iggy.html
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Oh, and I almost forgot! I bought mermaids today. ;D I bought the 5884 and 5885 on sale at TRU. i couldn't resist any longer.
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...and do you like them?
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Yes I do. ;D Very much! I really really love the clam shell carriage pulled by seahorses for some reason. it's kind of silly I suppose, but it's cute and just a lot of fun! I like the fact that it comes with extra harneses so that up to five seahorses can be hooked to it. And the little mermaid-fin klickys are so cute! :love:
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Actually, I thing the agents boxes are TERRIBLE. Almost as bad as the pink ones. Playmobil is supposed to be BLUE. I am attracted to playmoblue.
the pink ones?? which pink ? the victorian you refer? you shocked me with that !!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh you don't like the top agents boxes? i think they are kinda cute mostly because the playmobil logo is silver.. i don't know ,but they look good.... ::)
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Hate the jungle guards, but I like the giant iguana. Of course, it is HUGE. But it reminds me of the giant iguana on top of the Museum of Living Art at the Fort Worth Zoo, best zoo I've been to yet. http://www.fortworthzoo.org/about/iggy.html
AWESOME! I keep saying we should get a second, but my sister plays the voice of reason (very well)... we do have plenty of lizards.. They'll just have to play together ;D
the pink ones?? which pink ? the victorian you refer? you shocked me with that !!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh you don't like the top agents boxes? i think they are kinda cute mostly because the playmobil logo is silver.. i don't know ,but they look good.... ::)
I think playmoboxes should be playmoblue. My brain is quite wired for it, and it just doesn't quite react to those other silly colors. I'm not saying victorian sets are bad, just that the boxes should be playmoblue.
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I think playmoboxes should be playmoblue. My brain is quite wired for it, and it just doesn't quite react to those other silly colors. I'm not saying victorian sets are bad, just that the boxes should be playmoblue.
which one is better? you choose :
(http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/39910000/39915472.JPG) (http://images.demartina.com/images/4309.jpg)
(http://www.collectobil.com/images/items/5551.jpg) (http://www.collectobil.com/images/items/d5551.jpg)
:munch: :munch: :munch: :munch: :munch:
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which one is better? you choose :
I prefer the playmoblue boxes, a gazillion times. I'm not talking about CONTENTS. Just the box color.
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I prefer the playmoblue boxes, a gazillion times. I'm not talking about CONTENTS. Just the box color.
i guess i can't change your mind... ::) ::)
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It appears that PM was trying to put the toys for boys in blue boxes and those for girls in pink boxes at one point.
There are pros and cons to this. As competitors do this, it does simplify figuring out which set the little emperors and empresses may want.
But it does lead to major stereotyping, with boys being ridiculed for playing with sets that come in pink boxes and vice versa for girls with blue box sets.
For this reason, I support bringing out everything in one color box, and the blue one is quite easy to find with so much pink stuff in the toy stores. When I enter a store, my eyes are scanning for the blue boxes, and often it is hard to locate PM because it gets lousy shelf position in most stores. Maybe they could use some silver on the traditional blue boxes to spruce them up a bit. TTFN, Pgal
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We used to have light green boxes for a lot of sets here in the states.. I loved those!!!
Top Agents seems designed to work with Future Planet, so its all space stuff to me and they (the space sets) have always had different boxes as I recall.
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It appears that PM was trying to put the toys for boys in blue boxes and those for girls in pink boxes at one point.
I HATE that. It's so stupid. Like you said, leads to sterotyping, and alienates half their buyers. They don't like money?
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As competitors do this, it does simplify figuring out which set the little emperors and empresses may want.
But it does lead to major stereotyping, with boys being ridiculed for playing with sets that come in pink boxes and vice versa for girls with blue box sets.
Either from a commercial and also a pedagogical standpoint that pratice is stupid.
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Yeah, it's dumb. Almost all playmobil sets are appealing to both boys and girls. Even the victorian theme, is liked by a lot of men here, being a historical theme, so having it in pink boxes is a little silly.
On the other hand, why is pink a "girl color?" Isn't that a little silly anyway? ;)
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so having it in pink boxes is a little silly.
i believe if they putted blue boxes in that series it woulden't be as nice as it was .... these sets are p-e-r-f-e-c-t and they don't need any changes :love:
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i like everything except:
space
secret spy agents
dragon knights (I like the regular knights theme)
farm (sorry bonniebeth)
ghost pirates look fisherpricey to me, but I like them once they've been repainted.
I'd like the farm more if the colours weren't so fisherpricey
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I didn't like the farm theme either... until I went with my family to a farm hotel. Now I think that's the favorite theme of my 4yo, to the point that right now I'm giving the finishing touches to a barn I made him :-[.
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That is so cool that your 4 year old is playing with a barn and animals instead of some videogame characters! Kids grow up way too fast these days in terms of exposure to more mature products such as films, videogames and cellphones.
At 3 and 4, my son's favorite toy was his Little Tykes excavator which he used to dig up the gravel in our driveway....endlessly...pour it into his Little Tykes dumptruck, and move it 2 feet away and start all over. It was a long driveway and he spent hours doing this. Guess he could have worked in construction full time after one summer of that!
When the weather was bad, he played with L inside BECAUSE WE DID NOT HAVE PLAYMOBIL AND NO ONE SOLD IT IN OUR TOWN. PLUS WE HAD NEVER EVEN HEARD OF IT 20 years ago when I began buying him toys.
We need to keep the young ones away from TV and videogames and cell phones, so please give all the little ones you know plenty of PM!!! Pgal :wave:
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I'd like the farm more if the colours weren't so fisherpricey
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41-8oROFWSL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
;)
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(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41-8oROFWSL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
;)
I do like that setup. :)
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It might lead to stereotyping and there will always be exceptions, but in general it's quite true. Once they did an experiment with baby chimps, if I remember correctly, and the result was that male chimps are more attracted to projectile-type toys (balls, sticks etc) while the female chimps were more attracted to dolls and so on.
At the end of the day I don't see what the matter could be with boys and the colour pink. I love pink (esp pink shirts and pink socks), and I'm a guy alright. Thinking in terms of 'pink = girls' and 'blue = boys' is where the stereotyping comes from. And since it bothers you, it does look like many of you here think along those same lines, too :) :) :)
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i rather like the pink boxes for the victorian sets. and my fav colour is purple and all resulting shades of it including lavender and its not-too-distant relative--pink. :D
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i too agree about the sterotyping thing discussed here, but for some reason pink color made those sets look more appealling imo (who will ever please us? ;D)
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:hmm: there is something that i never understtod in playmobil families - the "eternal" presence of the horse farm family - http://www.playmobil.de/on/demandware.store/Sites-DE-Site/de_DE/Search-Show?cgid=Reiterhof.
8} they seem to take it so seriously "hot" but i just can't get it.
::) it is true that horses are not my preferred animals (last time i rode one i ended up "spitted" into a wall) but to love them so specifically that much is something that escapes my understanding.
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I think it is probably very popular with kids, at least girls. Girls are fascinated with ponies, and pretty horses in general. I know I was. Look at my little pony, plus barbies and bratz and american girl dolls, all lines popular with girls, provide sets with horses, and they are very popular and sought after. Don't know what the fascination is looking back on it, but it's very common for girls to be totally obsessed with horses and ponies, as well as unicorns.
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i always liked horses as a kid - the current PM ones are ugly imo. I do like the newest horses though :)
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:yup: The new ones are sooooo much cooler than the.... sort of new ones. :lol: The original ones were somewhat minimalistic, but very well designed so it was easy to make it look like they were standing, running, bucking, whatever you wanted. The current regular horses can only be walking. :( There's nothing too thrilling about a walking horse. :-\ I wish we could have a combination of the two.
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Or different horse poses. Standing, walking/trotting, galloping, rearing.
I guess they only need to make the galloping and rearing poses.
That would add more excitement and life to the series.
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Horses will ALWAYS be children's favorites, so you can bet they will be a constant theme for Geobra.
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The problem with stuff such as mermaids and ghost pirates is that the possibilities are limited. especially with mermaids.
Fantasy theme seems to have taken a deep dive since its initial launch when it was quite brilliant with wizards, unicorns and all that.
Right now its just ugly winged knights that kind of look like fairy rejects and their sets lack any accesoires aside from weapons and clickies.
Please pardon me for being a bit blunt, just being a little disgruntled about everything remotely medieval being very weak these days compared to pretty much any other theme.
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The problem with stuff such as mermaids and ghost pirates is that the possibilities are limited. especially with mermaids.
Fantasy theme seems to have taken a deep dive since its initial launch when it was quite brilliant with wizards, unicorns and all that.
Right now its just ugly winged knights that kind of look like fairy rejects and their sets lack any accesoires aside from weapons and clickies.
Please pardon me for being a bit blunt, just being a little disgruntled about everything remotely medieval being very weak these days compared to pretty much any other theme.
I totally agree with you, Rhalius! In my opinion, the Medieval themes nowadays are lacking character, and the possibilities for stories full of imagination and creativity are decreasing steadily.
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Good think we can dismantle klickies and use the parts and accessories we need and like to build something of our own liking then ;D ;D ;D Still lots to stimulate our fantasy and expand our horizons... I come to see every single part of playmobil as a possibility... the fact that I cannot keep a klicky original as it was designed for its set is very reassuring to me... If I dont like a pair of legs, I'll change it, same with arms, torso, sword, helmet shield. ;D
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I don't envy your poor clickies, they are owned by dr Frankenstein. :)
Might be an idea for a scene set up for anyone that does this though: having an original clicky doctor in a dungeon, standing next to a clicky on a table who is made from all kinds of different parts.
To get back on topic though:
I'd like to see the fantasy theme return to what it was like in the beginning, where not every clicky and creature is armed to the teeth. Otherwise children will not be encouraged to play anything else but war. Same goes for the medieval theme.
For the fantasy theme they could make three guilds: a wizard's guild, a warrior's guild and a thieves guild. Inspired by videogames.
Wizards could have a tall tower with multible wizards as their main building, the thieves could have a tavern with a secret room and various secret hiding places, and the warriors could have a castle.
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I don't envy your poor clickies, they are owned by dr Frankenstein. :)
Might be an idea for a scene set up for anyone that does this though: having an original clicky doctor in a dungeon, standing next to a clicky on a table who is made from all kinds of different parts.
Oh some sarcasm... how nice...
You'll find there are a lot of excellent custom klickies, much better than the original ones included in original sets, in many collections, and many of our members have posted these creations in the custom board. So you see, even if playmobil does not provide for what we ask, we can make our worlds out of what is already available. Its called creativity.
Btw, I am not a fun of extreme customisation, I just like to swap parts to make klickies more appealing to my liking, as many of us do. But there are members who create wonderful customs with non playmobil parts like this one: http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=6422.0
Have fun!
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Sorry, it was not meant at sarcasm at all. There are many great looking custom clickies around, and I admire the ability to do that. I really do.
It was just a poor joke on my part.
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Sorry, it was not meant at sarcasm at all. There are many great looking custom clickies around, and I admire the ability to do that. I really do.
It was just a poor joke on my part.
Perhaps I was too quick to misjudge, I apologise.
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It's fine, reading it back I can easily see how my post could be taken the wrong way. :)
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Oh some sarcasm... how nice...
You'll find there are a lot of excellent custom klickies, much better than the original ones included in original sets, in many collections, and many of our members have posted these creations in the custom board. So you see, even if playmobil does not provide for what we ask, we can make our worlds out of what is already available. Its called creativity.
Btw, I am not a fun of extreme customisation, I just like to swap parts to make klickies more appealing to my liking, as many of us do. But there are members who create wonderful customs with non playmobil parts like this one: http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=6422.0
Have fun!
I know this is waaaay of topic, but Mikiko Clikune is beautiful!