Pl@m0b1l Town

[highlandcattle]

Highandcattle: I just wanted to say thanks. I've been patiently awaiting this set to hit the US, and finally it did. Just received it a day or two ago.

Here's a shot of the real thing:

Thanks again for mentioning it to me.

No Problemo,

It looks very pretty. I'll check 2007 catalog if any new western stuff is heading our way. I love the look off playmobil but at the moment I can still restrain myself from buying it. It would simply be to much to keep to collections going!

[Dark Brick]

I read through this thread and I have to say that up close Playmobile is quite nice.

I agree that AFOL wishes may have fallen on deaf ears, but I did do some thinking about how TLG seems to retire themes and Playmobile does not.

As I child I only knew of LEGO as a building type toy. In high school I can recall going into this mom and pop store that sold LEGO and Playmobile. I would say that they had more Playmobile than LEGO at the time. But I would also say that they sold more Playmobile. As I kept coming in over the years I realized that LEGO was just more expensive and parents were not in the mood to buy expensive toys for little Johnny and Suzy.

More recently after discovering another LEGO store within the Chicago area, I also found a store called Galt Toys. Both are located next to each other within the mall. I have to say that everytime I go to the LEGO store, I always want to go in and take a look around, but then I think of the guilt I would have if I did not buy anything and so I never go in and press on to the LEGO store.

My point being is that I never really see anyone in there at all. So I too wonder how well Playmobile is doing. But the LEGO store is always packed, the brand is synonymous with kids. I would say that Star Wars brought on that fervor for LEGO this decade.

This brings me to my initial thought, LEGO most likely retires sets/themes to make room for new ones. Eventually they may bring Pirates back or something else when they decide to retire another or when they realize one theme is not very popular over the others. More importantly LEGO likes to create new themes, which has been quite obvious within the last decade or so. Thier main flagships of Town/City/Train and Castle remain in place because of the obvious profit that they gain from the 2 themes. Well at least this is what I suspect.

Oh just so no one says that I hate/dislike Playmobile, I would say that if there was room/space or a budget set up for it I would collect this too, but too much of a good thing will put me in debt.

DB

[WesternOutlaw]

still i find playmo to be more a toy than a collector item like lego..

I'd have to disagree with this comment. Both are toys with adults that collect. Check out Playmobil on Ebay sometimes and you may be surprised at how much some of the sets go for (including the old Victorian Doll House that replaced the yellow one that you pictured

You make some interesting points Dark Brick, but as one who buys Playmobil, I think that Playmobil has a much larger set diversification than Lego. In addition, I think that they offer just as many new themes if not more than Lego at any given time (but most of what they sell is sets as opposed to Lego. When Lego starts a new theme, they seem to design about 5-6 sets. Playmobil will offer a greater number of sets, individual figs (called Specials), and Playmobil Direct will also offer accessories for themes. In addition, they seem to always offer classic themes like Pirates, Castle, and City with just different sub-themes from year-to-year.

This year, Playmobil has added Romans, Forest/Leisure, Vacation, and Conquestidors and Circus (coming late this year/early next year). They probably have more, but these are the ones that I'm aware of. And what I really appreciate is how they will have a theme for a longer duration (a few years) adding new sets to the same theme. As you said, Lego will drop a complete theme to make room for something else much faster than Playmobil.

There are similarities between the companies, but as one who appreciates both of them (although my Lego collection far exceeds Playmobil), I'm excited to see both companies offering great themes. It can get expensive, but i don't buy much Playmobil (mostly Western, Adventure, and a few Castle now and then). But I like the new Roman line which I wish Lego would jump on. I'm debating if I'll buy any - perhaps not, but it's fun to check out the new sets.