Why does Playmobil still have Historic themes, but not LEGO?

[Lego David]

I've never been into Playmobil myself, but one thing that I cannot help but notice is that they've never stopped producing the Classic Historical themes that they have always produced, unlike LEGO. 

Playmobil still makes Castle, Vikings, and even Romans (which LEGO has never had, despite fans wanting it for years) but for some reason, LEGO seems keeps shying away from making more sets and themes of this type. 

As we can clearly see, the problem doesn't seem to be those topics not being popular enough, as most LEGO fans might think, (if that were the case, Playmobil would have gone bankrupt years ago, but they are clearly still in business) but LEGO seems to have somewhat of a personal issue with releasing them.

Why do you think Playmobil can still produce sets like this, but LEGO cannot?

[Jack Sassy]

I'm only making an assumption (I had similar conversation with Governor (you know who, I'm not going to tag him) in Pirates sub-forum about why Lego isn't releasing anymore Armada and Natives), they might be doing this because are scared there might be too much violence, possibly some discrimination. It's only my guess and one that sounds sensible to me in this situation (could be also that they're not just interested in it). Lego knock-offs all the time make sets that could never be released as a Lego set. I don't have any source right now, but I hope you get the picture.

[MAB]

6 hours ago, Lego David said:

I've never been into Playmobil myself, but one thing that I cannot help but notice is that they've never stopped producing the Classic Historical themes that they have always produced, unlike LEGO. 

Playmobil still makes Castle, Vikings, and even Romans (which LEGO has never had, despite fans wanting it for years) but for some reason, LEGO seems keeps shying away from making more sets and themes of this type. 

As we can clearly see, the problem doesn't seem to be those topics not being popular enough, as most LEGO fans might think, (if that were the case, Playmobil would have gone bankrupt years ago, but they are clearly still in business) but LEGO seems to have somewhat of a personal issue with releasing them.

Why do you think Playmobil can still produce sets like this, but LEGO cannot?

Playmobil has, at times, not had historical sets.

LEGO are releasing castle themed sets, in IDEAS and Creator. They have also recently done Nexo Knights, castle crossed with space/futurism. 

Playmobil's main market is Europe, whereas LEGO is more worldwide so we shouldn't just expected European themes.

LEGO has done Romans, three times in the CMF. Along with many other historical based characters.

I doubt the reason they don't currently have a full castle theme is personal. More likely a business decision.

LEGO can produce castle sets if they want to (and currently are). Even when they don't produce them, it is not because they cannot, but a choice not to.

 

[Murdoch17]

Playmobil isn't a super-major player in the toy market.... not like Hasbro and Mattel, who have Lego above them as number 1 toy seller in the world since 2014-ish. Playmobil being much smaller and not as well known, they are more niche in the theme choices. This could also hurt them in the long run, as the more niche and non-mainstream you get with toys, the harder it would be to sell those toys to Joe Everyman, his wife and his 2.5 kids. Why buy a Roman or Ancient Egypt-styled Playmobil set for your 6-8 year old who may not even know what a Centurion is, or only knows the Egypt you see in the cartoons / movies which features big pyramids, shuffling undead mummies and little else. However, you can buy a Star Wars kit from a movie that everyone either knows or can recognize. I mean, in these modern times (in most 1st world countries) who doesn't know what a TIE fighter / X-Wing is?

 

I also played with Playmobil as a child at times from 2003 to 2007-ish, and it was also more expensive than LEGO from what I recall, so there is that! It also was WAY harder to take apart Playmobil, with most of the time using my teeth to get the inter-panel pins out. Speaking from experience, I'd take Lego any day over the other stuff.

Edited September 25, 2021 by Murdoch17

[1963maniac]

I just checked Playmobil.com and there were no castles vikings or romans. Most of their line was for children not old enough for Lego. 

[zoth33]

I don't think it's that Lego cannot produce these themes.  I mean we just got 2 great pirate sets and 2 great castle sets so I don't see your argument here at all.  And as for Jack Sassy comment It's definitely not violence or discrimination as we have Star Wars and Harry Potter Also fast and furious stuff.  Also just look at Ninjago they do all kinds of cross overs they recently had a Dungeons and Dragons like season.  Lego is also doing a vikings creator set next year.  I think with the booming fantasy genre in and series there will be a new fantasy theme soon just to tap into that market.  Just look at all the series alone coming out the Witcher, WOT, LOTR, the Expanse, all the anime series that are popular.  I think its only a matter of time till they do something fantasy like.  

[Lyichir]

On 9/25/2021 at 11:45 AM, 1963maniac said:

I just checked Playmobil.com and there were no castles vikings or romans. Most of their line was for children not old enough for Lego. 

I think one aspect of Playmobil that can be a bit confusing in this respect is that from my experience, Playmobil sometimes tends to be available for much longer than Lego, which usually sells through older product in a year or two. Growing up in the U.S., Playmobil tended to be stocked more in independent toy stores which were under comparatively less pressure to cycle through new products (and thus often had a wide selection of playsets dating back years), whereas in big chain toy stores like Toys R Us (when they were around), only a small aisle of some of the newer Playmobil playsets and figures tended to be available (and it was rare to see it at all in big box stores like Wal-Mart or Target). Then again, that may just be a factor of how comparatively niche Playmobil is here compared to Europe.

[Moexy]

Playmobil being “niche” goes perhaps for the rest of the world, but in Europe there are only two very qualitative toys: Lego and Playmobil (Mattel and Hasbro toys tend to break often …).The pricing of Playmobil is also much reasonable (in the eye of the parents) too.

Playmobil has recently been branching out in licensed themes: Back to the Future, Scooby-Doo, Star Trek, A-Team, Volkswagen, Porsche, … The Scooby-Doo line is for example superior to the Lego one, the toy scale being an important factor.

They are also two very different toys: LEGO is a building toy where the building itself is a major part of the experience, whereas Playmobil is more in reenacting or copying reall life things (as children usually do). Playmobil has more lights and sounds aswell.

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by Moexy
Spelling

[Cwetqo]

On 9/25/2021 at 5:45 PM, 1963maniac said:

I just checked Playmobil.com and there were no castles vikings or romans. Most of their line was for children not old enough for Lego. 

You checked wrong.

 

[MAB]

12 hours ago, Moexy said:

Playmobil being “niche” goes perhaps for the rest of the world, but in Europe there are only two very qualitative toys: Lego and Playmobil (Mattel and Hasbro toys tend to break often …).The pricing of Playmobil is also much reasonable (in the eye of the parents) too.

Playmobil has recently been branching out in licensed themes: Back to the Future, Scooby-Doo, Star Trek, A-Team, Volkswagen, Porsche, … The Scooby-Doo line is for example superior to the Lego one, the toy scale being an important factor.

They are also two very different toys: LEGO is a building toy where the building itself is a major part of the experience, whereas Playmobil is more in reenacting or copying reall life things (as children usually do). Playmobil has more lights and sounds aswell.

 

Concerning pricing, remember that playmobil consists of large parts that tend to be clipped together in the factory. They don't need anywhere near the precision or tolerances of lego's building system.

But it is interesting how playmobil seems to be following lego (and many others) down the licensed toys route rather than sticking with generic themes.

[TeriXeri]

I think LEGO is actually following into Playmobil's footsteps in terms of including more and different animals lately, Playmobil had safari animals for decades, sold under wildlife, zoo, circus or just seperately, LEGO didn't have most moulded Lions, Bears , Tigers until only like 10 years ago. (Some exceptions for larger animals being the 2000 Polar Bear, 2003 Elephant, and various Water animals like Croc/Octopus/Shark/Sawfish/Dolphin/Octopus from mostly the 90s , shark being from 1989)  

I don't see LEGO making sets with just animals however , even while a set like this is technically possible with current production parts:

 

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by TeriXeri

[leafan]

The answer is that nobody truly knows.

You can go on about sales figures you don't have, or theorise about inherent violent or lack of interest; but it's all just guessing.

One thing I can say for a fact is that I have spent more on Playmobil historical toys this year than I have Lego in general, so they've lost that money.

I held out for ages, but when you see a competitor to Lego, offering all the things that you wished Lego would produce but don't, then it's hard to pass up.

On 9/25/2021 at 2:32 PM, Murdoch17 said:

I also played with Playmobil as a child at times from 2003 to 2007-ish, and it was also more expensive than LEGO from what I recall, so there is that!

That's not true at all. Playmobil is far cheaper.

Would that be £7.99 if it was Lego? There's also more plastic with Playmobil. More for less.

[Lego David]

2 hours ago, leafan said:

Would that be £7.99 if it was Lego? There's also more plastic with Playmobil. More for less.

I find the value of those Playmobil figures pretty incredible. With LEGO, you pay 5$ just to get one figure, while with Playmobil for just slightly more you get three figures. I kind of wonder how exactly they manage keep the price so low, considering how Playmobil uses a tone more plastic and unique molds than LEGO? 

[eldiano]

1 hour ago, Lego David said:

I find the value of those Playmobil figures pretty incredible. With LEGO, you pay 5$ just to get one figure, while with Playmobil for just slightly more you get three figures. I kind of wonder how exactly they manage keep the price so low, considering how Playmobil uses a tone more plastic and unique molds than LEGO? 

I agree, especially when you compare lines such as GhostBusters and back to the future side to side!!! 

They only milked the Firehouse and vehicles but Playmobil although has both and then some literally feature more accessories, furniture, more play features, lights sounds and cheaper than Lego I think. 

[MAB]

3 hours ago, Lego David said:

I find the value of those Playmobil figures pretty incredible. With LEGO, you pay 5$ just to get one figure, while with Playmobil for just slightly more you get three figures. I kind of wonder how exactly they manage keep the price so low, considering how Playmobil uses a tone more plastic and unique molds than LEGO? 

Plastic is relatively cheap - the cost is not really in the plastic used but the processing of it. I can buy a bucket with 20x the plastic in those three figures for £1. I can also buy a pack of 50 badly moulded toy soldiers for £1. Playmobil figures are assembled in factory or use parts that push and clip together. They don't need to be very high tolerance, unlike lego where the legs or head would fall off if tolerances are out. It is the difference between being being essentially fixed figures or ones designed to be taken apart and reassembled many times. So the molds can be used way longer than lego's. But the pricing, I think is just down to what the market will pay. If that pack of three was £10, it probably wouldn't sell as well. Playmobil is premium compared to pound store toys, but is still often seen as just a play toy whereas lego is seen as even more premium as it is both building and play. That you can change lego figures provides a reason for the feeling of getting more for the price. Of course, they are also compatible with the lego system, which can be built into whatever you want. Whereas playmobil is not really customisable, so it is high quality and  premium compared to cheap moulded toys but not as premium as lego.

I think it helps that you can pose lego figures, whereas playmobil are more like lego's minidolls in Friends. Partially posable, but the legs and hands are a bit static looking.

Playmobil started doing collectable blind bagged figures soon after lego. They priced them at £2 here, the same as lego CMFs were at the time. Their price has stayed the same whereas lego has gotten away with raising it to £3.50. I think that is probably down to marketing. Kids and adults collect the lego CMF. The number of people that collect the playmobil versions is way smaller. In the store where I see them, the playmobil figures often sit at 50% off not moving. Whereas the lego figures sell very fast at 50% off (and that is probably closer to what they should be in the first place). I don't buy cmf now aside from maybe one or two per series, the pricing has gone way over what they are worth to me. 

Edited September 27, 2021 by MAB

[Alexandrina]

30 minutes ago, MAB said:

Playmobil started doing collectable blind bagged figures soon after lego. They priced them at £2 here, the same as lego CMFs were at the time. Their price has stayed the same whereas lego has gotten away with raising it to £3.50. I think that is probably down to marketing. Kids and adults collect the lego CMF. The number of people that collect the playmobil versions is way smaller. In the store where I see them, the playmobil figures often sit at 50% off not moving. Whereas the lego figures sell very fast at 50% off (and that is probably closer to what they should be in the first place). I don't buy cmf now aside from maybe one or two per series, the pricing has gone way over what they are worth to me. 

I can honestly say I've never seen Playmobil cmfs - though admittedly that's because I tend to be either browsing a supermarket aisle or the Lego Store. Do they have a smaller reach than Lego, perhaps?

[williejm]

44 minutes ago, Alexandrina said:

I can honestly say I've never seen Playmobil cmfs - though admittedly that's because I tend to be either browsing a supermarket aisle or the Lego Store. Do they have a smaller reach than Lego, perhaps?

Yeah, much smaller. Especially here in the U.K. 

you’ll find them in some independent toy stores and *some* bigger retailers (I think Asda usually has them) 

[leafan]

3 hours ago, Alexandrina said:

I can honestly say I've never seen Playmobil cmfs - though admittedly that's because I tend to be either browsing a supermarket aisle or the Lego Store. Do they have a smaller reach than Lego, perhaps?

And every series has 2-3 (or more) historical figures.

They also separate the collectible figures into boys and girls, so there's a boys series 20 and a girls series 20.

That's 2-3 historical figures in BOTH lines. It's great.

[MAB]

[ArneNielsen]

Even if LEGO is Danish, Playmobil covers almost as much shelf-space as LEGO in Danish supermarkets. 

And Playmobil is cheaper. 

Last week I bought in the same supermarket two sets on offer: LEGO 60302 Wildlife Rescue Operation (https://brickset.com/sets/60302-1), and Playmobil 9373 Arc of Noah (and yes, Playmobil dont mind making religious sets) https://www.playmobil.de/arche-noah/9373.html.

The LEGO set was appx. 95 USD, and the Playbobil set was appx. 45 USD. 

Both sets are about rescuing wildlife, but where LEGO has 5 animals (and some croc eggs), Playmobil has 20 animals. 

If only LEGO had dropped the strange belt-vehicle, they could have added at least one more animal - a missed opportunity in my eyes.

I am very fond of both LEGO and Playmobil, and both products have their ups and downs. 

By the way, for those who dont know Playmobil: the Playmobil figures have interchangeable legs, torsos, heads, and accessories, so there is a wide range of customization. 

 

 

[Lego David]

1 hour ago, ArneNielsen said:

and Playmobil 9373 Arc of Noah (and yes, Playmobil dont mind making religious sets

Wow, I've never been into Playmobil, but that set is seriously tempting. I had always wished LEGO would make a Noah's Ark set, yet Playmobil is already doing it (and for much cheaper)!

This just further enforces my belief that LEGO are seriously missing out with all their questionable marketing policies. I would buy a Noah's Ark LEGO set in a heartbeat, and I am pretty sure I am not the only one.

 

[MAB]

1 hour ago, ArneNielsen said:

By the way, for those who dont know Playmobil: the Playmobil figures have interchangeable legs, torsos, heads, and accessories, so there is a wide range of customization.

There is, but it is much harder to do than for LEGO. Especially for kids. Although the mystery / blind bag figures are significantly easier to pull apart than pre-assembled ones.

1 hour ago, ArneNielsen said:

Even if LEGO is Danish, Playmobil covers almost as much shelf-space as LEGO in Danish supermarkets. 

And Playmobil is cheaper. 

Last week I bought in the same supermarket two sets on offer: LEGO 60302 Wildlife Rescue Operation (https://brickset.com/sets/60302-1), and Playmobil 9373 Arc of Noah (and yes, Playmobil dont mind making religious sets) https://www.playmobil.de/arche-noah/9373.html.

The LEGO set was appx. 95 USD, and the Playbobil set was appx. 45 USD. 

Both sets are about rescuing wildlife, but where LEGO has 5 animals (and some croc eggs), Playmobil has 20 animals.

 

They are very different toys though. The Playmobil one is a big boat that will always be a big boat. There is no construction aspect involved in it. That is great for kids that don't want a construction toy and instead just a story telling set. Whereas kids that like construction and like building their own models won't like it as much.If you want large numbers of animals, you can of course go even cheaper if you buy a bucket full of one piece moulded animals. That is what we used to use alongside LEGO when I was a kid. The playmobil ones are somewhere in-between. They are molded to be more realistic looking than lego but still have articulation unlike one piece ones.

 

[ArneNielsen]

16 minutes ago, MAB said:

They are very different toys though

I agree completely - different toys for different occasions. 

Though I must say, that most kids I know have both LEGO and Playmobil, and they happily mix them together when playing.

 

It was more a statement to the previous messages about prices and plastic. I dont have the actual weight here where I am now, but I can say, that the Playmobil set is much heavier than the Lego set, with more plastic. 

 

Playmobil is manufactured in Europe (Germany of course, but primarily fabrics in Malta), and the plastic is of excellent quality. I have Playmobil from 40 years ago, and its neither warped nor miscoloured. 

And in the 400+ Playmobil sets I have bought, I have never encountered damaged or missing pieces. 

So the product quality, and the quality control, are not subpar to LEGO. 

As also stated perviously in this thread, it is most likely the amount of pieces, and thus the amount of forms, that make up for a big part of the price difference. 

 

[Alexandrina]

1 hour ago, ArneNielsen said:

And in the 400+ Playmobil sets I have bought, I have never encountered damaged or missing pieces. 

So the product quality, and the quality control, are not subpar to LEGO. 

I always thought the main thrust of Lego's famous quality standards was the precision of the moulding - needed so that every one of their millions of bricks is compatible with one another, so the tolerance is tiny. As I believe @MAB said earlier in the thread, Playmobil has a lesser construction element and so the tolerances aren't quite as narrow as a larger amount of the set is made in-factory.

[TheLegoDr]

I liked Playmobil as a kid, but never really owned any. I went over to a friend's house that had some. But he also had a lot of LEGO (and so did I), so we mostly played with the LEGO blocks instead (and yes, castle was our theme of choice, followed by Pirates).

I did like seeing the "CMF" of Playmobil in the store. It is a big package with a clear front and showed all the figures you'd get, and it was super affordable also...