Can you tell me about Playmobil?

[wifecat]

We don't have any Playmobil and I've not played with it. Is it like Legos? Do pieces snap together? Or is it a play set? Why is it so great? (I don't mean that in a bad way; I know it's really popular! Just want to know what it really IS before I jump in!).

[crl]

BBB heresy here. I hate play mobile. My ds couldn't put it together by himself so I ended up assembling a million tiny plastic pieces. And then there are more tiny plastic pieces. And I mean tiny. It's horrible. I threw ours away and refuse to have it in the house again. Fortunately, ds didn't like it all that much anyway.

Catherine

[123LuckyMom]

Catherine is right about the million tiny pieces! That's kind of why DS loves it! It's not really like Legos. DS can put Legos together by himself. It took my sister first and then me hours to put together the huge Playmobil castle my mother got for DS, and it never really stayed together. DS plays with it in several sections. However, he LOVES playing with it! The castle itself has lots of moving parts, and he loves the soldiers and all their armor and weapons. There's an armored falcon and a skeleton in the dungeon. It's really cool!!!

[mikala]

Catherine is right about the million tiny pieces! That's kind of why DS loves it! It's not really like Legos. DS can put Legos together by himself. It took my sister first and then me hours to put together the huge Playmobil castle my mother got for DS, and it never really stayed together. DS plays with it in several sections. However, he LOVES playing with it! The castle itself has lots of moving parts, and he loves the soldiers and all their armor and weapons. There's an armored falcon and a skeleton in the dungeon. It's really cool!!!

Yeah that. Think little tiny swords the size of your thumbnail. It can be great for some awesome imaginative play but you'd want to keep the pieces picked up and together or you'd have utter chaos and a vacuum bag full of miniature stuff.

[KpbS]

Playmobil is super awesome IMO. There are lots of figures, animals, and accessories that really foster creative, open-ended play. The sets are sold thematically, eg. knights, pirates, veterinary sets, city life, princesses, etc. Yes, there are small pieces but it doesn't bother me to have the occasional helmet, sword, or even gold coins lying around the house unlike the random Lego bricks. When you get a new set, oftentimes there are pieces to assemble together (sometimes just a few, other, larger sets require more) but once they are put together they don't need further assembly. Click on a theme and check it out for yourself :) http://www.playmobil.us/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site/en_US/Search-Show?cgid=S_ARTIKEL

[Simon]

Its kind of like Little People sets for bigger kids. We started with the Castle and knights. I think it was the take along castle so smaller than some sets. Personally, I put away the smallest items when the kids are younger. Ds1 loved playing with all the people and accessories. The knights can really hold swords or torches, ride the horses, etc. This year we''re getting some of the city action sets with police, firefighters, etc. because the kids are asking. I think all the different parts add to the creative options. Our kids mix PM with lego creations sometimes and this is one of the first items brought out with friends.

[YouAreTheFocus]

I foresee a lot of Playmobil in our future. DS just turned 4 and is really into it. We have a coast guard boat, schoolbus/school set, ambulance/hospital set, and a passenger plane/air control tower. He arranges everything out on the floor and plays out different scenarios with the figures going from place to place. I love how realistic and detailed everything is (the plane has a toilet and a tiny roll of TP!). I can't think of any lines that have the same range and detail. PM has some pretty funny/wacky sets!

As far as coming in pieces, I think of it as the Ikea of toys. Must be cheaper/easier for them to package & ship it in standard size boxes and rely on the customer to assemble. I don't consider the assembly part of the play experience; we have built everything for DS.

[acmom]

Both my kids (3 and 5) are really into playmobil and can spend big chunks of time with it both together and independently. I agree with the PP who compared it to Little People sets for older kids - mine loved little people and then sort of graduated to playmobil. They play with it in much the same way - create a set up and a storyline and then move the people around talking (some examples are kids going to school, families taking a trip to beach, setting up a baseball game with fans watching and a snack shop, etc.). So I love it for the amount of quality play time they spend with it!

The little pieces are what makes it so realistic but also are a bit of a pain to store. We have tried many methods and finally found one that seems to work for us. Ours is all in the basement playroom, set up as what we call "playmobil world" with all the big building out and a parking area (shelf) for the vehicles. I know many people rotate them, but my kids seem to really like large setups with many places for the people to visit (and it also seems to minimize wanting the small building space at the same time). Our little pieces are stored in smaller plastic bins labeled with pics and words (animals, furniture, food, emergency stuff, pirate stuff, pool stuff, etc,). I do let them keep their "setups" up and just pick up the little pieces that are in use since it is in the playroom. I will also let them bring up a few people and/or vehicles to use upstairs with magnatiles. And we often bring the pool up to the kitchen breakfast bar bc it can be filled with water which is lots of fun! :) The motor boat also has a real motor and goes in our pool in the summer!

Not many of my kids friends have any playmobil and it is always one of the main attractions when friends come over.

[SnuggleBuggles]

It was a flop here. I started with the Advent calendar last year and finished with a few cool sets on Christmas. My 5yo wasn't at all interested. I just gave it away last month after 0 play. He's all about Imaginext.

[swissair81]

There are a million tiny pieces. My 10.5 year old loves it, and I buy it for her because she is responsible. My 6 year old got a princess castle for her birthday, and I told her I will never buy it for her again because the thing is in pieces in the basement. My son got the Noah's ark for his 4th birthday and he still plays with it a year later. It depends on your tolerance level and your child's maturity, not how much other people like it. I loved it so much as a child, that my set is still mostly together in my parents' house. I took good care of my things though.

[AlbrightRC]

I would rather step on the tiny playmobile pieces a hundred times then step on a lego brick once haha. My son got a few things last year and he'll be getting more this year. He just got a couple of the take along sets yesterday. A soccer set and a 3 in one sports set. I love that the pieces can store in the little case and that he can use the sets togeather. For christmas I just ordered him the take along soccer stadium that he's been wanting since last year *order from utoypia much cheaper on this then playmobile site* and I ordered him a bundle of 5 soccer players from the playmobil site.