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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that Playmobil is a bit......well, shit really?

74 replies

TaperJeanGirl · 30/12/2010 12:49

So, I was a complete Playmobil virgin until christmas day, I had held off buying it for about 2 years as my eldest was only 3 then, but now at 5 she has been going on about it, and my friends buy it for their much younger children, and love it, have seen threads on here where people rave about it and say it lasts forever and gives hours of fun...so into the world of playmobil I plunged....

Now despite being initially reluctant to start with it, I admit I got sucked in and ended up getting ds (18 months) the dump truck, I just superglued the hat to the drivers head and tools into his toolbox to avoid any christmas day A&E trips due to swallowing, I got dd2 (3) the campervan, and ghost pirate ship, and dd1 (5) the african animal ranch and ranger truck, now what I didnt expect was needing a sodding degree in engineering to assemble the bastard things, AN HOUR I spent just on the dump truck!! I have still not had the courage to even open the pirate ship.

My next complaint, its cheap and flimsy, and falls apart every time its so much as looked at, and I think most of the tiny bits are already residing inside the hoover, I mean, WHY so many bits? I have stuck some together, but really not having any luck with it, am I missing some playmobil golden rule? Or do all the Playmobil enthusiasts on here just have it as ornaments, or do you all have super careful children that dont eat tiny cups and stick tiny cutlery up their noses,are my kids a bit young? (I know ds is but his truck isnt a problem) I WANT to like it I really do, I had hoped that by starting them off on these smaller sets I could get the house/hospital/school for their upcoming birthdays, but dont think i'll be getting anymore at the min....

OP posts:

Goblinchild · 30/12/2010 13:18

Toolbox with little compartments for different bits came in handy too. Portable.
It is one of the good things about DS being an aspie, he likes order, sorting and tidying his stuff. And labelling.

asdx2 · 30/12/2010 13:31

Goblin this year's hit has been a label maker for ds 15. Tried not to laugh when I noticed in the middle of all of his screens a label describing make and model of the item as well as his bed drawers door and carpet labelled.
Dd has playmobil for the first time it is currently sitting unopened but that's not unusual it can take her months to warm to the idea.

Goblinchild · 30/12/2010 13:33

BertieBottlesOfMulledWine · 30/12/2010 13:33

I love the tiny bits. I used to love polly pockets as well, before they turned into some kind of miniature barbie

LIZS · 30/12/2010 13:37

You think Playmobil is bad then don't venture into Sylvanians - far far worse . Teeny tiny stickers and accessories. I yearn for Playmobil ! In fact the Sylvanians are currently taking a trip in the Priate Ship

Original poster

TaperJeanGirl · 30/12/2010 13:39

Oh a toolbox is a brilliant idea, thanks!

OP posts:

QueeferSantaland · 30/12/2010 13:41

My ds is 3 today and got the pirate ship and fire engine. He is very, very pleased.

My dad helped put them together, but he is a lecturer in engineering.

dearprudenceandtheivy · 30/12/2010 13:42

No no no! Don't complain about how long it takes to assemble. The whole point of playmobil is the fun to be had by mothers assembling it, and then making little scenes with all the tiny bits. It's really not for children at all.

YABVU

millymolly5306 · 30/12/2010 13:45

MIL brought our DD2, who is 3, the take along farm for christmas and what a hit! She has not put it down since, lots of bits but that is why she loves it, longest time spent so far playing with it is 2 hours! Her birthday is in Feb, so i am looking to see what i can get from Playmobil to add to it:)

GypsyMoth · 30/12/2010 13:50

i sold all ds1 playmobil on ebay and got back almost what we paid for it! (this is why i want to keep the boxes,you get more)

have now started a new collection for ds 3. the take along sets are quite good too

ChippyMinton · 30/12/2010 14:04

YABVVU
Mixing up the sets is part of the fun!
DD regularly finds pirates sneaking out of DS's room to take a bath in her mansion, and no collection is complete without BBQ man offering refreshments from the sidelines of a knights vs. dustmen vs. dinosaurs battle.

paddingtonbear1 · 30/12/2010 14:15

We like playmobil - dd has a few sets. She got the animal safari for Xmas, which I built after dh gave up! It's a bit fiddly but the instructions are OK. We also have some Sylvanian stuff, which has lots of small bits as well. It all gets mixed up - I've long since given up trying to keep the sets separate!

haggisaggis · 30/12/2010 14:26

I think it is really best as a toy for 6+. WE have the airport, hospital and now the school (5 hours to build at my workplace then transported home VERY carefully on Christmas Eve!!) dd is 8.5 and ds nearly 11 and tehy get far more fun out of it now than they did at 4 ish. I think it is pretty well made actually and have never had a problem with buildings falling apart unless dropped.

confusedeasterbunny · 30/12/2010 15:58

Your kids are too young for it really

Notevenamouse · 30/12/2010 16:07

I think it is wonderful and our kids still have unbroken items from the 70s in their collection.

Seeline · 30/12/2010 16:14

My DS (9) still adores his Playmobil! He has firemen, policemen and pirates - they are all completely de-constructed. The fire stationa and police station are frequently re-made into pirate castles or prisons. All the people are totally re-made with even the hair being swapped round! I regualrly find it all mixed in with his Lego. He seems to still ahve all the tiny bits of pirate gold and treasure, police hand guns and fireman walkie-talkies. It drives me up the wall - the mess and the inter-mingling of sets. BUT he adores it, he will play with it for hours, totally absorbed in the adventures he has imagined. It's great!!

MissAnthrope · 30/12/2010 16:16

YABU

The best thing about Playmobil is the attention to detail!

In fairness, the sets are all 4+ or 5+ so two of your children are a little young for it.

There was a forlorn looking lady in Toys R Us yesterday desperately trying to convince her son to buy the dolphin aquarium set. She looked like she really wanted to play with it

TheFallenMadonna · 30/12/2010 16:21

God it's fabulous stuff. We gave DD the school, and DH spent three hours putting it together (and he is an engineer ), but it is amazing. And it's all the little bits that make it so fab. Little laptops and books and a fire extinguisher, and coffee mugs foe the staff room. DD is nearly 7 though, and I wouldn't have got somthing so complicated for her last year.

roundthehouses · 30/12/2010 16:32

love playmobil! ds (3.5) got the fire station and fire truck for xmas. Having already done the aeroplane for his 3rd birthday we had a heads up to assemble the night before. The station does break apart a bit but I was warned about that and really its a couple of clicks and its back together. Have to say he has not stopped playing with it and usually has the attention span of a gnat (or a 3 year old) with toys.

We have bought a small storage box like you would keep screws, nails and washers etc in with all different compartments and that keeps all the teeny tiny pieces together nicely.

madangelhaironchristmasday · 30/12/2010 17:18

Your dc are just too small. dd is 10 and loves her Pony Ranch, the tiny bits make it all more playable and fun for them. We have a houseful of the stuff and I have to say it's the most played with toy, but before 5 or 6 it wouldn't have captured their imagination in the way it does now. Put it away for a few years for your younger dc.

Clary · 30/12/2010 17:21

I think yr DC are a bit young tbh.

DS1 was bought some when he was 4 and it was unplayed with. They really got into it when he was about 7 and DD was 5 IIRC.

Similar to Leg, now that's way under-aged. DS1 is a mahoosive fan now (aged 11) but at 5? Not interested.

Put it away for a coupld of years maybe?

mamatomany · 30/12/2010 17:22

6 hours the school took to build, we moved it from the living room to the bedroom and it all came apart again.
Not sure I shall be encouraging a collection tbh.

5Foot5 · 30/12/2010 17:23

We got DD the fairy tale castle for the christmas when she was 5 and it was a dream to assemble. Admittedly we were not so unwise as to wait until Christmas Day to assemble it, we put it together a few evenings before and hid it. Yes it took a long time but it went together so well I almost wanted to be German by the end as I was so full of admiration.

I agree 18 months is too young and maybe having a DD rather than a DS does make a difference. Our stuff has lasted despite being played with again and again.

As to all the bits - yes they are a pain but it always seemed to me that the important thing about toys was that they had to have about a million bits.

rudolpherina · 30/12/2010 17:25

My 4yr old ds got the pirate ship for xmas. He and his older brothers have not stopped playing with it, they are 6&8 and have had more fun with it than their own toys. But will have to watch the tiny bits myself as dd has just started to crawl

MegBusset · 30/12/2010 17:39

I think some of the vehicles are fine for younger toddlers, mine (3.10 and 20 months) got the road sweeper and police car for xmas and have had the recycling truck since last xmas, they both love them, I just confiscated the smaller fiddly bits. However the pirate ship which I originally got for DS1 has been put away til he's older as has loads of tiny bits.

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