To think that playmobil is flimsy shite

[Everythingsgoingtitsup]

I don't get playmobil. Ds1 is just 4. For Xmas he got a playmobil pirate ship and playmobil aeroplane. Despite very careful playing all the sails have come off the ship except one and the wings and tail fin of the aeroplane fall off if you so much as look at it. Plus, it doesn't do anything, it's just a big lump of plastic. He got playmobil figures for his birthday, their hats fall off, their swords won't stay in their hands etc etc.
He also got Lego for his birthday, it's fantastic, durable, creative, wonderful stuff.
So whats the point of the playmobil? Am I missing something?

Playmobile is another big hit in this house too we have the airport and tower, 2 different planes and a holiday bus. We are adding to this at christmas with the water park, holiday home, cafe and beach, our boys are 4 and 7.

We still have stuff that was mine when I was a child (I'm nearly 29) and it's in perfect condition. I had a school, hospital, cowboy and Indian set, the Olde Englidh stuff...a suitcase full of it. I LOVED it so will be passing it on to DD when she's old enough.

For those who think Playmobil doesn't have much play value... Playmolympics

Playmobile pirate ship, still going strong twenty years and 4 children later.....

I hate playmobil. I agree it's flimsy. The pirate ship is annoying but the pyramid is worse. I would gladly give it away if anyone wants it.

Love Playmobil and lego in this house.
I've heard you have to superglue the pirate ship together from friends. We have the barn and loads of animals as that is what Dd is into.
If you want really sturdy we have some www.schleich-s.com/ they are practically indestructible

D's had the castle and knights which he played with a lot. Oddly, none of our three were really into Lego - we ended up giving it away. The thing they loved most was a collection of plastic zoo and farm animals which they played with endlessly, creating scenarios and stories. I found the box of animals during a clear out last week and marked it for charity but the two dds refused in outrage. They are now 22 and 19 lol

So glad it's not just me.
I had considered super gluing the ship and plane and then wondered if in fact the point of playmobil was building it. I guess not? So many people rave about it that I wonder sometimes if I've bought the wrong stuff or something.

Not noticed that it's particularly flimsy.

I'm only a recent convert to Playmobil though. DS1(10) had some from when he was about five. He liked building it but never really played with it that much, so I didn't get what all the fuss was about. He much preferred Lego and spent hours and hours with it.

DS2 hasn't shown that much of an interest in Lego. When he turned five last year we got some of the Playmobil down from the loft. He loves it. Got him the fire station, fire engine and other related bits and pieces for his birthday and he plays with it every day, making up his own stories that the fire station's under attack from a Playmobil dinosaur or something.

Depends what they like - construction? Then lego. Imaginative play? Playmobil. The making/dismantling is part of it though. Mine never liked playmobil but dd is getting a lot of fun out of it. Duplo lego is cool - my 5 year old still loves it. Good for imaginative play, not so much the construction side of things

NotHoney thank goodness that norm is sunning his hi-vis jacket and snazzy tie at the moment on a well earned break after officiating at the Lympics.

YABU

My two (9 and 5) have all the playmobil that my sister and I played with for about 8 years in the late 80s and 90s, including large houses and tiny tiny accessories. It's all still in tact, they love it, we loved it and it provides endless amounts of imaginative, independent play.

Maybe you got a faulty bit?

My own Playmobil from the 80s and 90s is still going strong too. I don't think it's flimsy at all but some of the small, fiddly bits can be annoying. I have particular hatred for the little flowers off the tops of posies and bouquets that get strewn all over the house.

Thank goodness. I thought I was the only parent in the world who wondered what the fuss was about Playmobil.

I finally gave in and bought DS3 & 4 a bin lorry. In bits within 5 seconds, constant asking me to put it back together.

I then tried again and bought DS5 the plane. It now has no wings. I cba with it anymore. Useless overpriced tat.

I disagree with it not being suitable for 4 year olds. My DS got his first submersible at 3 and 9 months from his sister when she was born. He got a submarine at 4, the castle at 4.5. He was able to use it without my help quite easily from his first gift. He will play with it for hours. I prefer it to Lego as it doesn't fall apart when you move an arm for instance. The bits don't go missing in our flat as my DS is too obsessed to loose them.

I was all ready to be a big Duplo then Lego zealot. Then Grandad bought DD a Playmobil farm for Christmas. We thanked him nicely and put it in a cupboard thinking we'd pass it on to some poor person who did not know that lego is Much Better. She bloody loves it. She likes her lego too. But the farm comes out every day, the farmer, his wife and their little boy all have names and have to be kissed and tucked up before DD can go to bed at night. They have lots of adventures in helicopters and they go zooming on their wagons and on diggers to find animals to take back to the farm where they play with them and make their dinners out of playdough and bits of paper.

So what do I know. Lego is a great construction toy. But it turns out DD was ready for something more lifelike.

Ds and dd have the playmobil I had in the late 70s / early 80s. Still going strong.
My sister and I would spend hours using our imagination and coming up with elaborate scenarios for our playmobil people and animals. They have run a riding school / farm / vets / school / summer camp / holiday cottage complex and zoo. We would use lego to build any additional buildings needed, hours and hours of fun!
Ds loved all manner of rescue vehicles and would frequently use playmobil to rescue people in peril.
Dd is taking me on trips down memory lane as her playmobil people run riding schools / boarding schools / vets etc.
Great stuff

I would think that 4 is a bit too young for the imagination and skill to create elaborate story lines and act them out, which is where playmobil comes into its own. Give it a few years OP

Playmobile is brilliant! Much better than megablocks which really DOES fall apart as soon as you look at it

Ahem!

I think Playmobil is rather wonderful, but then I would wouldn't I?

Thank you RustyBear for the PlaymOlympic link. And do check out my profile pics for many Playmo scenes made by my very imaginative owner and his Mum.

I do think Playmobil is pretty durable - ok my mate Bossy Ross had his leg broken when Grandad stood on him, but it has been mended with superglue in the Playmobil hospital, and he only wobbles slightly now.

Norm xx

We've got a mix of playmobil, old fisher price Little People stuff and lego.

Some playmobil has been great (fire engine, pyramid), other has been rubbish (safari lodge thing that has never stayed in one piece).

We also have some fisher price imaginext stuff - notably the big ship (still going very strong even withstanding the dc standing on it and giving it very rough treatment) - and it is significantly more robust than all the playmobil stuff. when dc were a bit younger (Now 7 and 4) I would have much preferred to get them imaginext stuff and even now if I can find what they want in that rather than playmobil then I would get it in preference. Unfortunately in the UK they don't seem to stock much of it. We also have lots of the Little people stuff that still gets used and that is incredibly sturdy.

The lego stuff I've found is what gets least played with - ds1 loves the idea of playing with it but he sees the pictures of amazing things on boxes but then gets frustrated trying to put stuff together and when it is finally made - it always seems to fall apart (even if dh or I help make it and know it is stuck together as firmly as possible). Then because it is all kit based, once it does start to come apart he won't just use it as general lego because he thinks he will find the probably hoovered up teeny tiny bits that have randomly fallen off or that his little brother has managed to destroy and so we end up with lots of sad half made lego models there just getting in the way.

Some of my best friends are playmobil

I think it depends on your type of imagination, as a child I wasn't even that keen on the sets of lego - I just wanted the plain bricks which I could do whatever I wanted with.

Some people have questioned duplo here and said how can you compare it? We love our lego and Lego duplo. We have a second hand duplo castle set which is awesome. As duplo has the bigger pieces, it's faster to build things from and less frustrating for my dd (5). She likes the Lego too to build small things or houses. Both have equal space in our house and get played equally. Depends in mood. Lego should do more duplo stuff for 5-6 year olds. The quality of the plastic and colours are fab.

Ah well - I'm currently on holiday, because my owner has chosen to take me and my mates with him. That's how much he values Playmobil! He doesn't think we are flimsy shite!

My DCs have just started playing with my 35yo Playmobil figures and accessories. It is all just as I fondly remember it. Then, as now, the figures usually ended up residing in Lego houses.

However I don't think Playmobil did huge lumps of scenery in those days.