Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

Playmobil and Lego

34 replies

VforViennetta · 30/11/2012 23:38

Is there any actual point to the specific lego sets for my your average child? Ds1 has basically asked for skylanders and other video games, so I thought I would also get him a lego or playmobil set and a cheapo hexbug set to compliment.

Thinking about it though, every playmobil toy we have ever had has quickly shed it's tiny parts to god knows where, the little figures we still have although most are hairless now Grin. We had a couple of lego city sets a couple of years ago and they were fun for me to build, but fairly useless in the play stakes as bits constantly fall off, they ended up in the general lego box.

Do these toys require a certain type of child? Or am I missing something.

OP posts:
ISeeSmallPeople · 30/11/2012 23:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
VforViennetta · 30/11/2012 23:53

I know Isee, but can the larger lego sets actually be played with, without stopping every 2 minutes to put things back together? Are there particular sets that are robust iyswim?

OP posts:
ISeeSmallPeople · 30/11/2012 23:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Startail · 01/12/2012 00:01

you don't play with lego sets, you build them, take them apart and build something else.

That's why lego is far better than playmobil.

Sadly DD2 disagrees, she's far more into playing than building and we have a house full of playmobil.

Original poster
VforViennetta · 01/12/2012 00:02

Oh bollocks to that then Grin. I haven't got the inclination to superglue 5 million pieces together, nor keep it out of the reach of ds2 (who would inevitably be the one who ended up playing with it most).

Thank you for your helpful replies though, we will stick to the random lego assortment, which gradually dwindles as the hoover bag grows heavier.

OP posts:
GoldPlatedNineDoors · 01/12/2012 00:02

Just get a big box of mixed blocks, some base mats and a few doors and windows and wheels. I cant be doing with all of this themed instruction Lego which once you finally build you cant bear to tear down. Chuck.it al in a box, or on the fkoor and get creative!

ISeeSmallPeople · 01/12/2012 00:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

amck5700 · 01/12/2012 00:05

Isn't that the point of the lego? You buy a set that builds a specific thing e.g. Police station - you have fun building it, you play with it as it is for a little while, then you break it up and build other stuff to your own design/add it to your lego colony and make something different each time. That's what happens in our house anyway.

I think lego use falls into 3 camps:

  1. People who build it up and want to play with the model as it is
  2. People who do what we do as above, and
  3. People who are just not that interested

I think if you fall into the first camp it may be as well to buy a ready made thing of that type e.g. a wooden castle or police station

Original poster
VforViennetta · 01/12/2012 00:06

I do like playmobil, there is something satisfying about it, sadly none of my children have actually asked for any. I think they would be on childsnet stating the unreasonablesness of receiving playmobil when they wanted electronic gubbins Sad.

Well apart from ds2, I could sneak some in there and he would love it.

OP posts:
ISeeSmallPeople · 01/12/2012 00:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Kewcumber · 01/12/2012 00:07

Buy a big pile of lego at a boot sale. Or buy creator kits which on the whole have fewer specific fiddly parts which I agree are hardly ever used again.

amck5700 · 01/12/2012 00:07

ISeeSmallPeople Oops I forgot about adult lego geeks :o

Kewcumber · 01/12/2012 00:09

But playmobil is just another toy to play with. LEgo can be used to build whatever you want!

I'm with you amck - mind you for the very complex sets DS is told that he is the break it up on pain of death (but eventually I crumble)

Original poster
VforViennetta · 01/12/2012 00:09

I have reserved the half price brick box at argos because ours does need a bit of topping up, think I will just stick to that.

OP posts:
GoldPlatedNineDoors · 01/12/2012 00:11

Dd is getting Playmobil for her third birthday and chrsitmas and Lego on her fourth whether she likes it or.not I will be playing with it I can barely contain my excitement at the Mega Bloks I have for her first birthday.

I forsee long Saturdays of us playing, scrape scrape scrape the bits and "I need a yellow two-a"

amck5700 · 01/12/2012 00:14

My boys are 12 and 11 now and we have a house full, literally - imagine every birthday and Christmas since they were two mainly consisting of lego - we have thousands of pounds worth of the stuff - everything from the entire lego city to star wars to pirates of the Caribbean to knights etc etc, we have technic, programmable stuff, trains, planes and auto-mobiles - none of it is currently built into the shape the lego god intended!!

It fills 8 under bed stores plus numerous boxes.

I thought this year would be the first lego free christmas........then they brought out Lord of the Rings!!!!!

GoldPlatedNineDoors · 01/12/2012 00:17

amck can I move in?

Original poster
VforViennetta · 01/12/2012 00:17

Don't get me wrong, we have lego everywhere just not the sets. I am loathe to spend so much on playmobil too though, honestly ds2 has a garage that I have put back together eleventy million times, I don't know why he feels the need to deconstruct it, but he does. I don't think I could go there with playmobil, too many pieces, if a few are missing then set = junk.

OP posts:
amck5700 · 01/12/2012 00:19

gold if you can find a place to squeeze in you are welcome - maybe the boys could build you a lego annex - although no1 son is mainly concentrating on building these: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1593272847/?tag=hydra0b-21&hvadid=9550945389&ref=asc_df_1593272847

so you may want to wear protective clothing!

GoldPlatedNineDoors · 01/12/2012 00:34

amck those nanoblocks are amazing bookmarks for later

Startail · 01/12/2012 00:41

I shall become a Lego geek and build weird and wonderful creations as soon as DD2 leaves home or at least enays a 1000 playmobil people.

3bunnies · 01/12/2012 07:02

My dd never really saw the point of playmobile etc beyond the age of 3 or maybe 4. They tend not to play with toys as nature intended! Rather they will use it for their imaginary games.

They are firmly in camp 2, lego is probably the only toy they play with when not doing art/craft / imaginary games/reading. Despite a ban on the girls having toys (other than craft) downstairs, their lego has crept down here, plus their teddies from the last hospital/school/shop/sleigh ride*. Everything else is in the boxes I put them in during the summer.

They WILL NOT destroy the Vampyre castle which they are getting as a joint Christmas present, because that's mine reaches for superglue.

*delete as appropriate

ISeeSmallPeople · 01/12/2012 09:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DewDr0p · 01/12/2012 09:40

Hmm we're a bit of a mix of all of the above really. Different themes of Lego are kept separately in this house and live in different rooms. So big box for all Star Wars Lego, for example. They do like to play with the finished models but also make their own creations. Have huge box of general Lego and they make all sorts with that.

We're not at all organised or tidy but this seems to work quite well as a happy medium for us