What Lego or Playmobil set gets played with most?

[DragonMamma]

My DS is almost 5 and just starting to get in to Lego and Playmobil.

We bought him a Lego Junior set last Christmas and he's really enjoyed playing with it recently. He also likes to play with the Playmobil stable at the CM's.

I'd like to get him a relatively big-ish set this year but I'm absolutely baffled by all the sets and types.

What gets played with most in your house?

I'm looking for something around £50 and ideally a bargain.

I agree vikjul. do has the playground which is the main set but it often gets used in play with Lego creations she has made. She also has a unicorn/fairies set with it and some random Angel and devil characters so they sometimes get mixed together and the devil will be playing in the sandpit with the kids!

Playmobil gets played with more than Lego in our house (DC aged 8 and 4).
I do wonder if that is because we have more Playmobil, so they can make more of a mess set up more interesting scenarios.

Our absolutely most popular piece of Playmobil is the school bus, which has been played with pretty much daily ever since we got it.

We also have the pony stable, and lots of horses and ponies, and they get played with loads by DD2, who is really into horses, and the Noah's Ark, which is played with a lot, but mainly the animals themselves just on the floor rather than the boat. I am planning to get DD2 yet more Playmobil for Christmas, but haven't yet decided what to get - more animal stuff or something completely different.

DD1 prefers people, cars, animals and little fiddly accessories like food etc. She usually plays with Playmobil in conjunction with her dolls house. I think she would really like a hospital or school set, but I am a bit wary of the big buildings, I think they are expensive for what they are, and actually DD would find it easier to play with the contents of the rooms set out on the floor.

We have the swimming pool, which gets played with filled with water in the summer, in the garden, but not that much the rest of the time, although the characters in swimwear get played with in the bath a lot.

Just remembered, DSs had the playground caravan and car and that got played with quite a lot.

We love all Lego. Star Wars probably the favourite but there's an elaborate game set up at the moment involving bits from Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Lego City.

Playmobil pirates and castle both got loads of play but think the campervan and swimming pool are the favourite.

Playmobil - when DS was 4/5/6 he played constantly with the police sets and the Agents. We have the small police station, which comes with a motorbike, the police helicopter, car, big police van etc, lots of police people with different uniforms etc. Absolutely loves it all. Still plays with it aged 7.

Lego - Smaller Star Wars sets are probably the most playable - atm the Phantom and some of the microfighter sets are out all the time with a completely random mixture of minifigures from different sets.

I'd go for longevity. My DSs are 10 (nearly 11) and 8. There is no way they would still be playing with playmobil but they are still lego crazy and so the sets they've had since they were 4/5 are still played with. lego is very expensive but very long lasting in terms of playability.

Dust bin Lordy and Camper Van in Playmobil and Star Wars Lego. The Star Wars stuff didn't come into its own before dgs was 6+ though. Before that he liked the Lego City Airport and Helicopter.
The Playmobil rescue helicopter is terrific too.

None of mine really played with lego - we'd just assemble it once then scatter all the pieces around the whole house

I love playmobil though. We had a fantastic castle with all the extension pieces that we were lucky to "inherit" from my sister in law. The plane and airport also got played with a lot. The farm - not so much. My youngest loves the hotel and camper van. I'm going to buy her the swimming pool and camp set for Christmas to add on to the holiday theme. The kids mini disco looks good too. I think I like it as much as she does!

Regarding longevity.. for my ds(10) lego has outlasted playmobil...but then he always liked lego more in the first place. And my dd(7) likes lego well enough but has always spent lots more time with playmobil. Just saying that it will probably be a matter of preference.

I would go with smallish sets of each and see over the coming year how he plays with them. You have many years ahead to add to either or both of the collections!

Ds has got the bin lorry, police boat and jeep, a police car & helicopter which came with a small police station, a tractor, an ambulance, little rabbit hutch set, and a few random characters like fisherman, quad bike boy and pirate. He is getting the camper van for Christmas! Depends what your ds likes mine loves vehicles of any type. As he's got a bit older he sets up more narratives with the figures so the police station has been good for this. The police set was really good value.

Following for info for ds!