Sylvanians Vs Playmobil Vs Imaginex Vs wait?

[TheIndecisiveElf]

I have 3DC.

4 year old twins (DTD and DTS) and 14 month DS.

We have lots of Fisher Price Little People stuff (farm, school, fairground, garage, train station, loads of vehicles etc) which DTs are growing out of a bit now so I was thinking of getting them into something else for Christmas.

I had sylvanians as a child which I absolutely loved. But obviously loads of tiny bits. They have a playroom but have very small bedrooms so I'm not sure it's wise getting them something that I'd constantly be on alert for DS trying to eat.

I've never had Playmobil. They got a small set of construction figures at a fete which they haven't been that interested in (but a proper set would probably be more playable) and they also seem to be made of very small things (hair and helmets come off etc).

I've never had Imaginex either and not really sure what it's aimed at. Is it the next step from little people? Is it mainly superhero stuff (seems to be all male figures?)? Is it different enough from little people?

Which one would be best in my scenario? I'd like something with longevity, and either minimal small stuff or sets that would be playable with tiny stuff packed away. For context, DTs are quite rough on stuff (would test things to their limits you could say) and are also likely to fight over bits so hard wearing is a big bonus! I'm very happy buying secondhand.

I'd be interested in which sets have had loads of play for your DC. Am I right in avoiding anything that we have a little people version of so it's more different?

Any advice of what to get or avoid welcome! Or should I just leave any of this stuff until next year when DS might be a bit less inclined to eat anything he sees?

I would get a more interesting set of playmobil and see how they get on. A school or a house or a zoo? Something that relates to their lives. I don't imagine they do that much construction work.

Heh, I have them digging up the road all the time!

Thanks, we have all those in little people so I'm not sure if a duplicate is less exciting? Or if the different kind of house will make it fun?

4 is playmobil age imo but there are reeeeaaallly tiny bits so might be an issue with your younger one. Imaginext that we have is superheroes like you say. But they're all variations on the same theme, small people in houses! That said mine have loved them all and in fact imaginext and playmobil both out here tonight, they are 6 & 9 now.

Don't buy imaginext brand new for Christmas. You can pick it up for very cheap off vinted and you're right; it's very super hero centric. There's a few sets based around emergency services, but they have the DC creative licence.

My son has most of the sets, we got all of it off Vinted.

I bought Playmobil castles for dgs when he was 4 and his brother has spent hours at 4 playing with them this year and dgd same age. Bought Playmobil pirate set for his 5th bday. He has imaginex at his dad's and has a lot of Lego but mostly plays with the minifigures. So I feel Playmobil best value. I love the advent calender too we used to have the knights from the castle arresting Santa!
I bought another dgd sylvanians when she was 4 and 5 but she wasn't up for playing with them. And I remembered dd2 playing with them when she was about 7 plus till 11!
Mine all love the super hero figures that are about the size of Barbie dolls too.
We love Lego but harder for the younger ones to play with.
Vote Playmobil here best value unless child is marvel/DC obsessed.

I remember working for someone a few years ago and her dad was round building the Playmobil hospital up ready for Xmas it took him all day even with my help!

Playmobil is very fiddly, quite difficult to construct and has 100s of little bits. My 6 year old struggles with it. My old collection of sylvanians also not massively played with but at least she can set it up herself. Do they have Lego?

As tbe biggest Playmobil fan, I'd have said Lego. Playmobil is fab, I've kept one of the big sets just for me, but 4 is too old for the infant sets, but perhaps a smidgeon too young for the older sets, as there's a gazillion tiny accessories and as a pp mentioned, the big sets take a fair bit of building (although that became an Xmas day tradition at ours). Sylvanians never got a look in because the flock makes my teeth itch.

I would wait a year for Lego as until about 5 they struggle to manipulate bits. 4 year olds can be a bit rough with sylvanians. Look for second hand on eBay school fayres or carboots.

I have a 8, 7, 6 & 4 year old and we started out with the Playmobil farm with the eldest at 4. They all have sets now, farm, pony farm, safari, zoo & vet centre, hospital, police station & fire station and all the vehicles. It all still gets played with and the eldest still joins in. They all create big towns, with zoo escapes, fires, police chases etc.

We also had Sylvanian Families but that’s now gone as it wasn’t played with very much although I loved it as a kid. The only issue is the fiddly bits with Playmobil but they can be put away, although I think Playmobil perfect age is 5-7. There take along sets are really good too and great sets can be found on Vinted & Facebook.

I would say Playmobil (but then I am a huge fan of it!) but you may have to store some of the small bits for a year or so until your younger child won't eat them.

The great thing about Playmobil is you can keep adding different things and lots of the themes work well together.

I know I have already posted and am probably just giddy talking about children's toys. But one regret I have from not buying gs1 the Playmobil pirate ship etc in 2012/13 when he was into it I plumped for Le Toy Van instead and now I have bought the Playmobil for his brother which he would have had anyway. So it's great for handing down /selling on and even though I have bought a lot of Lego 4/5 is a bit young for independent play with actual buildings Lego is ok for imaginative building but the proper sets soon get taken to bits
Also I found Duplo odd because the young age they get it they can't build it themselves and by the time they can they have moved on to something like Playmobil
Like mega blocks we bought a load of paw patrol mega Bloks for gd 4th birthday but I think she has grown out of them and she's only 4.5 now and Playmobil would have been better or Lego as they have some lovely new Disney sets.

I find schleich has fewer little bits and is sturdier. My dd has playmobil and her little bro has broken several of the bigger bits despite me keeping the little pieces separate. He has chewed on several of the schleich bits but everything is still in good condition. He enjoys stealing a figure and carrying them around in his hands but they survive.
However, the selection is much smaller than playmobil and is pricey - I try to buy heavily reduced. I always find bargains for playmobil so keep adding to the collection anyway.

Thanks all. There seems to be quite a bit of love for Playmobil, so I saw the take along house is only £20 in Smyths so I've bought that.

I might get some Sylvanians to live there as well!

I have dd7 and dd nearly 5

We have no imaginex but plenty of playmobil, sylvanian families and lego.

Playmobil - we have the take along house, you maybe need to remove some small bits like plates and jugs, an alarm clock but otherwise good play value. I'm.not sure sylvanians would fit greatly with the playmobil furniture. Another good starter set is the campervan - we have the one exclusive to smyths, but again you will need to remove the tiny plates and cutlery

Sylvanians - we have a house and lots of furniture I bought from ebay a few years ago. Many small parts but not essential to play as long as you have basic furniture. Dd started with the nursery bus (no small parts other than the small characters) and it is well loved. We also have the baby amusement Park which again doesn't contain loads of small parts. The blind bags are good for stockings and build up a collection of babies. Even just two families would have play value though without the sets (just avoid the hedgehogs, younger children seem to find the hedgehog family scary. Elephants and rabbits are popular here)

Thanks. That's interesting about the hedgehog s, they look pretty cute to me!

Agreed on the hedgehogs they are terrifying. Rabbits are the best.

Take along house is great. You can hide the smallest bits till they're older (cutlery etc). Mine love the camping set as well, mainly the little tent. Putting things to bed is such a favourite.