When I went to the Playmobil factory in Malta, one of the highlights was getting to build my own little Playmobil figure. This is a special attraction only available to people who take the factory tour so I was feeling pretty privileged.
But now a new concept from Playmobil means that any bugger can feel as special as me (wouldn't that make a great advertising slogan?). Plunk down your £1.99 and you get one of these mystery packages:
Open it up and you too can play at being a Playmobil factory worker, as you build one of 24 figures. You won't know which figure you've got until you open the packet, so the range has been dubbed "fi?ures". Oh those Playmobil dudes. They like a laff.
We were sent two from the blue range and two from the pink, which turned out to be this band of rogues: a blue knight, a pair of pop singers and a mermaid.
The Playmobil Fi?ures range is marked as suitable from age 5 and over. My children struggled to put the figures together at first, especially fixing on the hair. Be prepared to take over supervise if your children are doing this. The idea is that you can then mix and match the set, but we were so pooped with the effort of putting them together that we had no energy left for that.
As pocket money toys, these are very good value at £1.99, which includes the figure, accessories and a mini collector's poster. They'd make a great party bag alternative. The girls' range scores points for being girly but not sugar sweet (An outlaw! A grumpy teen!), whilst the boys' range is fairly villainous-looking. What little boy hasn't wanted a toy executioner in his time?
As ever with Playmobil, the quirkiness of the range leaves many questions unanswered. Why so many tattoos? Why is the pizza square? Why does the witch have glasses with a bird's beak attached? Why is the mother figure holding two giant spoons? Thinking about it, that question mark is well placed.
Playmobil Fi?ures are out now in major toy shops. You can get a closer look at the range and play with the fab online figure generator here
Interesting review you made here! I can not wait to buy them!
Posted by: Alexander | September 27, 2011 at 04:42 PM
Hope you get some good figures Alexander! They all seem to have the same bar code so you can't tell until you open it which one you've got
Posted by: Joanne Mallon | September 28, 2011 at 09:06 AM
The pizza is square because it is a Pizzazunge - google it. Typical German fast food, square pizza. Or it is a Familienpizza - a large square pizza for the whole family.
No idea about the wooden spoons or the bird beak glasses.
They look interesting, although my children are out of the Playmobile age.
Posted by: MmeLindor | September 28, 2011 at 07:33 PM
What, so it's an actual thing? Thank you for explaining MmeLindor, I was very mystified by that.
Posted by: Joanne Mallon | September 29, 2011 at 09:18 AM
This variety is noticeable as ideal from little age and over. My kids battled to put the results together at first, especially restoring on the locks.
Posted by: קעקועים | February 08, 2012 at 03:00 PM
Yes, restoring on the locks is often a challenge, it has to be said
Posted by: Joanne Mallon | February 09, 2012 at 05:31 PM