PlaymoFriends
General => What is this??? => Topic started by: Knight Train on January 28, 2009, 07:08:16
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Keeping symmetry to the topics ;D
On the back of the circus romani set http://www.playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=3720 (http://www.playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=3720) are some large pine trees. Are these trees playmobil or something else and just used as scenery in the background?
As an aside, has anyone tried to re-create one of these backbox scenes?
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Playmobil used a lot of "non-Playmo" items as background scenery in their early outdoor dioramas. I love those pics on the back of the old boxes! :love:
As far as I know, the only trees they manufactured for retail sale were made of moulded plastic and the ones in that pic look more like the kind you'd find in a shop selling railway accessories.
I suppose it is possible that they did make those trees in their own factory, but that they were only used for Playmobil displays in shops. My guess is that they sourced them from elsewhere because they wouldn't have been needed in very large quantities. :)
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I agree they look like railway layout scenery, and are not Playmobil, and more than the baseboard the display is on.
Here's a selection of trees designed for railway layouts:
http://www.newmodellersshop.co.uk/Model%20Railway/scenery-trees-and-bushes.htm
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The trees are in Scale G from either Busch or Pola G.
They still produce these trees.
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Thanks, using other G-scale railroad scenery certainly makes sense.
And I agree, some of the pictures on the boxes are terrific. Here's my current favorite:
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3469/3233854935_52fb969383_o.jpg)
It just seems to have so much different stuff going on. This is the side of the 4025 train set.
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Is this your favourite!?
How about showing us a lesser one.
By the way, i really like this scene, it's great!
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I really love that picture. Everything looks perfect. I wish I could play with it! One question:
On the far left hand side of the picture there is a train shed over the last yellow box car. The roof of the shed apears to have a cupola on top of it. I have never seen any part like this for Steck. Any idea what it is? or what set it might come from?
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Thanks, using other G-scale railroad scenery certainly makes sense.
And I agree, some of the pictures on the boxes are terrific. Here's my current favorite:
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3469/3233854935_52fb969383_o.jpg)
It just seems to have so much different stuff going on. This is the side of the 4025 train set.
Could you give us a zoom-in of that train hanger in the leftback?, It looks awesomely cool!
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Here's a big zoom in on the left and the right sides.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/3235449884_fa66514f87_o.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3478/3234601101_40d8430241_o.jpg)
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Love those 'wafer' house facades on the right hand side, sure has a lot of activity going on.
Gepetto
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Thanks Knight Train! I wonder where that part came from...I'll have to do some searching.
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Yes thank you Knight-train,
It looks like 1.5 high steck walls and the roof is the one from the pre-steck Western houses. The small roof on top of that is also from the pre-steck western buildings, it is one of those small roofs above doors.
I would give links to playmoDB but it sees offline at the moment.
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I love looking at these old photo layouts - thanks for posting this one, Knight Train!
As to the roof on that shed building, I think it looks like a piece of cardboard with lines drawn on and then folded along the ridge line. If you compare its appearance to the other roof pieces in the same picture, it doesn't seem to have the same thicker edges and it also seems to be a little deformed toward the left hand side of the photo (though that could be due to the surface of the box being slightly bent.)
Gepetto's "wafer houses" sure are funny looking - it looks like they used one section of steck wall for the sides. There appear to be five buildings done this way in the right side picture and one in the left side picture. Freaky! 8}
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I like the 'wafer houses' in that you get a full facade of the building and the house has a sense of depth without taking up too much room, especially around the edge of a scene.
I think highland cattle is right and that the little roof on top of the shed comes from set 3767 - Schoolhouse, part number 30 60 753.
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Ah, thanks for clarifying that everyone. I don't have the schoolhouse building (yet!) and haven't encountered that piece before. Just when you think you've seen it all, another mystery piece shows up.
I use the wafer houses on my train layout wherever I have a row of building against the wall. It does save space and hides the wall at the same time.
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That small green roof piece is also very similar in size and shape to the dog house roof which came in black and dark red. What do you think about the large brown roof, though? I don't know of any old buildings with brown roofs - the old western buildings and railroad sheds were brown with smooth, dark green, sectioned roofs. I still say that is a piece of cardboard! :yup:
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The dog house part could work, that's a great idea.
As far as that roof piece goes, there's the 3427 farm house, and 3428 horse barn. They both have a brown roof that looks similar. You can see pics of both under the "western" section on www.collectobil.com
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The dog house part could work, that's a great idea.
As far as that roof piece goes, there's the 3427 farm house, and 3428 horse barn. They both have a brown roof that looks similar. You can see pics of both under the "western" section on www.collectobil.com
The texture of those roofs look different, more like boards. The roof to the treehouse has a more similar texture and since the roof is only visible from one side the hole may not be apparent.
Gepetto
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I think the little roof on top of the shed comes from set 3412 :)
http://www.playmobil.de/on/demandware.store/Sites-DE-Site/de_DE/Product-Detail?pid=3412-A&cgid=1979
The 4025 Güterzug mit Diesellok came on year after in 1980
http://www.playmobil.de/on/demandware.store/Sites-DE-Site/de_DE/Product-Show?pid=4025-A&cgid=1980
The Treehouse 3217 is from 2003
http://www.playmobil.de/on/demandware.store/Sites-DE-Site/de_DE/Product-Show?pid=3217-B&cgid=2003
23 years too late ???
Pingo
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Gloobey, thanks for the info about those old roofs - I had never noticed those before! I wish Playmobil still used those for something as they are very appealing!
Thanks, Pingo, for your excellent research! There is the doghouse roof in green and it is probably the same piece as was used on the school house. You also proved what I was wondering, that the treehouse roof came much later than the vintage of the train layout photo.
Gepetto, that was a good idea about the treehouse roof, though it does appear to have come along much later in time. Even so, the tree house roof has some distinct "3-dimensionality" to it where the brown roof in the photo is really flat - if you look really closely at the photo and compare the brown roof to the little green roof piece, I think you can see what I mean - the two pieces catch the light differently. I hate to be stubborn, but I still say the brown roof is cardboard! :yup: :)
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wonderfull pictures
brings back old memories
thank you for sharing
Michael
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Thanks for doing the research Pingo, I think you're correct about the smaller roof piece.
You might be right about the bigger roof section Indianna. I'm keeping my eyes out for this one, though. It makes a nice train shed. Plus, I really enjoy finding a new Steck part that I didn't know existed :-)
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. . . I use the wafer houses on my train layout wherever I have a row of building against the wall. It does save space and hides the wall at the same time. . .
That is a great point - I was too quick to call this method of building "freaky" - I actually kind of like the way they look. Plus, with this method one can construct more buildings with fewer sets since the side walls become available for use as extra floors or in other buildings.
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Yes, it's a great technique for making your parts go farther. This is something that scale train modelers do when they are working in a confined space.
It's also possible to strategically place mirrors behind the buildings (up against the wall) to create a false sense of depth. It's great for attic layouts. I'm currently building one in a similar space. I'll take some pics when I get closer to finishing.
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There sure was some great possibilities with Stecks . I would like to know what the guy on the roof is up to . If he is a chimney sweep he seems to have lost his chimney :hmm:
Thanks for the pictures :wow: