So. I signed up to this site over a year ago, in the grip of intense Playmo fever, but due to my advanced procrastination skills am only now getting around to introducing myself.
Short version:
Had Playmos as a young pup, then forgot about them until a chance sighting in 2011 ignited a new fire. Went ape on the Romans (
) and picked up some other choice sets as well. As of this writing the fire has dimmed somewhat (whew) but I still keep a finger in the ebay game and am definitely going to get that Alpine Chalet, as I worked in an Alpine hotel once....anyway that's the very short version. My spreadsheet of sets owned is
here, but be warned it is VERY incomplete. I may or may not ever fix that. I will probably post some pics of my legion soon. I also like any ethnic or historically accurate figures: Egyptians, accurate Asians (Samurai!), British redcoats, ACW, Crusaders, the rare African Tribe pack 7460 , the "pope" 4887, etc. Very disappointed in the new "fantasy Asian" theme but hey, they're selling to children, let them give the kids what they want. After all, no childhood playmo experience means no adult collectors!
Long version:
My first klicky was probably the McDonald's sheriff, bought probably in Michigan where I lived at the time. I must have liked it because I remember some firefighters and a covered wagon as well. One of those fire helmets must have kicked around in my possessions for years....
Fast forward to 2011. I am in Portland, and pretty unhappy for reasons not important now. A local grocery store chain, New Seasons, sometimes carries a few specials, and while shopping one day (in the Concordia store, PDXers) the purple King 4663 stood out to me. I was feeling down and I thought, That's what I need. A damn KING. So I bought him and set him up next to my computer so he could instill some confidence.
Next time shopping, I noticed the "Zulu" Warrior 4685. Damn, I thought, it's not every day you see an African toy. So I snapped him up and placed him next to my king as an image of strength. (I later learned how un-Zulu this figure actually is; in Germany he is a "Masai-Krieger", which is a little bit more accurate.)
I also noticed one of the Roman figures. I
think it was 4632, but I can't remember. Whatever it was, it wormed around in my subconscious for a week or so until I felt moved to go back and get it. And of course! It wasn't there. I asked the girl responsible for the toy display about it and she went into the back room and brought out a different Roman figure: the beautiful Praetorian 4659! I bought it without a moment's hesitation. Up he went next to his European and African brothers.
These three formed the entirety of my collection for many weeks, but my mind began to chew over Playmos again, remembering the old times, and imagining what else there might be. Eventually it dawned on me to see what PM was producing these days, and if there were any other Roman sets. To the google machine I went, and WOW!
Did eyes ever pop out of my head. I was unemployed so I told myself I had to be prudent but a pack of the gorgeous Legionaries 7878 was irresistible. After a few weeks of having them, I reasoned that they needed a leader, and soon enough I had a Centurion 7877.
After that the obsession grew and grew. Before long I was scouring the net for independent toy stores that sold online. Got some pretty good deals that way, but I also didn't build my collection rationally, so I wound up double buying and overpaying a few times too. I eventually secured every single Roman set that I wanted, including a few duplicates, and began to spread out to other ethnic and historical sets, in a waxing fever of acquisition. I got into the Egyptians almost backwards, just looking for extras for my Colosseum crowd; likewise I got my nativity set in a quest for Roman civilians but now put it out every Christmas! Animals became a rage, and I got many individual pieces off ebay plus scored the giant forest set 5004, which I still haven't opened. In fact my collecting went through phases, beginning with ripping open and discarding the packages, to saving the packages, to, lately, not opening the packages at all! I have the full Safari "joined up river" sets in mint unopened condition! Will I ever open them, who knows?
Eventually the mania began to taper down. I'd got my hands on pretty much everything I really burned for, and the new themes coming online just don't excite me like the Romans did. I don't spend much more than $10 or $20 a month on Playmos now, and I no longer have everything spread out in my room. They are safely packed away...I fantasize about doing picture stories with my Romans, telling the story of the Legio vigesima tertia Ludensis in the province of Dysprosia Ulterior, but knowing my procrastinatory predilections I doubt that will ever come to pass.
Anyway that's my introduction.
