5300 Victorian mansion (version 3 - from 1995)

[Birdie]

Well it's not a new set by far, and I'm sure you've all seen one out of the box, but there's no review of a 5300 yet and since I've just opened one, I thought a review was a must.

Don't hate me for opening one of these MISB...   It will be put to good use in plenty of dioramas, and it will allow me to use my old, faded 5300 for customizing. I have spare parts for a new lay-out and I want new wallpaper and floors.

This is the best Playmobil set ever, without a doubt. It's been over 20 years since I opened my first 5300, when I got it as a combined birthday-Sinterklaas-Christmas present from my parents, grandparents and godmother. I remember it cost 7500 Belgian francs back then, so around €180, which was a crazy amount for a kid's present, especially 20 years ago. Normally I'd get something that was worth up to 1000 Belgian Francs, or €25. It was a bit of a miracle that my mother decided I could have one of these, but I'm sure it was because of the beautiful design.

So it was pretty exciting when, during the PCC collector's tour in Germany, in April, collector Marinebaer explained he had a MISB 5300 sitting at home that he wanted to sell. Tahra and Mitri and I drove over to his house - he has two rooms filled with MISB sets, it's Playmobil-heaven over there!!! You can imagine I was jumping up and down at this point
I paid €220 I think, and we could take it straight home in the car, so no shipping costs. The box was a bit damaged, but since I was about to open it, that didn't matter at all.

And then I managed not to touch it until now, because I wanted to take my time opening the box and taking pictures. (That is a bit of a first for me. I'm very impatient with new sets. I usually start opening them in the car on the way home from the shop )

Here it is!



Since it's the third version of this set, the box has a photo on the back of the exact content.

[Birdie]

These pictures are on the sides of the box:

[Birdie]

How do you review the best set ever made? Well...


The attention to detail is beyond compare. The design is so beautiful. They've made sure that everything from felt curtains and golden curtain rods to floor and wallpaper patterns are life-like. I love the conservatory walls and the terrace, what a brilliant idea.
There's two staircases and two panels to cover the holes. There are flowers for all the window sills. How is it possible that back then, they were able to make a set with such a level of quality, weight and detail, and make it so profitable it was released three times?
It's steck! I spent a few hours putting it together, and the flowers took a lot of that time. No messing around with connectors! No painful finger tops! 

 
The front door opens into the kitchen. Hm...
The roof parts come apart easily. It's a bit of a struggle to put the attick wallpaper in place while keeping the roof intact. 
The building itself is difficult to move around too. Always lift it while holding the base plates! I can't count the times I tried to pick it up by the sides, with the whole thing collapsing entirely 

I can't think of any other downsides. The price, well, it's worth it, isn't it? This isn't a toy to throw out after a few years' time. I've had mine for over 20 years and apart from a bit of fading, and some of those golden roof top thingies breaking off, it's still diorama worthy. And it's been used A LOT.

[Birdie]

Let's see what was inside:



There's a poster printed on both sides with two beautiful dioramas:







Inside the cardboard box there are two styrofoam 'containers' stacked on top of each other. The bags of tiny pieces are stored inside two pink cardboard boxes. The catalogue, plans and other sheets of paper are put in a pink folder.









I can't get over how crisp and shiny the colours are. 

[Birdie]

The red flooring for the terrace looks gorgeous!!

[Birdie]

The clicky family in their glorious costumes:









I've gotten so used to this guy, he looks really weird without the moustache:

[Birdie]

The dramatic feather on her hat, and the pink sjawl... Love it 





I've never liked clicky children with black hair and brown eyes, so to me this girl looks a bit weird. Her dress is lovely though:

[Birdie]

For the paintings, this time I had a steady hand and years of experience to put the stickers on. Much better result 






And here's the house:

[Birdie]

These are the double sided tape stickers for the paintings, the clock and the mirror. I don't think I'll use these again! Rooky misktake 




The leaflet looks great, especially the last pages, of all the different worlds to be explored:













Well, these clickies are very excited to be out of the box after all these years! Let the diorama-making commence 

[Indianna]

Excellent review, Birdie - congratulations on acquiring this beautiful set!