You haven't signed up, Mad Hatter, have you? You should. The bunch of you (Tahra, GrahamB, etc. included) should just post in English and invite German responses, and use these for passive learning of the language. Nobody expects more from you, JLMatterer just keeps posting away! It is a very nice bunch over there.
Best wishes
StJohn
I did not want to take this off topic on Tahra's posting of looking out for naked feet with long legs
but I wanted to take a moment to explain why I came to be here and what my intended purpose was then and is now. I know it is going to be a bit of a long read but here goes.
Growing up we always had Playmobil in the house. My father had the pirate ship Playmobil set 3050 and it always sat up in his room. We were not supposed to play with it unless he brought it down for us and we all sat around in the living room.
My older sister (+3 years) was given the Victorian theme and my younger sister (-1 year) the Knights. I was given the western theme, I do not remember the first set I got, but I do remember coming down for Christmas to find 4034 set up around the Christmas tree when I was 8. I loved that train set so much and would put it away in its box every time I was finished playing with it. Then my younger brother came along (he is 8 years younger then me) he had fisher price as a small child so he got into the habit of riding on top of things. When I was 12 years old and he was 4 he pulled out my train set and tried to ride on every single rail car. He broke them all save for the locomotive, tender and flat bed.
I kept all the pieces in a bin, the box became long gone being that I was not really into playing with Playmobil any longer. Fast forward to turning 30 last year and coming across this bin of broken train bits and then that of my western fort and calvary sets when I was looking for something else. It brought me back to my childhood and those found memories that I wanted to share with my kids when I have them. So like any novice I contacted Playmobil Canada in the hopes of getting replacement parts and was advised that they no longer carry them for the train set. At that point I took to ebay and there I met a wonderful seller from Germany who sold parts and I was able to get the majority of the bits I needed. He happened to use to belong to a forum called Playmofriends and suggested I go there if I was interested in seeing others collections and sharing mine.
I lurked around on this site for a few months before I decided to shell out the 10 dollars for a life time membership and it has been well worth it. At first I wanted to just get help finding the missing pieces to sets I already owned and that was going to be the extent of it as I was not planing on making dioramas or making stories. I just was not planing on playing. Then started talking you guys and gals only to find to my horror that the sets I loved so much as a child had been discontinued. So way to go on that, and as of this year Playmobil has killed the western theme, they have even pulled it as a tab from their site and all that is left is a few sets like the train station being put up as direct service item only.
So I made a decision as it became a race against time. I wanted to save one of each set of the western, Native American, Union Soldiers and Confederate Soldiers as an MISB as well as get an open copy. I wanted to save my childhood. My plan is to place them all on display so individuals can just come and see what these amazing toys use to be. Plus it well help me recuperate some of the 35,000 I have spent in the last year finding each and every one since I will be charging administration.
I have currently have known list of about 100 more sets to get. Some are just a different version of a set I already own but the box art work is a bit different. Though about once a month I come across a set that is MISB that I did not even know exist. It is not even in the playmobil collector book. I have 8 such sets that are not even in there. I know there will be a few sets I may never be able to acquire either due to cost or just no MISB sets remaining but that is just something I have accepted.
I have been enjoying hunting them all down and hearing the stories from the sellers I buy the toys from. I think it gives a few of them peace of mind that the items they are now letting go of that they held so dear to their hearts and cherished are going to someone who is not only going to take care of them, but someone who is going to allow others to see them. I'm not here to collect, only to hide them from the rest of the world like a private art collector, I want people to see the old box art work, I want people to see the old toys complete.
Tarha made a comment
I believe to actually be a part of a forum, it is necessary to actually read and participate, not just go through a few choice topics and look at the images, which is (mostly) what I do there.
I know myself that I have not been as active as I should be on this forum and I have a few reasons for such:
1. Work; I am a manager in a private firm that has taken on a lot of big clients over the past few years and has required us to not only grow, but for me to take on the added responsibility of teaching which I am not always the best at trying to convey what it is that I wish to say. I am not one for being very articulate.
2. My significant other; She is not to fond of this new hobby of mine, nor the amount of money that I have put into it within the last year (Yes it has only been a year since that spark). I understand where she is coming from and this is probably the biggest reason, not because I have to hide it, but more so because it is a toy after all and here it is just not as accepted for grown ups to play with little children's toys.
3. The other themes just do not intrest me as much because they where not my child hood memories, yes my older sister had the Victorian theme but playing house was boring to me for being a boy. Though I must say I have enjoyed seeing some of the dioramas. Knights where fun but Playmobil is still making them soI am not as fearful of those disappearing.
4. I am a bit embarrassed myself, being 31 and collecting toys but again its because here it is not common for playmobil. Star-Wars would be understandable, even Lego, but Playmobil, it is just not as common a toy.
5. I do not have a lot of open sets that I can set up and display for you all at the moment and I know that most of you are not interested in looking at boxes which to be fair is what I have since I am not opening them. I do not travel around with a klicky in my pocket to take pictures of when I do travel, but I do like reading all of your stories.
Thank you. Maybe I should invest more time there... since I am usually talking to myself here, anyways. 
I talk too much, I know. 
Tahra has a point, but maybe not the one she thought to make, there are about 25 really active members on this forum, I feel I came in on the tag end since it seems most members last log in was in 2015 and I know for me it can be discouraging when it seems no one takes interest in what you do or have to Say. It makes me question sometimes if what I am trying to achieve is meaningful to others, does it even matter. But that shouldn't matter, because at the end of the day it is what is important to you. I collect these items because it is important to me. Tahra posts her amazing acquisitions because it is important to her if only to have a time stamp of when things arrived.
I think of this place as a journal of the toy that you all find so dear and cherish, one that brings happy memories, one that connects you to your parents even if they are now gone, to your siblings, to your children, your friends.
I am so very happy that I found all of you and cannot express the gratitude for all the help you have provided me with, the time you have taken to assist me.
I am truly grateful to each and every one of you, even those who no longer visit the forum but have left a lasting mark on it.
Sincerely,
James C. Byrne
