Hello from Birmingham, United Kingdom

[NeilMartin]

Hello Everyone

I hope that all of you are safe and well.

I’d like to introduce myself, I’m rather late to the Playmobil party but trying to make up for all the lost time.

In mid-December 2019 (in my 55th year) I stumbled across (on eBay) Playmobil Spanish/Conquistador Klicky soldiers sporting Morion helmets and their perennial enemies, French Musketeers. I'm a life-long fan of the French TV series, 'The Flashing Blade', which was a mainstay of British school holiday TV in the 1970's). I have always admired the iconic shape of the Morion helmet and this in turn led to an interest in UK and European history in the first half of the 17th Century. I started collecting Klickys with the idea of creating a small Tercio military formation. I’m also now collecting Playmobil Castle sets and Desert Bedouin sets as well. And sometimes I buy other beautifully designed/interesting Playmobil sets that don’t fit into those three themes.

I live in the United Kingdom (and I’m deeply sorry that we’re no longer part of the EU) in Birmingham, West Midlands. My wife and I live in a small apartment so I have very little storage space and no display space at all. What do other people do when they have no display space?

Finally, I wanted to thank you all for the many interesting and inspirational forum posts that I’ve read – it’s nice to be a part of the Playmobil community.

Kind regards,
Neil

[playmovictorian]

Good morning Neil 

A very warm welcome to you from Marlow on Thames !

I love the Midlands 

Thank you for sharing your story and welcome to Playmofriends 

Karim

[Eplay]

Welcome from the Netherlands!!
With small children I don’t display large sets or diorama’s. But I have a glass dome on a low cabinet in the living room in which I display small (seasonal) sets

[playmofire]

A warm welcome from the North Yorkshire coast, Neil.   

Even though you are short of space and so have difficulty displaying and photographing what you have,
if you can maybe provide links to show us part of your collection it would be interesting to see.

Here's the "electronic bible" for Playmobil:

https://playmodb.org/

[GrahamB]

Hi Neil and welcome from Stroud in Gloucestershire.

Storage and display space are perennial problems for us collectors. Unless you are very restrained, it's easy to accumulate a great deal of Playmobil, once you get hooked. As my children grow up and flee the nest, I commandeer their bedrooms and fill them up with my toys (this is actually an exaggeration!). I worry that I focus too much on the collecting and not enough on enjoying what I have, so I am trying to set up small displays which I change regularly. I use a windowsill and a shelf above some stairs. When I get round to it, I may post some pictures. Eplay's glass dome dioramas are an excellent example of displays which take up very little space.

Good to see you here!

[Ismene]

Welcome Neil!

Many of us struggle with a space issue. I *just* cleared off enough space to set up my old Victorian house, and that took years. I'm not sure how long it will last with life and all. If you can clear off or put up a small shelf, you can have rotating displays of klickies (probably not the buildings). I have, in the past, done horrible things like putting Playmobil on top of books on the bookshelf (not recommended because they can easily fall behind the bookcase ) or having klickies on my already crowded desk. I'm trying to be judicious in my purchases, so that I don't have more than I can appreciate, but it is hard when lovely sets come out. Some sets and themes I have to enjoy vicariously through Playmofriends.

I hope you can find a creative way to enjoy your collection, despite the space limitations of your apartment.

[Pynedor]

Welcome!

It can certainly be difficult to have enough storage and display space. And often when space becomes available, it is quickly filled. The others have shared some great ideas for managing a collection when space is limited, but perhaps you could look for a larger home (if possible)!

[NeilMartin]

Thank you very much Karim, Eplay, playmofire, GrahamB and Ismere both for the warm welcome and great ideas/thoughts. I'm not actually in the UK at the moment but when I do get home I will get myself a 20cm x 30cm dome, I already have a couple of dioramas in mind.

I've attached a couple of photos, the first shows part of my Tercio from when I did have a display cabinet, the second photo is my first attempt at a small castle (still a work in progress). I hope that you like these, all feedback and building advice/tips are welcome.

Best wishes,
Neil

[tahra]

Welcome from Portugal!

I suppose a klicky theme only leads to others... making space a a constant problem...

Your army looks great   - looking forward to more!

[Tiermann]

Welcome from Oregon USA!

Display spots are always tricky. I've been making do with the top of the piano and a sideboard in the dining room the last couple of years. I had a zPlaymo room in my old house and while I have storage space now I am still trying to figure out where to put my diorama table in the different spaces where I am now.