What's wrong with Playmobil? 2

[Klickteryx]

A wall piece with corner has been in DS before, but that was before internet I think. It was such a hassle to order stuff that I never was able as a kid to convince my parents to do that.
It's a good set to bring back because it's really great to expand any steck building with a bit of a wall.
I'd bring a different version of the gatehouse back too, not with red and white doors like before, but with dark brown doors so it's faction neutral.

When I first came across DS online they had the round tower, the small tower with square roof, the 3666 gate and I think a section of wall with those platforms to stand on. If they did the glass windows then I'd like to see the original brown frames rather than the black ones. Grey ones to match the stone walls would also be good. I'd also like to see the Rathaus with original signs done.

Each faction for it could have:
-a set of 3 soldiers: one archer, a spearman and one with another melee weapon like a sword, axe, mace or flail.
-A knight on a barded or armoured horse, with sword and shield and a lance.
-A decor set that includes a few flags and banners to put on a castle, as well as a herald with a horn and a message scroll showing their symbol. Possibly other clickies too which could differ like nobility or other servants, can be a weapon rack or something else to put the flags and banners on too.

A set of three soldiers that come with three sets of everything so you can have three archers or three spearmen etc.
Decor set could have a window or bars with heraldry on them. I think it would be better to have civilian types in a generic set but the decor set could have specific hats, cloaks for each faction to swap out the generic ones with. The herald could go in the generic set too and use the old way of identifying heralds by having a front piece with heraldy on it that clicks on with a small cape at the back which may have heraldry on it too or god forbid, stickers.

[Rasputin]

New Bloomberg article

Looks like things aren’t projected to go well for Playmobil

”Germany doesn’t collapse overnight. That’s what makes this scenario so absolutely gut-wrenchingly terrifying,” Amy Webb, CEO of Future Today Institute, which advises German companies on strategy, told the outlet. According to Webb, a gradual, prolonged downturn will affect not only German companies or cities, “but of the entire country and Europe gets dragged down with it.”

At this point I don’t think if the Janitor was in charge it would change the tide

[Klickteryx]

Germany had a cheap source of energy, two of them actually. It got rid of the first, something which the energy minister of Sweden recently rebuked them for, and was forced to give up the second - made more permanent by someone severing the infrastructure that supplied it. That left it with having to rely on the more expensive Norwegian power.

Germany was already feeling the pinch with competing against the likes of China (who doesn't deliberately damage its economy by putting green initiatives before a sustainable business environment) so this is leading to the crippling of industry in Germany, too expensive to keep the factories running. In regards playmobil, that must be a shrinking market in the EU on top of the energy crisis, yet the company is doggedly determined not to expand fully outside its Ger/Au/Sw heimat.

When did series four of the Naruto theme come out? Hardly anyone is stocking this and I don't see any real effort to promote it despite the massive Naruto fanbase around the world, arguably a lot more important than the ones that watch the bug programme. Is anyone collecting those? Some of them look interesting but they seem meh overall given the price like the turtle guy and I think skunk girl would be better if smaller.

[Rasputin]

Industry is quite reliant on power, and inexpensive power certainly help a company stay competitive

I just ordered a lot of those Naruto (even though I have no idea what show it is) . They were on 30-50% off here in the states

[Oliver]

Delete

[Rasputin]

European Commission report  is out

Down to 4 of 50 of high tech companies are European

Large start-ups are fleeing mainly to the US where energy is 2-3 times cheaper

Also productivity is higher in the US

The writing is on the wall

I’ll possibly be going to China after their new year so I’ll be inquiring about high-tech injection capabilities

[Janilew]

When did series four of the Naruto theme come out? Hardly anyone is stocking this and I don't see any real effort to promote it despite the massive Naruto fanbase around the world, arguably a lot more important than the ones that watch the bug programme. Is anyone collecting those? Some of them look interesting but they seem meh overall given the price like the turtle guy and I think skunk girl would be better if smaller.

I think that’s one of Playmobil’s many current problems. They’re relying too much on the series format instead of the generic style they’ve had for years. It’s sad to see later generations stomp over the previous because of incompetence. Them removing the iconic moulded faces is the biggest indicator of this. The whole point of which was to stop the faces from disappearing after repetitive use—and guess what these newer, painted klickies will face in the long run? Talk about a spit in the face. I knew Germany was gonna shoot itself in the foot when they got rid of their nuclear energy which led to them going back to coal, ironically a more harmful energy source in the process. But I guess production of Playmobil and other products are really showing how that’s biting them in the rear end. Quality has gone down and price has gone up, sets vanish way too fast, and there’s too many gimmicks.

Unless they clean their acts up soon or what have you, which they most likely won’t, Playmobil’s days look numbered…

I’ll possibly be going to China after their new year so I’ll be inquiring about high-tech injection capabilities

Do tell us your findings when you do. I’m gonna go look for some home injection mould machines. 

Here’s a site to begin looking at if anyone else is interested: https://injectionmolder.net/