What got you hooked on Playmobil?

[Indianna]

The discussion of WHAT'S WRONG WITH PLAYMOBIL over in "Report & Review" caused me to remember the particular thing that first made me fall in love with Playmobil:  a feather.  My daughter received 3732 Buffalo Dancers as a present on her 5th or 6th birthday and that was it for me. 

So I thought it would be interesting to know what one set or figure or detail made other people crazy about Playmobil.  What did it for you?

[macgayver]

Hi Anne

I got a lot as a kid but lost it all in a fire

Then  restarted when my eldest son became one year
and gave him a buldozer

and for me it were the trains
Still are

and then came E-bay :blush:

[Sylvia]

My change-over from admirer to collector most definitely began around Christmas 2000. This was when I purchased my eldest daughter the Victorian dollshouse and some of the room sets to furnish it.

I clearly remember being both surprised and delighted by the beautiful detailing on the furniture pieces. It's difficult for me to pinpoint the exact set or one particular item, but it was quite possibly something as simple as a drawer in the bedroom dressing table which completely won me over.

[Indianna]

. . . . It's difficult for me to pinpoint the exact set or one particular item, but it was quite possibly something as simple as a drawer in the bedroom dressing table which completely won me over.

Yes!  It's the moment when you look at some little thing like that drawer and think, "Oh My God, that is so cool!"    

[LHAAP]

Back in 1993 I bought the blue family car because I thought it looked nice and I have always been a big car fan Then, after having studied it for some time, I realized how detailed it was and especially the bikes and the printing on the clothing impressed me   After 1993 I have just increased my collection with several sets each year.

Here a picture of my original "first car":

[CountBogro]

For me there were two moments one as a kid - when I played with it and one as a adult when I became a collector. I've allways been a fan. Even in the intervening years, when I neither collected nor bought any of it, I kept following the new sets. Just walking in a toyshop and see what Playmobil was up to. I distinctly remember picking up the first Specials and thinking "I could collect that; that would be nice". And I also remember putting it back again - silly me.

Anyway, I became a collector when I saw a set of the Oxcart knight. I picked it up and remember thinking - I want that. In the end what won me completely back was the oxcart itself. The possibility of using it both as a farming tool (without the cover) or traveling vehicle (with the cover) and the way everything just fitted inside. ... And then came the rest 

[Indianna]

. . . Anyway, I became a collector when I saw a set of the Oxcart knight. . .

I always loved this set - I remember how the shield made us think of the book "The Story of Ferdinand" which is about a bull who prefers smelling flowers to fighting.    

[macgayver]

Reading the post with the dioramalink made me think

so I feel I need to add a bit more to my answer here

because the HOOKED had an evolution

it started with trains later e-bay to forfill my kids dreams
building the cities and the dioramas we could find in the older catalogues

I've allways been a creative mind and that time I had three kids
so for me it was a great way to spend time with my kids and be creative at the same time ,most of my earlier customs were made for the kids

It was also a good way to escape from the real world
one of the reasons why I allways say

Playmobil is good theraphy , I never saw myself as a collector
I was / am allways doing something with or to the plastic 

I notice that lot of people who have loads of playmo try to fill an empty space
so did I

then came the forums , again another step in the evolution of the HOOKED on
I met new people , sweet people ,even made friends for life
some of them living all over the world ,lot of them I met in person


I still like to meet a few of you across the ocean 

and then there were the meetings and the setting up from dioramas
mostly in Germany , the birthcage of Playmo ,but also in england and Holland
again another step in the evolution in HOOKED on
I'm even learning German 

I realise Living in Europe , close to Germany gives me the opportunity to do all this ,and makes it possible to get my hands on playmo a different way
most people do and meet more people


so Hooked on is not defined by one thing by me

It's more then just the toy
It's also the people behind


I thank all those who supported me in my Dark times

Think am mostly Hooked there

[Janice]

In 1990 I took my 4yr old granddaughter (my first grandchild) to the new Playmobil store at the Florida Mall in Orlando.  It was my first introduction to Playmobil.  We bought the Organ Grinder # 5550, the red vacation car #3139 and the victorian family #5507. It was definitely the Organ grinder.....we were both so intrigued by the music box and the dog and the parrot with the children.  I loved it but I thought it was very expensive and we didn't buy any more until about 2001 when we found out we were going to have more grandchildren.  That's when I sold the farm and bought the playmobil..

[playmofire]

The 3883 fire-fighter really started me off. It was the amount of detail which was just enough but left room for you to imagine a little bit more.