What got you hooked on Playmobil?

[Martin Milner]

I've been thinking about this, and really it was finding other adult collectors on the internet that got me hooked.

I had Playmobil as a child. I enjoyed it, I put it away, then my mother gave it away. I went off to university, came back, got a job, got a house. Now I had somewhere I could fill with my own hobbies.

I bought some US Union soldiers with a cannon when I saw them.

I bought the first specials to come out (Sherlock, the Vampire, the Blues Saxophonist).

I continued to add occasional specials or small sets to my collection, though there was no organisation or plan.

I bought a Viking ship when it first arrived on UK shores, set it up, admired it's wonderful detail for a few weeks,and let dust settle on it for months.

I bought the Roman ship and a bunch of Roman sets when I saw them last Summer.

At this point I might well have set up the Roman ship like the Viking ship, let the dust settle, and gone back to other hobbies (my music, Morris Dancing, computer games, etc) until another Playmobil theme caught my imagination (the Egyptians would have been this theme if I hadn't got more involved before).

Instead I started to research Romans on the internet, to try to organise my army along some proper lines, and found Playmoboard and a couple of days later, this board and Garden Wargames.

So it was being able to share my hobby with like-minded, intelligent and sensible people who don't think I'm strange for spending money on childrens' toys that got me hooked. All interests are more fun if shared, and the people here made Playmobil more fun for me.

Having seen Sylvia's wonderful pictures of past dioramas, not to mention all the other wonderful creations people have displayed, and enjoyed exploring Heather's database to find odd parts for second hand sets, or to find what other sets are around that might round off a theme,

I'm only sorry the Romans didn't arrive sooner.

[Richard]

Great topic, Anne ... (Thanks for starting it!)

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?

It all happened about thirty years ago. My wife and I had taken our two little girls to the toy store. They spotted the Playmobil Doctors and Nurses sets (by Schaper). And, I saw set 3244. (It was love at first sight!) ...
see attachment

Needless to say, our little girls got their first Playmobil sets and I got mine ...

Our "little" girls are now young college educated women and they are both active contributing members of their business communities. Although neither of them have continued to collect Playmobil, I have more than made up for their lack of interest ...

Thanks again, Anne, and all the best,
Richard

[Martin Milner]

It was the slightly later version of this set, 3279, that I bought many years ago Richard!

This pre-dates the Specials, so this is the oldest set that I bought new still in my continuous ownership. It didn't kickstart my collection quite as effectively as yours, but it did maintain my link with Playmobil through my wilderness years.

[surfergirl]

brilliant question which really got me thinking.....

i first had playmobil as a child in the late '70s and early '80s. my sister and i got many hours of enjoyment out of it. then in 1990, just at the point when i was really too old for playmobil...my parents bought us the 1900s mansion. and then the following year my eldest cousin was born. these two things together were what kept up my interest in playmobil and whilst, at that age, my priorities were elsewhere like fashion and my first real car etc, i always kept up with what sets were being released and i did occasionally buy a set or two!

now that i have been educated and done the job and house thing i have more time and money to spend on playmobil. four years ago i got a good job with decent money and my collection, which up until that time, could have been described as adequate (!) really took off.... and now i have a whole room full of playmobil!! it usually gets one of two reactions from my friends. some have asked what on earth i am doing with so much playmo but others just walk in the room and are in awe, clearly remembering their own childhood, and wishing they could stay in the room and play for a while. i think it is this reaction that got me, and has kept me hooked on playmo.....not just how it makes me feel but also how it makes others feel too

claire

[Tim_w]

It was my parents who first introduced me to Playmobil in the early 1980's. My first set was the yellow version of the 3780 Bin Lorry (Garbage Truck). Unfortunately i managed to break it or at least the plastic wheels on the bin lift. I don't remember too clearly to be honest but i know my grandad fixed it for me with a brass radiator key. It did the trick and worked great until the following birthday or Christmas when i got a new one. I allways pestered Mom and Dad for the orange skip lorry set or the 3475 Dump Truck and one day i got a big suprise. They had taken the old bin lorry and gave it to my Grandad to make one for me. He was allways making things and in no time i had an amazing tipper truck with a tipper back made from wood, he had even gone to the trouble of painting it green. I had a lot of fun with that truck and i was allways playing with it. I probably have some pictures of it somewhere, i will see if i can find them.
After that i was hooked and my collection started to grow steadily over time. Most of my role play used to revolve around the Modern Theme and i allways had something crashing or catching fire (using imaginary fire ). I guess being interested in the work of the emergency services tends to do this to you and nothing has changed now i am and 'adult' collector. I also had a few bits and pieces from the construction theme and usually when things weren't crashing or catching fire small Playmobil scale holes were being dug along the edge of the footpath outside my house . I think our neighbours loved me for that, but i allways attempted to fill them in and made sure the steam roller had passed over the surface for good measure I think it used to wash out in the first shower of rain .
So that's how it all started for me, those are my early memories. I started collecting again in 2002 when i finally gave in to the urge and brought some from a car boot sale. I haven't looked back since and even though i take time out now and again i still love it to bits. Its probably the only hobby i have ever felt passionate about because it holds so many fond memories for me.

Tim 

[playmofire]

Nice to read your early memories, Tim.  The yellow bin lorry is one I have added to my collection (and a tipper version courtesy of Sir Gareth) and I can see why it was a favourite.  Your grandad was a great asset and I hope you can find some photos of his workmanship. (You've inherited some of his abilities and skills judging by your customs. )

[Little Jo]

My weakness for Playmobil started in the 70ies as a child (on the left hand pic you can see me on my 7th birthday ... the right one is me playing together with my brother).

I had several sets mixed from all themes and has been very fascinated from this versatile toy right from the beginning. So after leaving my childhood, I also left Playmobil -- only interrupted by short moments in toy shops when my eye catches some novelties presented in beautiful dioramas, which bring back all these sweet memories from childhood (and also makes me wonder how evolution of Playmobil is taking place moving from these uni-color klickies to very distinguished and specific figures).

My "revival" of Playmobil was in late summer 2004 when I was looking for an illustration of our virtual wedding table (cf. below). Looking for a Playmobil bride and a groom let me make a research on the Web ... and really catch me by surprise how many adult collectors/customizers are out there still dealing with Playmobil and making beautiful things with these little figures. And especially one little story I found during this Web surfing session finally forced my decision to re-activate this hobby: I'll be home for Christmas by Sylvia. I overcome myself and just wrote her an e-mail asking several questions about the story, customizing, and the Playmobil community in general. And I got very friendly response, so voila, here I am 

I also tried to evaluate, why I'm so fascinated about this toy and why I'm still dealing with it, although I've obviously outgrown the toy manufacturer's target group. A rational explanation can not be given for sure, as is the same with every other collecting activity too. So, I come to the insight that the reason for this seems to be determined by several factors.
 
One reason may be my weakness for icons and pictographs of any kind, as well as the usage of complementary respectively explanatory graphics for illustrative purposes: the abstract but still neutral, quasi pictographic-like design of the Playmobil figures (but still satisfyingly detailed, especially the accessories) makes the system where »everything suits each other« become the perfect photo subject (e.g. my first »modern« project was an illustration for our virtual wedding table; the second was a Nativity Manger which I used for a Christmas card).
 
This leads me to the next reason: the photography, another hobby of mine. In my childhood I already loved to build up little dioramas (with Playmobil) and to enrich them with further details. Unfortunately, these sceneries were only short-lived, because I had to tidy up my children's room from time to time. With the photographic possibilities I have nowadays, preserving the results is much simpler and lasts for longer.
 
The already mentioned enrichment of details brings me to the next reason: my passion for handicrafts. These kind of craft activities in general, and in the particular the case of customizing the figures gives my a certain kind of balance to my office job.
 
To conclude, I must mention my lovingness to details of any kind. It is satisfied over and over again, especially with the recent Playmobil sets. And in the end, this, together with the reasons mentioned before, are the deciding factors for my collecting activities of these little plastic figures.

[socrates]

Well.... 
I had to think very hardly to travel back into my playmobil history. 

I had a lot of sets when I was a kid. Looking at the collector, I definitely started with the 1978 sets, namely I owned the sets 3402 and 3406 (2nd collector, page 53), but then for christmas, I got the 3550 pirate ship and since then very intensively played with playmobil. After that, my passion slept for 15 years until my son was born.

Starting to spend time in toy stores again, I was amazed by all these new sets that playmobil produced since I left the business... I especially liked the vikings. 
Well... at my boys first christmas, I got the 3940 as a present for ME. 

I got hooked on buying sets at eBay by looking for the 3536 space shuttle. I had so many vivid memories on mine, just as well as a collegue of mine, and I was surfing the web to get some detailled pictures...
...the only ones I found was an auction at eBay that was just about to end:
a big box full of Playmo Space parts, including 3534, 3535 and 3536.
Well, I got it for 20 bucks... 
...and it was not the last box to get all the stuff I never had as a kid, but always wanted to have... (before all, the steck castles...)

I got stucked with other collectors when looking for instruction plans to restore my old 3550.

So, getting hooked for me was a multi-level process, which after all, can always be traced back to playmobil's pirate ships.... 

best,
socrates

P.S.: Jochen, thank you for sharing these pictures! I love them.
I have to call my parents and make them hunt for such pictures of me.
There is a stop-motion-movie my dad did back in the late 70ties featuring my 3550.
 

[cachalote]

  a great idea indianna.
  when i was a child there were no playmobil sets available in portugal - i was mainly a lego child.
i remember seeing them (i was 7 or 8 years old then) when  i went on summer holidays to spain with my family and i had a spanish friend who had some sets (famobil ones, no doubt).
  for many years i forgot that playmobil existed and then, i think it was in july 2002, i saw a very old 3750 set on a shelf, and bought it to offer my nephew (who is also my stepson).
I helped him assembling the ship - he was only 4 years old then - and i got hooked.
  i ended up buying a 3939 set for myself and started to collect pirates at the age of 34.
i started to use ebay more os less at the same time and my collection grew with all the older sets.
  from then on it is just a question of buying the new pirate sets that are released.
now that i will be 40, i feel that nothing changed in my obsession and i cannot see that another 10 or 20 years will change that.