the novelties german catalouge 2008/2009 !

[Timotheos]

Besides all this, if you pay attention at Youtube, you'll see that there are MANY playmobil adaptations of PotC made by children playing. I'ts because, like it the critics or not, PotC is good stuff, at least to children (and some big guys ...)


Playmobil only lacks a(/some) good science fiction & super heroes line(s), to allow children to follow cinema closer, according to recent production. (At least on super heroes ...) But I think that, in this, Lego will give the bit that Playmobil doens't wish get to work about.

Hi Gus

You've been using "polemic" a lot lately--"an aggressive refute of current opinion.  The art or practice of disputation or controversy."

Is this what you mean?

As for POTC, Playmobil's pirate theme has been big since I was a kid in the 1980s. 
The company claims to have a policy against chasing trends, which may be why we don't have superhero themes.  As fun as movie adaptions might be, looking to Lego, it seems the toy has become a movie accessory.

But, I'm certain PM will sooner or later go that route.

-Tim

[Martin Milner]

I've got them all added to PlaymoDB, here:

New Sets from German 2008-09 Catalogue

I hope I've spelled everything correctly.  I'm now on the hunt for better photos, although these will do until the official ones come out.  Enjoy!

Heather, you are so quick! Excellent work, your cropping of the photos works really well, especially considering the quality of the original pictures.

Small point, but 4803 looks to have two figures, and 4806 three.


 

many of the ideas for these sets are identical with the playmobil ones.
i like to believe that playmobil came up wih the islands and boat sets first but there are also a lot of details that seem to appear first on mega-blocks:
- the obsessive presence of skulls; 
- ghost-pirates, skeletons and ghost-ships; 
- extra-large arthropods (sorpion v. crab), sea-serpents and multi-headed sea-monsters. 

these things are all the things i don´t like in the new way playmobil is taking the pirate family. 

not only they seem "ugly" to me (like mega-blocks sets do) but now, they also seem un-original.
i have to say i am sad about this.[/font] 

Ugly, unoriginal, and unrealistic. Playmobil are now firmly market followers, not market leaders, and their design and concept people should be ashamed. I completely agree with you Cachalote. Why this obsession with giant skulls?

"Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise was polemical ...

One thing that it (the series) changed in the concept of piracy is that BEFORE PotC[,] pirates were "the bad guys", no matter what, even in the spirit of "Treasure Island". PotC brought a concept that pirates can be "good guys", and created enemies for pirates: ghosts.

So, Playmobil isn't producing PotC, but reproducing a new concept that has spread, since PotC, that has to do with modern life's morals, and changes ...

Gus



[Ps. * Not to talk about wargs ... Maybe if the wolves were GIANT, it'd be fun even for us ... But, c'mon!: a catapult pulled by oxes in "Peter Jackson's LotR era"??!! You've got to be kidding! Children don't ~buy~ anything pulled by oxes! ...]

[Parents would buy more happily, though, if they were pulled by either wargs or minotaurs ... But, well, parents will buy whatever their children ~buy~.]

Never read Captain Blood (1922) by Rafael Sabatini, or seen the Douglas Fairbanks pirate movie The Black Pirate from 1926, or seen Roman Polanski's "Pirates" movie, or CutThroat Island (with Geena Davis) Gus? Pirates were presented as heroes decades before POTC.

Undead pirates? Anything Ghost-Piratey following it has to give POTC at least a nod of appreciation, though the first Playmobil Ghost pirate (4572 Special in 1999) pre-dates the POTC Franchise, so maybe POTC should give a nod to Playmobil...

The company claims to have a policy against chasing trends, which may be why we don't have superhero themes.  As fun as movie adaptions might be, looking to Lego, it seems the toy has become a movie accessory.

But, I'm certain PM will sooner or later go that route.

-Tim

I can't see how Playmobil could do superheroes without licensing.  You can't make a Batman without him lookign like Batman, and creating new "PLaymobil" superheroes is blah.

I'm not sure about the mini-take-along tower sets.  I have to see them in person, as they could be very interesting and useful or just be really cheap looking.

For me and for many on this board, I'll wager, the great news is in the three new historical specials.  These will be of inestimable value to Roman, Medieval, Napoleonic, and Imperial fans.

I agree about the new Tower sets - they could be very nice and useful, but I just have that nagging doubt that they'll have a Fisher Pricey feel.


I really don't have a problem with the concept of wolves pulling a catapault, dog pull dog sleds after all, and if you don't have an oxen or horse available, you use the next best thing. These wolf-knights may come from an area of wide open plains where there are lots of wolves, but no horse or oxen. The catapault itself is just gosh-awful.

The individual wolf-knights are just that - individual. They've clearly designed each one to be different on the surface (different helmet, weapon, shield etc.), but with a group identity. Each has a wolf companion, so there are too many parts for them to be in the Specials series. I think I'm going to like them, as they fit into the regular Knights theme, but also form their own sub-theme. They might even get their own Really Useful Box   

[sbblabotw]

Heather, you are so quick! Excellent work, your cropping of the photos works really well, especially considering the quality of the original pictures.

Small point, but 4803 looks to have two figures, and 4806 three.

Thanks!  Right on, I'll fix it.

I'm undecided about how much I'll want most of these sets, although my girls squealed at the idea of merpeople.  One said, before seeing them, "Is there a shell chariot, pulled by seahorses?"  Batting a thousand.  Gotta get that one at least.

I'm excited by the first hints of the themes floated by the Cossack and Masai warriors.

I'm seriously thinking of splitting the Knights theme into pre- and post-2004, when System X and the Lion and Dragon knights started.  They're getting more and more different from the basic knights-in-shining-armour idea.  Not necessarily bad, just not the same theme, and the Wolf knights are continuing along the same trend.  I bet little boys will eat them up.

[Timotheos]

Hi Heather, you can find good photos off the KlickyWelt website.  Sign in and click once to enlarge, and once again to magnify.  The photos are catalog quality. 

Category = Playmobil Neuheiten
Thread = bilder aus dem neuen katalog
http://www.klickywelt.de/bilder-aus-dem-neuen-katalog-t29749.html

-Tim

Thanks!  Right on, I'll fix it.

I'm undecided about how much I'll want most of these sets, although my girls squealed at the idea of merpeople.  One said, before seeing them, "Is there a shell chariot, pulled by seahorses?"  Batting a thousand.  Gotta get that one at least.

I'm excited by the first hints of the themes floated by the Cossack and Masai warriors.

I'm seriously thinking of splitting the Knights theme into pre- and post-2004, when System X and the Lion and Dragon knights started.  They're getting more and more different from the basic knights-in-shining-armour idea.  Not necessarily bad, just not the same theme, and the Wolf knights are continuing along the same trend.  I bet little boys will eat them up.

[Timotheos]

I can't see how Playmobil could do superheroes without licensing.  You can't make a Batman without him lookign like Batman, and creating new "PLaymobil" superheroes is blah.

Hi Martin
PM could do (though I wouldn't want to see) generic superheroes.  Most spinoff heroes like the Tick or Underdog started out as non-trademark infringing imitations of superheroes.

PM could have a guy with a cape, eye mask, and tacky boots and call that Ubermensch.*

*I'm being fascetious here.  Ubermensch, though the Nietszhen term that inspired Superman, was also a favorite term of a certain goose-stepping clique in the late 1930s / early 1940s).

I really don't have a problem with the concept of wolves pulling a catapault, dog pull dog sleds after all, and if you don't have an oxen or horse available, you use the next best thing. These wolf-knights may come from an area of wide open plains where there are lots of wolves, but no horse or oxen. The catapault itself is just gosh-awful.

I think you would kill the dogs or need at least 20 of them for a half-ton catapult.  I did a little research today.  Sled dogs, pulling maybe 400 pounds, run in 10 dog teams (granted, that is for speed).  One large dog can pull a cart intended to carry a child and two large dogs can pull a light cart intended for one adult.

Irrespective of the fact that in actual practice catapult-like artillery was disassembled and transported in wagons, the fact that dogs are so inexpensive to care for (compared to horses) leaves me wondering why they were not used as draft animals for heavy loads historically.

Either because you would need so many, or because dogs lack the endurance to haul grinding loads leaves me thinking the dog-drawn catapult is a crock of cow patties.

-Tim

[sbblabotw]

Hi Heather, you can find good photos off the KlickyWelt website.  Sign in and click once to enlarge, and once again to magnify.  The photos are catalog quality. 

Category = Playmobil Neuheiten
Thread = bilder aus dem neuen katalog
http://www.klickywelt.de/bilder-aus-dem-neuen-katalog-t29749.html

-Tim

Thanks Tim, but those are the ones I used: clicking on the 100-pixel-high thumbnail image on my pages brings you the full-size picture, which is not much bigger than the thumbnail in these cases.  Those catalog page images are about 600x900 pixels; I'd need them maybe four or five times that size to get crops with reasonably visible details.

Not to worry, this is the way it goes: almost all my new additions start out with tiny blurry pictures, and get updated as the official pictures are posted.  It's only the sets that don't show up on the official websites (Target or Karstadt exclusives, for example) that tend to keep their not-so-good pics.  I'd rather have the sets there with place-holder pictures than wait for ideal ones.

[playmofire]

Irrespective of the fact that in actual practice catapult-like artillery was disassembled and transported in wagons, the fact that dogs are so inexpensive to care for (compared to horses) leaves me wondering why they were not used as draft animals for heavy loads historically.


-Tim

In Europe, notably Belgium, up to the end of the First World War and probably for some years after until the motor car finally took over, large dogs were used as draught animals on a small scale, usually used by milk sellers.  Dog carts could be drawn by one, two or even five dogs.  There are some photos here:

http://www.messybeast.com/history/dogcarts.htm

The Belgian army used Belgian mastiffs as draught animals in place of horses, as did poor farmers.  The army used them for pulling machine guns and ammunition carts.

[socrates]

In Europe, notably Belgium, up to the end of the First World War and probably for some years after until the motor car finally took over, large dogs were used as draught animals on a small scale, usually used by milk sellers.  Dog carts could be drawn by one, two or even five dogs.  There are some photos here:

http://www.messybeast.com/history/dogcarts.htm

The Belgian army used Belgian mastiffs as draught animals in place of horses, as did poor farmers.  The army used them for pulling machine guns and ammunition carts.

playmo did one before... 
http://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=5550

best,
socrates

[socrates]

I am especially excited about the knights with the antic style armor...

Hmm, I am not too excited about the ghost pirates even though I love PoC. Well, maybe I am too much focussed on parts to be used for other purposes as well... So, this might be what I dislike about the merman as well... 

The civil specials are boring... 
I was looking forward to a new fire engine, but we still have the second half of 2009 to come...
(...just thinking on how exciting this september will become...  )
I love the mongolian knight. They obviously recycled the body of the "magdeburger ritter"...  a brilliant choice...

The little castles are a little small and I expect them to be not compatible with sysX or anything else...
...but the klickies look nice and some parts are looking useful anyway... 

best,
socrates

[Martin Milner]

I'm seriously thinking of splitting the Knights theme into pre- and post-2004, when System X and the Lion and Dragon knights started.  They're getting more and more different from the basic knights-in-shining-armour idea.  Not necessarily bad, just not the same theme, and the Wolf knights are continuing along the same trend.  I bet little boys will eat them up.

I tend to agree - I prefer the pre-2004 knights for a more realistic look, the 2004-onwards knights are more Fantasy-inspired.