I like the dog circus act because it comes with so many dogs--the white German shepherds and the Newfoundland may even have been introduced with this set. The woman figure looks good, and her costume doesn't look as garish as the other circus costumes, so she could fit in with other themes.
The US $12.99 price tag (Toys R Us and Playmobil website; $16.99 at the independent toy stores around here) is reasonably priced (my calculation: 1 figure x $3 + 3 big dogs x $2 = $9).
You can't tell it from the box, but all the dog costumes (coats and neckerchiefs) can be removed, leaving you with regular, white dogs.
A bigger plus with the set is its play possibilities. Apart from three pictures on the box, the set leaves the tricks up to you. There are a lot of accessories and I bet a child with a better imagination than me could dream up more possibilities than what I crafted for the photostory below. The little dog chariot is fun to drag around.
2 complaints:
1) The newfoundland dog opens his mouth, but just wide enough to pack the soft-rubber handle of the dog chariot into. His mouth doesn't open far enough to grip the baby stroller (pram) or an item that a figure could grip (I tried to get his jaw around the baby stroller handle and quit after I worried I'd snap the jaw off).
2) My set was somewhat dirty. The white dogs make it more obvious, but the woman's face also had some grime. I guess PM shouldn't be responsible for washing stuff, but it seems I'm finding factory-fresh items with more grime than before (and don't ask about the stuff that comes from DS--boil it or soak it in acid or take a chisel and flamethrower).
I like the set a lot, it comes with a lot for the price (being one of the lowest priced sets of the circus theme), and the dogs are really good additions to my animal collection.
