this is the new york times article, just in case it looses its link...
"Playmobil Finds Fun in the Police State
By ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN
Published: February 15, 2009
Playmobil toys depict real-life settings, and not always cheery ones, like a police station, hospital and animal clinic. But one, the Security Check Point, took that philosophy too far for some parents.
The set — which includes armed airport security officers, a metal detector and an X-ray screening machine — has drawn nearly 50 biting customer reviews, and scores of comments to those reviews, on Amazon.com.
“I applaud Playmobil for attempting to provide us with the tools we need to teach our children to unquestioningly obey the commands of the State Security Apparatus,” wrote one Amazon reviewer pseudonymously. “But unfortunately, this product falls short of doing that. There’s no brown figure for little Josh to profile, taser, and detain?”
The popular blogs BoingBoing and Jezebel are among hundreds to recently feature the product, which was made from 2003 until 2007 and is still available from many retailers.
Michelle Winfrey, marketing manager for Playmobil U.S.A., said the company, which is based in Germany, has never drawn so much ridicule.
“For whatever reason — maybe it was just the timing — that truly is the one item that people harped on,” said Ms. Winfrey, adding that the company’s decision to stop producing it was not because of criticism but rather consistent with its habit of doing limited runs for toys.
“The whole premise behind Playmobil toys is to familiarize the child with the realities of life through play,” Ms. Winfrey said. “If you’re taking a child for a first flight to Florida from New Jersey to visit grandparents, you say, ‘This is what the terminal looks like, and when we get here we have to take our shoes off and walk though security.”
Greg Allen, who wrote about Playmobil’s checkpoint toy on his parenting blog, Daddy Types, said the company has a “strong empirical tone” rather than an ideological one.
“It’s however you want your kid to see the world,” said Mr. Allen, whose daughter’s favorite Playmobil toy, a portable toilet, also has been discontinued. “With a security checkpoint, it can be, ‘This is what we’ll see on the way to see Grandma,’ or, ‘This is the dysfunction of the security state.’ You can make of it what you want.”
On his Web humor site Banterist, Brian Sack, author of “In the Event of My Untimely Demise,” has over the last two years photographed a series of “Playmobil Re-Enactments” of news events. One of his first depictions — in late 2006 — was of a woman who inexplicably put her 1-month-old grandson through the X-ray machine at the Los Angeles airport, and for this purpose Mr. Sack purchased the Security Check Point.
“When you think about toys, the last thing you’d think someone would create is the most miserable traveling experience you could have,” said Mr. Sack, who shares his Playmobil collection with his sons, ages 2 and 4 (and who confirmed that the traveler’s shoes in the set are not removable). “It’s like having a tax collector toy — for my first audit.”
Craig Berman, a spokesman for Amazon, said that the company occasionally removes customer reviews for being profane, but not for being facetious. Those interested in the airport security play set might also enjoy another toy on Amazon, the Playmobil Police Checkpoint, a roadblock scene with armed officers, pylons and warning lights.
“As an adjunct to this product,” Christopher Barber wrote in Amazon’s customer review section, “I would also recommend that you purchase the Playmobil Armed Standoff Playset, Fisher-Price Little People Battering Ram, and the Nerf Tear-Gas Canister Deployment Gun.”
