There have been changes in Playmobil quality, but I wouldn't say that in general the quality has gone down. The most obvious change (I would say the only change that I've noticed) in it's construction has been in the last 8 years or so as a result of health and safety legislation banning an additive to plastic to make it pliable. This change has, strangely enough, shown itself in a more pliable plastic and is especially noticeable in larger items such as vehicle bodies. For example, the 3880 fire engine and the equipment vehicle in the 4082 THW set (see here
http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=2610.0share the same body but were made some 10 years apart. To disassemble the 3880 needs screwdrivers to release the body from the chassis but the THW version, while still having the body and chassis securely fixed together, can be separated) simply by manual pressure (although a fair amount of this). Overall, though, the quality of the product ha stayed the same.
In other areas such as printing of detail, the quality of Playmobil has increased over the years as more and more sophisticated techniques of printing have been adopted by Playmobil allowing greater and finer detail. The uniforms of the THW personnel are a good example. Playmobil quality has also improved in their ability to produce not just three but four and even five colour castings in a single operation. They are the only company with this technology.
There have been some cases of poor quality, usually associated with Playmobil's brief flirtation with production in China. I know, too, there have been cases of poor printing on some Roman figures and problems with cloaks staying on some figures (e.g. the nun), but I think these have probably been due to problems in developing new techniques and have not led to an overall fall in quality.
As regards a "golden age of Playmobil", this will vary from collector to collector not so much on a basis of quality as on items offered and "nature" or "personality". I know Bogro and many others would say a golden age was the early years of Playmobil with its extensive mediaeval range of buildings and figures. Others would also think of the early years as a golden age because Playmobil brought with it a new innocence, charm and imagination to plastic figures. I would pick the years 1997 to about 2006 in the fire engine range, the 3880 having all the character of a fire engine and just enough detail to leave room for the imagination (and if you wished a bit of custom work) to add the rest. The new fire engines are much more detailed but, for me, lack the character the 3880 has. I think others may agree with me that the increasing detailing of Playmobil is a major change over the years, and maybe one which, though it has given greater and more accurate detail, has possibly taken something away in terms of charm and character.
Just a few thoughts.
