a new large imperial warship is coming

[BlackPearl2006]

(at least this is not a topic where steck vs sytem-x can take over)  

 

Speaking of system x, steck, and legos, I wonder if making ships with expansion capability might be an idea?   Selling ship hulls that can be expanded by purchasing additional hull sections/levels and making add-ons for ships (masts, yards, sails, etc....) more available so customers can build up and customize their own version of a ship with as many hull sections and masts as they want, much like we do with castles and other edifice playsets.  And each section would be compartamentalized to retain its own stability and floatability.  That would be freakin awesome!

[Gustavo]

Not very easy to do, though ... Lego ships don't float. Nor does steck. It isn't impossible however.

[cachalote]

i am glad you used the term "dumbed-down" blackpearl.  
i guess us europeans tend to see america that way and sometimes are afraid (i know i am) to say it directly.  
although i agree that sometimes american products seem to be designed for "dumb" people or "dumb" kids let's nor forget what great things the u.s.a. gave to the world - the first accomplished liberal revolution, 2 world war wins and, last but not least, the incredible capacity to describe complex realities with very few words (and "dumbed-down" is a great example of what i am saying).

but, in this case the "dumbs" seem to be the geobra designers and marketeers (whatever their nationality might be).
thay arrived too late and in a very clumsy (and glue-ish) way to the "pirates of the caribbean" trend and they will be so very "dumb" if they miss the opportunity of 2 extra "master and commander" movies (all the actors have a contract for 2 extra sequels, h.m.s. surprise is finishing its last repairs and the only thing that seems to be missing is a  confirmation from russell crowe)    

[cachalote]

... oh, and by the way, what about a 2 klicky blister with a "jack aubrey" and a "stephen maturin". 
even if geobra would have to pay royalties to patrick o'brien heirs and win almost nothing with the blister, they would really "pull" people into their products - specially the new h.m.s. flagship. 
even "our" "soft" customizers (using only existing pieces) would find it so easy to produce both - royal navy officer with blond hair and no hat, white fighting trousers and hessian boots added / chimney sweeper as a base to a naval surgeon. 
come on, that is even easier than another idea that i've had sometime ago for a blister with moby dick's captain ahab and its harpooner queequeg. 

[BlackPearl2006]

i am glad you used the term "dumbed-down" blackpearl.  
i guess us europeans tend to see america that way and sometimes are afraid (i know i am) to say it directly.  
although i agree that sometimes american products seem to be designed for "dumb" people or "dumb" kids let's nor forget what great things the u.s.a. gave to the world - the first accomplished liberal revolution, 2 world war wins and, last but not least, the incredible capacity to describe complex realities with very few words (and "dumbed-down" is a great example of what i am saying).

but, in this case the "dumbs" seem to be the geobra designers and marketeers (whatever their nationality might be).
thay arrived too late and in a very clumsy (and glue-ish) way to the "pirates of the caribbean" trend and they will be so very "dumb" if they miss the opportunity of 2 extra "master and commander" movies (all the actors have a contract for 2 extra sequels, h.m.s. surprise is finishing its last repairs and the only thing that seems to be missing is a  confirmation from russell crowe)    

lol, I wasn't trying to be profound on the U.S.'s contributions to the world and history in general, lol, just about toys and how they are marketed to kids, begging the question "are they dumbed down because our kids are 'dumber?' Or do our kids get dumber because we patronize them and try to simplify things for them too much in the first place, rather than challenge them and catalyze their imagination.  In either case, I fear the trend only leads to a downward spiral.  

I have worked in our local education system for a number of years, and I have noticed a similar trend in our educational approach to our youth.  Rather than challenge them at the risk of failure (which is quantified as substandard marks in schools) which also makes the school look bad and affect the school's success statistics and subsequent funding, the schools, instead, will "dumb down" the education to make goals more easily attainable by a larger (and less adept) number of students, thereby increasing their effectivity numbers, as well as making the schools more eligible for continued funding.

In the end, it boils down to this:

I see a trend in America where it is assumed that catering to intelligent people would mean excluding a majority of a target audience which would result in lower profit, so they lower the bar, so to speak, thereby generalising the market to a greater mass, thereby increasing their profitability margins.

It's all about the money

Back on topic, this means a costly remould (or new mould) of a giant complex ship, according to apparent market trends, would most likely be deemed economically unfeasible for Playmobil (USA) at this time.

I have more confidence that such a ship would be more successful in Europe and abroad, and even if created, I have high doubts that the US retailers will buy into the product (as is, anyway, without dumbing it down for us).

I know Playmobil is a German toy, but, at the risk of having a big American head (as I am Yankie-born myself), I would venture to say that Playmobil does in fact consider its US marketing base highly in their economic and marketing decisions.  Not that the whole world revolves around us Yanks :p

[BlackPearl2006]

but, in this case the "dumbs" seem to be the geobra designers and marketeers (whatever their nationality might be).
thay arrived too late and in a very clumsy (and glue-ish) way to the "pirates of the caribbean" trend and they will be so very "dumb" if they miss the opportunity of 2 extra "master and commander" movies (all the actors have a contract for 2 extra sequels, h.m.s. surprise is finishing its last repairs and the only thing that seems to be missing is a  confirmation from russell crowe)[/font]    

Well, if Geobra is riding the Pirates of the Caribbean theme, there MIGHT be some hope of an imperial ship, as the H.M.S. Suprise, as you may or may not know, is being filmed as the H.M.S. Providence in the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie On Stranger Tides.  It will feature a battle between it and The Queen [Anne's] Revenge, Blackbeard's (aka Edward Teach)'s ship (which, in reality is actually the Black Pearl redressed as the Queen's Revenge.



Either way, there is definitely enough REASON for Playmobil to do an imperial ship, whether they are going through history base, or for Piratey American marketing base......you can't have pirates, even ghost ones, without non-pirates to attack!  Why is every playmoship a PIRATE ship?

[Justindo]

If Playmobil would add just eight or so inches in length, one mast, and four heavy guns (two per side) to their 3940 and changed the color scheme to black and yellow, they'd have a great ship that many collectors, and possibly some parents and children, would snap up.

I toured HMS Surprise, which is berthed in San Diego, last summer.  Even though it's not a ship of the line, it's still a large and impressive vessel.

Being in the field of education myself, unfortunately I tend to agree with BlackPearl2006's views on modern American children and modern American public education.  It didn't used to be this way, but a lot of things have changed.  Another thing to consider is that American attorneys are more numerous, hungry, and parasitic compared to their European counterparts, thus things must be "dumbed-down" by companies out of fear of litigation.

[BlackPearl2006]

If Playmobil would add just eight or so inches in length, one mast, and four heavy guns (two per side) to their 3940 and changed the color scheme to black and yellow, they'd have a great ship that collectors, and possibly some parents and children, would snap up.

I toured HMS Surprise, which is berthed in San Diego, last summer.  Even though it's not a ship of the line, it's still a large and impressive vessel.

Most Playmobil vehicles are modular, I've noticed, as in each component piece is all one colour.  The 3286, for example, though multi-coloured, is ALL RED on the top hull AND deck (which is one piece), and then the bottom half of the hull is grey.  To exact the "Nelson Checker" black and gold colour scheme of the imperial ships, Playmobil would have to actually paint different parts of the hull colours OTHER than the colour the integral piece is moulded in, and/or provide stickers to compensate.  While the 3286 does sport a blue stripe sticker to contrast the red, I am finding it difficult to imagine how to effectively duplicate the Nelson Checker colour scheme on a 3286 style ship otherwise.

But I still hope for a Playmo man-o-war.  Not necessarily the 3286 style, but more of a sleeker ship sans raised stern castle, and a real gun deck that can accommodate more head room for the klickies to be able to stand.  As it is, the gundeck on the 3286 is really only tall enough for the cannons, not klickies

[Justindo]

Most Playmobil vehicles are modular, I've noticed, as in each component piece is all one colour.  The 3286, for example, though multi-coloured, is ALL RED on the top hull AND deck (which is one piece), and then the bottom half of the hull is grey.  To exact the "Nelson Checker" black and gold colour scheme of the imperial ships, Playmobil would have to actually paint different parts of the hull colours OTHER than the colour the integral piece is moulded in, and/or provide stickers to compensate.  While the 3286 does sport a blue stripe sticker to contrast the red, I am finding it difficult to imagine how to effectively duplicate the Nelson Checker colour scheme on a 3286 style ship otherwise.

But I still hope for a Playmo man-o-war.  Not necessarily the 3286 style, but more of a sleeker ship sans raised stern castle, and a real gun deck that can accommodate more head room for the klickies to be able to stand.  As it is, the gundeck on the 3286 is really only tall enough for the cannons, not klickies

Ideally, I'd like this too, but I could live with an elongated 3940 with stickers.

[Andy R]

BlackPearl,
Ship’s stability a reflection of beam vs. draft. The greater the beam vs. the draft, the greater the stability.
Hull length influences hull speed- The greater the hull length vs. beam equals increased hull speed.

The quintessential example of this is actually HMS ENDEVOUR; She started out as a collier, a flat bottomed, short, squat hull. This is what got her over the Great Barrier Reef, but also slowed her to a practical crawl.
On the other hand, HMS ROSE rolled over on her maiden voyage because she was too skinny.