i could see how this could be fun for a kid and a nightmare for a parent but i think its as close as playmobil can come to endorsing customization without also encouraging a kid to watch youtube videos on how to use mom and dad's tool kit to take it apart. it makes sense given where we are culturally in an era when even the notion of remixing is now a tradition and it gives kids a little of the experience of assembling stuff from a perceived ground up.
i fully understand the feeling that it's a cynical endeavor but it's something that is clicking with kids across brands, right?
i don't mind the mystery component, per se' but i think that is something generally more exciting for a kid who is able to experience the surprise factor when he or she opens a bag up. i agree with others who have chimed in about series 4 and will by no means buy the lot. i look forward to some of the figures like the hula girl and the stilted clown but probably would have been fine buying them as a 'special boxed release. i don't get a rush of anticipation or whatever because i mostly try to figure out everything before i leave a shop - all the while fearing that i'll get kicked out for fondling bags...fortunately i have my kids as cover. unfortunately, they are right in the fray with me, feeling around to see if they can figure the figs out. that's a little fun, to be honest,because we get to play a bit of a guessing game. i know a lot of criticism has been lodged at series 4 for doing unoriginal themes or rehashes. i agree from the vantage point of someone who ideally would like to see the mystery series as an opportunity to test out bold and daring possibilities for future series. instead, we're getting some of that with more of a 'sampler' approach - here's a princess, here's a pirate here's a fireman - which is too bad BUT i have to remind myself of the kid who is going to take these iconic genre figures and maybe have a ball mixing them up. they aren't necessarily going to be aware of what's been done before -whether it's a baseball player or a king.
now, to me, the biggest mystery of the mystery figures so far is their mysterious distribution here in the u.s.. is this a problem worldwide? what were the production runs? Did they overdo it with series 2 and scale back with 3? i'd love to know , y'know, wtf. with regards to series 3, among mom and pops on the east coast and midwest, some shops secured some while others i went to never had them and never offered, as is usually the norm, to special order. i was frequently routed to other brands who also do mystery figures.
we never saw these in toys r us - not in september and not in december. did some toys r us stores stock and others not? did they bring in the bare minimum and then choose not to reorder them? some members have reported getting them from kohls but that seems to be the exception and not the rule. i believe i read on one of the threads here of a member finding them at target. this would be valuable information to get hold of and a promising shift given that that relationship had presumably dissolved.
You can't sell what's not there (unless you work in finance) and that's a pity for everyone in the end because people the uninitiated will just move on to another toy maker waiting in the wings.
in any case, i can't really imagine the mystery figs being a long term line because it screams 'fad'. but maybe i'm wrong.
