rowan25 Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I have never heard of Playmobil until I came to these boards, so those of you who have them, please help!!!! My son is 2; he'll be 2.5 by Christmas. I was thinking of getting the Fisher Price Imaginext Castle for him, but apparently I'm behind the times. I'm having a lot of trouble finding it. So I started looking into the Playmobil castles and just about fainted at the price. So please explain. If I wanted to spend about $100 on castle type things in this brand, what could/should I get? I don't want it to look like Santa couldn't afford to get stuff! :tongue_smilie: But at the same time, I don't want to spend more than that. And I'm concerned about small pieces. He's pretty good about it, but I don't want to tempt him!! Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 He seems a bit young for Playmobil, imo. It does have small pieces & they may be hard for him to handle at his age (as well as being tempting to eat). The best selection (& price) I've found for Playmobil is here: http://www.ridgeroadstation.com/toysp.shtml We love Playmobil, but I'd save it for your ds when he's a couple of years older. Playmobil does have a series called 1.2.3 that is aimed for younger kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 He seems a bit young for Playmobil, imo. It does have small pieces & they may be hard for him to handle at his age (as well as being tempting to eat). The best selection (& price) I've found for Playmobil is here: http://www.ridgeroadstation.com/toysp.shtml We love Playmobil, but I'd save it for your ds when he's a couple of years older. Playmobil does have a series called 1.2.3 that is aimed for younger kids. Does the 1.2.3 series have buildings? He really loves my daughter's Fisher Price Bat Cave, so I was looking for something comparable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 If you look at the previous links, it looks like that series has a farm, a house, and a truck w/ a garage. Would any of those be comparable 'buildings' for him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 If you look at the previous links, it looks like that series has a farm, a house, and a truck w/ a garage. Would any of those be comparable 'buildings' for him? Not really. sigh. Thanks for your help! At least I know where to find them when he's a bit older. Back to the Christmas drawing board!! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 (edited) Rowan, Playmobil is a lot more detailed than Imaginext (read:billions of small pieces). Nathan got the pirate ship for his 3rd birthday because Imaginext didn't have one at the time. He destroyed it in less than a year, and it was $$$$$$$! The Imaginext ship that came out shortly after has held up much better, and there aren't nearly as many tiny pieces. As for the castle, Imaginext just came out with a new one, which is probably why you can't find the one you're looking for. If you go to the Fisher Price website, they actually sell it there as a bundle with several of their other new toys for that series. I believe the bundle was in the $80-$90 range. We were in Target today and saw just the castle. It retails for about $55. If you have your heart set on the old castle, do a search on ebay. I bet you'll be able to find one that is unopened. I know most people love Playmobil, but in our experience, it wasn't that durable -- at least not for a very small, extremely rough boy. We are huge Imaginext fans and have experienced very few breaks. If you could see my son play, you would realize what a miracle that is! Edited August 7, 2009 by jujsky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlutterbyMommy Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 We have some Playmobil and really enjoy it. I actually purchased the fold and go Christmas house for my daughter her 2nd Christmas. I bought it at Marshall's for half the price and she still plays with it (has every day this week). It does have many small parts and I bagged the smallest and put them up when she was still small. I don't think it would be horrible if you held off. Target carries the brand and you will sometimes see it at Tuesday morning. Also, there are some great castles out there, depending upon what you need. I would take your time and wait fo the best time and prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 Rowan, Playmobil is a lot more detailed than Imaginext (read:billions of small pieces). Nathan got the pirate ship for his 3rd birthday because Imaginext didn't have one at the time. He destroyed it in less than a year, and it was $$$$$$$! The Imaginext ship that came out shortly after has held up much better, and there aren't nearly as many tiny pieces. As for the castle, Imaginext just came out with a new one, which is probably why you can't find the one you're looking for. If you go to the Fisher Price website, they actually sell it there as a bundle with several of their other new toys for that series. I believe the bundle was in the $80-$90 range. We were in Target today and saw just the castle. It retails for about $55. If you have your heart set on the old castle, do a search on ebay. I bet you'll be able to find one that is unopened. I know most people love Playmobil, but in our experience, it wasn't that durable -- at least not for a very small, extremely rough boy. We are huge Imaginext fans and have experienced very few breaks. If you could see my son play, you would realize what a miracle that is! Ok, good. This is what I needed to know!! Thanks!!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 We were given a complete (and I mean complete) Playmobil Dollhouse. My 3 year old daughter is getting in to playing with it, but she's pretty mature for her age. My 5 year old son (who loves to play dolls and shopping with his sister) plays well with it, but my 6 year old son, not so much. Granted, it is a doll house, but I agree with the previous posters, there's a ton of small parts and pieces that can get lost. Good grief, we have a piano, with real sheet music and a music stand and a bust of Beethoven. It's an amazing set, but even at my kids' age, I've brought out the bare minimum for them to play with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Building Up Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I agree that it would be better to wait a year or two on Playmobil. We love their sets, but they do have tons of tiny pieces. My son got a pm zoo for his 4th birthday and enjoyed it, but he has enjoyed it even more as he's gotten older. We now have a pm castle and ds5 (almost 6) enjoys it, as does ds3 - but ds3 is constantly taking it all apart (and needs me to put it back together). Dd7 (almost 8) still plays with pm also. We have a few playmobil 123, but honestly I think they are a bit lame. I would wait until he's older and get the real thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 My 5 and 3 year olds started out with 1-2-3 when they were each 2, and how have a few regularly-sized PB pieces. They don't exactly work together perfectly, but they don't not work, either. KWIM? That was pretty bad grammar, huh? :) For example, the 1-2-3 people only sit on 1-2-3 horses, PB people only sit on PB horses. Anyway, I would like to get them some more pieces because they actually LOVE the fact that there are tiny little pictures in frames to go on the nightstand, a book, and that the kitty can sit on the roof, the smoke can be put on the chimney, etc. Besides, I think their faces are just so cute. The boy stuff is pretty cool. If I had a boy, I'd be all about Playmobil for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I agree with the others -- Playmobil is *fantastic*, but really better for kids starting around 4-6yo. Yes, it's more expensive than some other toys, but the quality is great, and my kids have gotten more use out of Playmobil than almost any other Toy they've had. Play silks and anything relating to cooking/food is up there too. Playmobil has gotten more use than Thomas trains, Legos, American Girls... We love it. We never did the 1-2-3 stuff, just the regular Playmobil. Starting, I think, when mine were 3 and 5. Because of the small pieces, I've always insisted Playmobil be kept to the train table (they outgrew the trains pretty quickly, but the train table has been a great investment), and what's not currently *on* the table goes in the bins *under* the table. I've had a lot less frustration with the small pieces than friends who've had a less specific and conducive place to play with the pieces. (For the most part, Legos get used there too, though the Lego bins happen to be under ds' bed.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 We LOVE playmobil at our house! That and Legos are the two toy sets that get played with everyday. Playmobil is fantastic for imaginative play and teaching kids to think in narrative as they create stories - a very important skill for future reading comprehension & creative writing. We didn't start until 4+ with Playmobil and that was just about right. Prior to that age my son didn't have the fine motor skills to manipulate all those trap doors, cannon shots and cranes/pails. I think you might be setting yourself and DC up for frustration if you start too early with it, but if you wait, I don't think there are better toys out there. Playmobil can be spendy, but they are so worth it! The pirate ship came with crates of food, including little sausages, a baby monkey and mommy monkey for the rigging, parrots, all the pirates, hammocks, sails, cannon balls and much, much more. There is even a cat who chases the ship mice. We have only had minimal problems with durability, and that was when DS pulled really hard on parts permanently glued together. I consider that a normal casualty of boys as no toy in our house is completely whole. For the amount of hours played with, Playmobil is easily the most economical toy in our house. (The same cannot be said of all those expensive electronic toys with bells and whistles that flash and make noise :tongue_smilie:!) HTH and I hope you enjoy your adventures with Playmobil as much as we have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan25 Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 I agree that it would be better to wait a year or two on Playmobil. We love their sets, but they do have tons of tiny pieces. My son got a pm zoo for his 4th birthday and enjoyed it, but he has enjoyed it even more as he's gotten older. We now have a pm castle and ds5 (almost 6) enjoys it, as does ds3 - but ds3 is constantly taking it all apart (and needs me to put it back together). Dd7 (almost 8) still plays with pm also. We have a few playmobil 123, but honestly I think they are a bit lame. I would wait until he's older and get the real thing. Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Not really. sigh. Thanks for your help! At least I know where to find them when he's a bit older. Back to the Christmas drawing board!! :lol: Most Playmobile pieces may be a bit small for your little one but check/call if they have anything for the younger crowd. Perhaps there is a set that is larger? My son didn't start playing with them until he was 6-7. Also, if you are looking for some fun toys for little people, check out http://www.timberdoodle They often have interesting, educational toys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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