Playmobil toys and homeschooling

[ExcitedMama]

When I first started googling about homeschooling I found lots of blogs that mentioned using Playmobil toys along with homeschool topics, like Pharoh figures while studying Egypt. Now that DS is getting old enough for Playmobil toys I went to check them out on their website but I can't find any. I only found some civil war soldiers. Does anyone know if Playmobil will bring back toys that are no longer available? Or do I need to buy them before they are gone? Thanks so much!

[Alessandra]

Lots of people adore Playmobil. I hated it, because of all the teensy pieces and the high cost.

We used a lot of play figures, though -- Safari, Schleich, Papo, etc. Rainbow Resource has a great selection. Check out the Safari Toobs. You can get a plastic Toob of Jamestown settlers or ancient Egypt, plus many more, for under $10 each. Craft stores like AC Moore also carry these, so by using a coupons, big discount.

Sorry, not exactly an answer to your question, just my 2 cents. Presumably, the Playmobil experts will reply.

[pitterpatter]

Keep looking. Right now, there are figures for Egyptians, Native Americans (although, the symbols from various tribes are all smooshed together into a generic "Native American" people), Vikings, Barbarians, Celts, Knights, Samurai, Romans, Redcoats, Civil War soldiers, etc. There are several one-off history figures in their mystery figure packs (i.e. cave dweller).

 

Here's the thing, a lot of the figures are Add-Ons and can only be ordered from Playmobil.com, as far as I can find. Many sets can't be found at Toys 'R Us either. Lines are constantly being retired, so keep an eye out at Tuesday Morning and similar close-out stores. I've seen at lot of historical sets there.

 

http://www.playmobil.us/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site/en_US/Search-Show?cgid=S_ARTIKEL

 

Check in the history, knights and add-on sections. Also, some are hiding in the SpecialPlus section. Requesting a catalog is the easiest way to see what they have at a glance. Ever now and again, Playmobil will offer free shipping with a $25 order. They just had that last week. That's when I buy the historical figures only available on their site.

 

We love Playmoibl here!!

[pitterpatter]

I think a lot of the historical figures come around again, but not the same sets. And, you might have to wait a long while. Native American sets are one I can specifically think of. I had canoes and tepees and such as a child. Just bought the current sets for DD. Having said that, they discontinued the Egyptian line, but then they brought part of the exact line back on their Web site in a matter of months. Not sure why. I bought the majority of the line when they discounted it the first time. If you're interested in any of that, I would buy it now. DD loves it! Sadly, they have not brought back the pyramid. Mystery figures need to be bought up too. If there's something really big and cool that pops up you like (like the previously mentioned pyramid), I'd buy it.

[pitterpatter]

DD also loves Safari Ltd. Toobs (especially the landmarks...i.e. Easter Island heads, Great Wall of China). Like the previous poster said, you can get them at Hobby Lobby or Michael's with a 40% off coupon. HTH!

 

http://safariltd.com/group

[give_me_a_latte]

We are HUGE PLAYMOBIL people over here. I mean, our house is quite literally overrun with them. The pyramid is currently on my dining room table ;-)

When my son was younger, I thought I had all the time in the world to buy the cool history sets. Then I sadly realized one day that the Egypt and Roman sets were gone from the website. So, lesson learned. I bought all that I could as they cleared off the Egypt line, but I had to get the pyramid off EBay. I still haven't found any of the Roman stuff....

So, point being, if I see a line I want, I buy it up as soon as it comes out. Then I stockpile it away for Christmas and birthdays. We recently did this with the dinosaurs, and my Mom ended up getting him the prehistoric/cavemen sets.

I LOVE how they make history come alive for him. He mixes the sets, too. So he comes up with some great ideas about Blackbeard and Johnny Appleseed discovering the pyramid, etc. so even if you can only get ahold of some of the extras from the history sets, they will still get used!

[Momof3]

Ebay has all sorts of old/retired sets & random pieces. :) We've picked up quite a few that way. I didn't realize other hs'ers actually used Playmobil, too! :) (I agree that they can be a pain with all the little pieces...but our kids *love* them! Now that Baby is around, we'll have to be more careful with them, though...)

[AimeeM]

I purchased one set for my son, and I'm not allowed (as per DH) to buy any more. It took him hours to put that thing together (and he's a highly gifted engineer, lol) - tons of tiny pieces, compared to his large hands... and the pieces were constantly popping off, getting lost, etc, after poor DH spent hours putting it together. I'm constantly tempted, but I'm not convinced they are worth the hassle.

I would pay more for the sets if they came already assembled, and with the pieces more firmly in place.

[Garga]

My kids no longer play with Playmobil, but when they did they couldn't care less about the extras. They just wanted to play with the people. So, we would try to buy just the people and not the castles or pyramids or furniture, etc. They would play for hours with the people, though. They adored them. (And any weapons the figures had.)

And then one day, they stopped. They do that a lot. Love something with a wild passion, and then it burns out.

P.S. I love Playmobil, so I have the nativity set. I use it every year.

P.P.S The nativity characters and the Roman characters are great to use if you teach a preschool aged Sunday School class. Those kids LOVED to see the bible stories acted out with the Playmobil figurines.

[PeterPan]

I purchased one set for my son, and I'm not allowed (as per DH) to buy any more. It took him hours to put that thing together (and he's a highly gifted engineer, lol) - tons of tiny pieces, compared to his large hands... and the pieces were constantly popping off, getting lost, etc, after poor DH spent hours putting it together. I'm constantly tempted, but I'm not convinced they are worth the hassle.

I would pay more for the sets if they came already assembled, and with the pieces more firmly in place.

That's weird.  That's the part we're really good with.  We do it together, a bit at a time.  Today we reassembled this pyramid, this time with ds and me.  Last time dd did it for herself.  So if you just want it assembled so you can play, yeah it's a lot.  For us the assembling is part of the fun, kinda like a lego kit.  :)

[Samiam]

We went through a playmobile stage, and I am soooo glad it is over. We have Eygpt, including the pyramid and the Sphinx. We have a HUGE castle, we have several parts of the Africa set, and several parts of the zoo, and some other smaller random sets...oh and the Indians and Cowboys.

I thought these would be so much better than Legos sets which constantly fell apart after assembly. Playmobile sets can take a good couple of hours to set up. They look so awesome that first five minutes, with all the details and pieces......then they get played with....and then they fall apart, costume pieces fall off, pieces get scattered, and lost and stepped on and vacuumed, and and and.... Turns out the durability isn't much better than Lego sets.