Just discovered Playmobil. My head is spinning.

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

Oh. My.

 

Playmobil is awesome! We've been a Schleich and Papo family here (and still love them) but we recently broke into Legos, which my kids adore. So every time I do a search for Lego stuff on Amazon, Playmobil pops up. I thought I would check out the Playmobil site and I think I might be in love. This stuff is right up my kids' alley! And the Egyptian and Roman stuff. Heavens! I'm looking at that Pyramid as a joint kid gift for Christmas.

 

I must ask... Are Playmobil things scaled such that they will work with Lego constructions? I mean, if we already owned the Lego hospital, would Playmobil figures fit right in there or no? Don't break my heart. If it won't work, let me down easy...

 

Any help?

[Kay in Cal]

Well... not really. Playmobile figures are about twice the size of Lego people. You could build Lego houses for them, but they are not the same scale.

 

But both are awesome!

 

My dh loves Lego, we have lots that date from before we have kids, plus usually get new sets for birthdays/Christmas.

 

But I love Playmobile. We have lots of knights, Romans, Vikings, barbarian, pirates, plus lots of random things (bunnies, modern individual pieces, various soldiers). This year will definately be an Egyptian year.

 

One of my favorite Classical Homeschooling moments was when I walked in on my boys playing with the colosseum, they looked up and said "We're playing Romans vs. Gauls! The Gauls are winning... for now!"

[SonshineLearner]

We love 'em. My son has the castle. IT's a bit hard to get to stay together...It's scaled pretty small. I'd try to get it on sale...I can do that here with teacher discounts and such...

 

Carrie:-)

[pixeldog]

We love both, as well (ds kindergarten and ds fourth grader). Now that you mention it, they don't combine them that often, but they play with both equally. We have also enjoyed the historic elements of the Playmobile themes, often they'll play in the historic context of our read-aloud while I'm reading. This past Christmas we even cleared off a bookshelf to create three locations for the Christmas story. Top shelf was Nazareth, middle was Bethlehem, and bottom was Rome.....way cool. At the moment it's set up as the Garden of Eden. As we read, we add/move according to the story. Of course, we have so much of it we have all sorts of dramas going on all over the house. One thing I've noticed is that the grandparents enjoy giving it as gifts because there are so many price points and except for the big ticket items, you can never have too many people, animals, vehicles, etc. So, YAY Playmobile!

 

Nancy in NC

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

Well... not really. Playmobile figures are about twice the size of Lego people. You could build Lego houses for them, but they are not the same scale.

 

But both are awesome!

 

Excellent work letting me down easy! So, what you're saying is that we should amass vast collections of both? Perfect! Can do... I was just happy the way the Papo and Schleich are the same scale so my daughter's fairy tale figures work well with my son's castle and so on and so on... Building Lego houses for Playmobil people is a good plan though.

 

One of my favorite Classical Homeschooling moments was when I walked in on my boys playing with the colosseum, they looked up and said "We're playing Romans vs. Gauls! The Gauls are winning... for now!"

 

That is nice! My kids have tons of the Schleich World of Knights stuff and I'm thinking that will be oodles of fun when we get to Medieval history. I wish there was more in the way of toys for American history. We've got some pioneer and Native American figures coming for my baby's 3rd birthday so we'll have to make do with those.

 

Thanks for your help. I requested the catalog so I'm looking forward to that.

[WTMindy]

Oh my, do we ever love Playmobile around here. It is the only toy my kids have really ever played with. And, it is great for history projects (they make little models and film scenes!). Love it!!!

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

they play with both equally.

 

Very good to hear. The Legos do have lots of merits on their own. My son loves the Creator sets.

 

This past Christmas we even cleared off a bookshelf to create three locations for the Christmas story. Top shelf was Nazareth, middle was Bethlehem, and bottom was Rome.....way cool. At the moment it's set up as the Garden of Eden.

 

OK, this is too cool and makes me really impatient to receive the catalog! I'm purposefully restraining myself from looking at the web site too much. I am looking forward to the catalog more than I used to look forward to my Living and Cooking Light from my pre-kid days. Ah, the seasons of our lives!

 

One thing I've noticed is that the grandparents enjoy giving it as gifts because there are so many price points and except for the big ticket items, you can never have too many people, animals, vehicles, etc. So, YAY Playmobile!

 

Perfect! Both sets of grandparents buy from the kids' Amazon wish lists so the price point selections works out well. I don't like to put Legos on those wish lists because third party sellers keep inflating their prices. I'm hoping I won't have that problem with the Playmobil stuff.

 

Thanks guys!

Edited March 17, 2009 by Alte Veste Academy

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

Oh my, do we ever love Playmobile around here. It is the only toy my kids have really ever played with. And, it is great for history projects (they make little models and film scenes!). Love it!!!

 

Oh my gracious! You must have planted the seed in my head the other day... Didn't you post about the Playmobil videos in another thread? I didn't have time to look at them then but when you posted just now I remembered and went to look. They were so cute! "The Great Spirit" made my day just now. Truly hilarious!

[Starr]

You still have a chance, stop now, do not make the first purchase, it will never end! :lol:

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

You still have a chance, stop now, do not make the first purchase, it will never end! :lol:

 

It's toooooo laaaaaaate! The catalog is on its way! :lol:

 

Hopefully your message can help someone else though. :D

[Starr]

lol I warned you! Dd 14 says you must now dedicate an entire room to the playmobile community that will be arriving soon.!!

[Annie Laurie]

Lego and Playmobil are the only toys my kids really play with, but the Legos get the most use. My one gripe with Playmobil is the detail, which makes it so cute and fun, but is such a pain to keep track of. We have tiny swords, crowns, shoes, pieces of armor, and even little stones that go in the treasure chest, all over the place. Dh and I love Playmobil so we went embarrassingly crazy on it at Christmas one year and now I have to try real hard not to think of how expensive it is when I see it all in a million pieces everywhere.

[elise1mds]

Ohhhh Playmobil. My son has an entire bin of Playmobil stuff, and I can't help but order more. It's wonderful stuff, but goodness. They even appeal to my daughter who doesn't get into play sets!

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

My one gripe with Playmobil is the detail, which makes it so cute and fun, but is such a pain to keep track of. We have tiny swords, crowns, shoes, pieces of armor, and even little stones that go in the treasure chest, all over the place. Dh and I love Playmobil so we went embarrassingly crazy on it at Christmas one year and now I have to try real hard not to think of how expensive it is when I see it all in a million pieces everywhere.

 

Hmm. This is giving me flashbacks to my daughter's Calico Critters. Not nearly as expensive but UGH! At a certain point, I didn't even care that I was vacuuming up microscopic forks. She just wasn't (and still isn't) into the incredibly teensy aspects of the toy, just the figures and furniture.

 

This is a good caution so thanks. I will start with one medium-ish set and see how it goes instead of doing a major surprise holiday purchase. My instinct is to say that they'll love the themes and major pieces/people but not the teensy accessories (at least until they're a bit older). I'll have to see if they clamor for more and make the purchases worthwhile.

 

Thanks again!